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The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer braved the winds to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. After a short rest on the summit, the team began their descent shortly before 8 am. They will return to Camp Muir to refuel before descending to Paradise later today. We look forward to their arrival in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations climbers! RMI Guide Eric Frank and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons continue to spend their days training. Today the team moves from their camp on the Inter Glacier to Camp Schurman in preparation for their summit attempt.

The sun doesn't set at 11,200' camp until after 9:30 sometime. Then it just passes behind a mountain to cast shadows on this place that we're now calling home. And we're soaking it all up after another nice day of climbing. Today we made it to camp in under four hours, and for the first time had pretty reasonable sized packs. A cool down-glacier breeze offered us a change of pace from the sweat fest of the lower glacier, and I think most of the team welcomed the drop in temperature. Pulling into camp in the early afternoon allowed us to walk into a vacated camp spot and relieved us of the tough work of building walls and excavating tent platforms. Most of us relaxed and enjoyed a well deserved break from our toils. Another first for the trip: we enjoyed a fine meal from the comfort of our Posh House. This is a tent like thing that allows us all to sit, cook and eat, protected from the elements like the wind, cold, snow or even sun. It's cozy and makes it fun to just linger over a couple of hot drinks and enjoy each others company. Tomorrow we'll be doing a back carry to pick up the cache we left there this morning. We're looking forward to a fairly easy day, and hopefully another great day of weather. Before we sign off, Ayla wants to give a big shout out to her sister. Happy Birthday Eva! (By the way, your sister Ayla is a rock star - she's doing great.) Until tomorrow ... RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Today gave us a chance to check out our rain skills.... We spent our time hiking to the Refugio de Horizontes on the Illinizas was great and somewhat dry. The weather was all over the place with showers and sun on a repeat cycle. But luckily the skies parted when we reached the hut and we were able to dry any wet layers and enjoy some time at 15 and a half thousand feet. A leisurely cruise back to the trail head, and it was off to the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge for the night. We arrived at the lodge in a lightning storm and checked into pre-heated rooms and settled in for hearty meal and a good night's rest. Tomorrow we ride higher and take our perch at the Jose Ribas on Cotopaxi. Wish us luck and good weather for the next few days. RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

Summit! Today’s Mt. Rainier teams led by Seth Waterfall and Geoff Schellens reached the top! The teams were in a heavy cloud cap with light winds. Report from Camp Muir is 10 - 15 mph winds, sporadic rain from the southwest but clearing. Both summit climb teams began their descent by 7:40 a.m. RMI Guide Billy Nugent is starting the Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons and is at Rainier Basecamp today for their technical training.

After a good night's sleep and a hearty Russian breakfast the team headed out for our first acclimatization hike. The weather was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and clear skies. Our hike was on the flanks of a neighboring mountain called Cheget, named for the small town below it. Cheget rises sharply out of town and is a steep ski resort in the winter. It has several chair lifts that came in handy for the ascent and descent. Along the way we were treated to some amazing views of Elbrus and a large portion of the Caucasus mountain range. Everyone was thoroughly impressed! After our hike we returned to town for a traditional Caucasus lunch of borsht, carrot slaw, and a meat roll. The team then headed back to our hotel and started packing for tomorrow's move to our base camp on Elbrus. Everyone is doing great and we are all excited about tomorrow.

July 20, 2024 - 5:45 pm PT

Woke with the sun and some good Peruvian coffee. The winds were quite strong and kept us tent bound initially. We spent the day resting and working on knots, hitches, and rappelling at our campside crag. After dinner it was early to bed for another alpine start as we attempt the valley’s namesake, Ishinca, in the wee hours of the morning.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

June 1, 2023, 10:30 pm PDT

MOUNTAIN DAY 22 -

We had hopes this morning as the base camp manager said to ready everything and that planes were on the way. By 8:30 several planes hit the runway and stayed to load climbers. They departed and as the clouds edged closer, we were told they were launching planes for us and they were trying to get in. But the snow started and visibility shut down and the planes stopped landing. We kept waiting for the snow to stop and a hole to open, but it didn't come. It is now calm, but snowing prolifically. Midwinter, we would be going to sleep excited about the powder day to come. Here, we beg for it to stop so we can make our way home. But we are in a beautiful place, and we count ourselves warm, dry, and lucky to experience the power of the Alaska Range. 

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and team

Saturday June 18th - 11:52pm PT

The Denali team formed up in Anchorage this afternoon.  We flew from Seattle and Frankfurt and Johannesburg and a few other places.   Not every single piece of luggage made it through, but we have high hopes for getting it all together soon.   

It was cloudy in central Alaska today, but we could see hints of mountains as we drove up toward Talkeetna.  We made the traditional stop in Wasilla to round out our expedition food supplies, and then got on board the Denali Overland van once again for the final 90 minutes into Talkeetna.  A brief stop at K2 Aviation around 6 PM allowed us to offload gear, and then we checked into our rooms at the Swiss Alaska Inn.  The team made the short walk into town to relax with outside beers and pizzas.  Town was busy and bustling on this endless summer evening.  We went to the banks of the mighty Susitna River to see if Denali was visible, but the clouds stayed put and made us guess at what we were missing.  

Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet over breakfast and dive into the details of packing and prepping for our Denali West Buttress Expedition. 

Best Regards,

Dave Hahn and Team

Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 4 pm PT

Once again I write from our comfortable camp in Genet Basin. There is not very much new to report. It is mostly sunny and calm down here. The story is different up above, where a large lenticular cloud had encapsulated the upper mountain. Our friends at High Camp have reinforced their snow walls and are hunkered in their tents. We are all hopeful for the decreased winds that are forecast for Friday afternoon. In the mountains, you are at the whim of the weather, and it is a fool's journey to act otherwise. Hopefully our patience will pay off soon with an opportunity to move higher. Until then, we're in chill mode. Reading, music, conversations, and crosswords are on the itinerary. A big breakfast scramble with plenty of coffee was a highlight this morning. It's important to savor the little things as we wait for our chance for further climbing forays.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Friday, May 31, 2013 Excitement, trepidation, anxiousness and a whole slew of other emotions ran through the team last night and this morning as we prepared to make our carry up the fixed ropes to 16,200' and beyond. How would we do on terrain steeper than any most of us have yet tackled? How would we do with the altitude? Everyone had similar questions that only time would answer. Our day started in the early morning before the sun hit camp. Temps were probably around 0-5 F. But we knew we wanted to avoid any traffic jams on the fixed ropes if possible. And an early start would help insure a smooth ascent. An hour and a half and 1,200' above camp the sun finally warmed our bodies. It amazes me still how in a five minute period it can go from bitingly cold to almost sweaty hot. With the fixed lines above we were psyched that we would have warm conditions to deal with them. We all progressed well up the lines, so well that everyone wanted to continue further up the West Buttress to make our cache. With climbing conditions on the ridge in great shape our progress was good, and before we knew it we were less than an hour from 17,200' camp. Although a challenge to climb at that altitude, everyone was up to going all the way to camp. Most people find just getting up to 16,200' challenge enough. But around 3:00pm we were there! What made this day so especially memorable was the fact that this was the first time in my twenty three Mt. McKinley expeditions that the entire team had made it all the way to 17,200' camp. We're back at 14,200' camp now and are looking forward to another well deserved rest day. After dinner we enjoyed reading all your blog replies. Thanks so much for all the support! Good night from 14,000' RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah

On The Map