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Monday, June 2, 2025 - 10:30 am PT

After our last post after descending to 11,000', things happened quickly. We went to bed to moderate snowfall on the tents and woke to something of the same. With clouds all around, and a cloud cap above on the mountain, and after three big days, we didn’t rush out of 11,000' Camp, but took the time to get some coffee, breakfast, and repack into sleds, duffels, and packs for the snowshoe to Base Camp. By midmorning we were ready, and started out. That walk is always special, as the clouds and light played on the lower peaks of the range, there is a certain quiet and reflectiveness to the descent as we contemplate all we have just done, and how soon we will hopefully be home and this will all start to feel like a bit of a dream. We passed several teams headed uphill, still looking fresh, stubble only a day or two old, excited for everything to come. We made a brief stop at the base of Ski Hill to pick up our cache, then continued through the long flat stretches of the lower Kahiltna. Finally it was time for one more burn, the roughly hour stretch up Heartbreak Hill that would bring us to our destination. All day we had walked in and underneath clouds and didn’t hear much in the way of airplane traffic. Quite truthfully as we took our final steps into Base Camp, a message arrived via inReach from K2 asking if we were at Base Camp yet - weather hadn’t been flyable that day, but things were turning. So we arrived, but rather than sit and recover, we continued the movement and prep, quickly pulling apart sleds and bags, organizing, digging up our Base Camp cache, and shortly thereafter we got the news that two planes had launched to come get us. Just before 7 pm, the two red otters dipped out of the sky on the final approach to Base Camp. We loaded, and before we knew it, were being whisked back to town. Just as we seemed to swing into a stroke of luck with our summit day window (there hadn't been one since), we walked into quite a bit of luck with flying off as well. By 8:45 pm that evening, we were showered and sitting on the deck of the Denali Brew Pub enjoying a meal that hadn’t been boiled in water. 

Nick, Ben, and myself would like to thank this team for the incredible dedication they showed throughout this expedition, to themselves, to each other, and to us. That teamwork and selflessness was the key component in the success of our climb and it was such a pleasure for us to climb with this team.

Signing off for this year,

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Tuesday, June 11, 2024 - 10:17 pm PT

Our climbing team came together today.  After years of planning and anticipation and training… twelve of us got together in the Anchorage airport and got started on RMI’s final Denali Expedition for 2024.   We made it with all of our gear and without flight cancellations… it all worked out.   We boarded the Denali Overland van for the big drive up to Talkeetna.  The windshield wipers were on for much of the journey and the spectacular mountain vistas were… shrouded, for the most part.  We broke up the trip with a stop at the last big supermarkets -in Wasilla- where we rounded out the trip menu with some fresh food for down low on the mountain.  We got back in the van then and made it up to Talkeetna by 5:30 PM.  Having settled our gear in the airplane hangar, we checked in to the comfortable Swiss Alaska Inn and then made the short hike over the railroad tracks and into downtown Talkeetna.  The rain seemed to be keeping the tourists in check so we had a quiet dinner at the brewery and then walked down to the mighty Susitna River to gaze at the water and the clouds (where there might normally be mountains).   The team then walked past a few perfectly good bars and watering holes to turn in early and be ready for what promises to be a big day of packing and prepping for the climb tomorrow. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Drew O’Brien reached Ingraham Flats on Mt. Rainier this morning. New snow from recent storms, avalanches, and route concerns kept the team from continuing up hill.

The team enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and started their descent from Camp Muir. 

Our night in Punta Arenas was short and loud... to be honest.  It was Friday night and the town square was chock full of partiers and demonstrators beating drums and waving flags.  We were out of the hotel by 5 AM and bound for the airport -sleep or no sleep.  The team filed through security in an empty airport and then we walked out to our trusty Gulfstream IV to load up.  At 6:40 we launched and left South America.  We had fine conditions for flying, and the Gulfstream has plenty of windows, but for the most part, clouds blocked our view of Tierra del Fuego.  Many of the team dozed or read over the Drake Passage, but all began to come alive when we first spotted icebergs... and then ice flows, ice shelves, and finally the glaciers of mainland Antarctica.  During our final half hour in the air, we had ridiculously clear views of the Ellsworth Mountains and Mount Vinson’s less traveled Eastern flank.  Then our all star pilots, Fred and Curt, had the G4 on final approach at Union Glacier.  We were all paying pretty close attention as the wheels touched down on hard ice and the plane rolled along at high speed.  Reverse Thrust did the trick nicely and the roll turned into taxiing into position for disembarking and unloading.  Our first steps in Antarctica were a thrill.  We were each a little surprised at how pleasant the weather was.  No wind and relatively mild temperatures meant we were comfy in light down coats.  Handshakes, fist bumps and highfives all around seemed the appropriate first order of business.  But then we got the plane unloaded and said goodbye to Fred and Curt who rocketed down the ice and into the air again on their return to Chile.  Our “ground team” of ALE staffers scooped us up in a bus with enormous wheels and brought us via ice highways to Union Glacier Camp.  Our flight had taken 3.5 hours (by comparison, the “normal” Ilyushin 76 ride is about 4.5 to 5 hours). 
We toured the camp around noon and then basically had some time to kill.  Our Twin Otter flight to Vinson was planned for about 5:30 PM.  We ate, played soccer, rode fat tire bikes and messed with electronics.  Finally, we loaded onto two ski equipped airplanes and enjoyed a spectacular cruise through progressively bigger ice covered mountains.  The Canadian pilots, Monica and Russ, flew alongside one another for much of the hundred miles.  We landed going uphill at 7,000 ft on the Branscomb Glacier and hopped out at Vinson Basecamp.  Things were quite busy for a few minutes as the planes were emptied of our gear and then filled by a team leaving the mountain.  Once the Otters were in the air again, Vinson Base got extremely quiet and calm.  We met our ALE staff and fellow guides, Pachi Ibarra, Namgya Sherpa and Lakpa Rita Sherpa (who, between them, have 32 Everest summits).  We had an amazing dinner by Chef Murph who crushed it with Lamb Shanks and Broccoli.  Then we settled into our tents and sorted a little gear.  The travel is complete, the climb starts tomorrow. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Today was a relaxed travel / rest day. After a good breakfast in Puebla we loaded our van and started driving to Tlachichuca. We arrived at Dr Reyes' historic soap-factory-turned-climbers-hostel around 10:30 and began sorting our gear on the lawn. With our gear packed for Orizaba we went in for lunch. By early afternoon we found ourselves bumping along the dirt road in 4x4 truck towards the Piedra grande hut on Orizaba. When we arrived we were surprised to find the Refugio buzzing with activity. A few other climbing teams and a large group filming a documentary will be our company for the night. We ate an early and fantastic dinner of tacos with chicken, veggies, rice, and beans as clouds swirled around offering short glimpses of the upper mountain. We are all feeling good and heading to bed early before our summit bid tomorrow. We will check in tomorrow from the summit. Thanks for following us on our fantastic Mexican adventure. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

On The Map

Hello from the Dik Dik Hotel, We are off the mountain with a very successful climb behind us. We all went to bed pretty early last night after the long day of climbing, and fell asleep immediately. It was the kind of deep sleep that only comes after being up for almost 24 hours, being active for most of it, and finishing a goal that has been months in the making. When we woke up, it was time to pack up camp one last time and head to the park gate. The team was ready to go by 7:45 and 2 1/2 hours later we were signing the registration book at the end of the trail. The entire team made it to Uhuru Peak on Kilimanjaro so each of us received the gold summit certificate from the National Park. After our celebration ceremony with our guides, camp staff, and porters, we loaded up and drove to our hotel. As soon as we got off the bus, it was time for that long awaited shower and clean clothes. The afternoon went by quickly as we unpacked all our mountain gear and shifted our focus on the packing for the next part of our adventure, a 4-day safari. We leave early tomorrow for Lake Manyara, the first stop on our safari. We had no communications at Mweka camp last night and we were dying to know who won the Super Bowl. It wasn't until the gate when we found out that the Seahawks won it big. What a great news. Finally Seattle can claim a victory! Best regards, RMI Guide Jeff Martin

Hello from Quito everyone! After some very long flights the team has arrived safe and sound here in Ecuador. We started our day with a group meeting where we shared a little about each other and discussed the plans for our expedition. We then headed out on a city tour which was mostly spent visiting the colonial old town and it's many churches built in the 17th century. We also visited the Virgin de Quito, which is a statue that overlooks the entire city and is similar in importance to our Statue of Liberty. After our tour we headed back to our hotel to allow the team some time to rest before meeting and discussing the gear needed for our upcoming climbs. After making sure everyone was well equipped with the essentials we took a short walk to a nearby restaurant and patiently waited for all of our food to arrive. The food was delicious and everyone left with smiles on their faces. It looks like a great group of people and everyone is looking forward to stretching their legs tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

We woke early this morning, hours before the sun came up and warmed up our camp. After packing up camp in the shade, we made our way up to the head wall towards high camp. The sun finally warmed us up as we started ascending the fixed ropes up to the the top of the West Buttress. Then we ascended the beautiful and exposed snow covered granite ridge into high camp. The weather was amazing, as were the views: 3000' feet down to our last camp in Genet Basin to our south and the same relief down to the Peters Glacier to our north. We arrived at high camp (17,200') shortly after 3pm. We're all well rested and we're hoping for good weather tomorrow for a shot at the summit. We'll let you know how it shakes out. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Despite a forecast last night calling for the arrival of a low pressure system blowing in from the Bering Sea, the unsettled weather finally swung in our favor this morning. The skies were mostly clear above us when we got out of the tents, and the bank of clouds hanging just to our west hung stationary, not quite reaching past Mt. Foraker and Kahiltna Dome. Seizing the first day of good weather we've seen since leaving Base Camp, we loaded up our packs with food, fuel, and a few extra supplies and headed up out of 11 Camp. To say it was an amazing morning for climbing is an understatement (although I realize we're a bit jaded by the whiteout conditions of the past few days) - it was calm, crisp, and clear, the route was in perfect shape, much of the new snow blown away making for perfect cramponing, and the temperatures comfortable. By the time we reached the top of Motorcycle Hill, just above 11 Camp, we all had grins from ear to ear - we couldn't believe how nice the conditions were especially because we were anticipating spending the day hunkered down in camp battling wind and snow. We climbed all morning, making great time up to Windy Corner at over 13,000', finally stopping just past Windy Corner at 13,600'. There we dug a big hole and dropped all of the gear we were carrying. Caching gear like that benefits us in two ways: it allows us to break down the massive amount of supplies we need to carry on this mountain and move them up in more manageable loads as well as helps us acclimatize and get used to the altitude. By climbing up higher during the day we expose our bodies to thinner air and help kick start the body's acclimatization process before descending back to a lower camp where we can rest and recover - hence the climber's adage "climb high, sleep low". After finishing our cache we turned back down our trail and motored back into camp, reaching our tents mid-afternoon. While the clear skies filled with clouds throughout the day the conditions remained warm and calm without even a breath of wind. The clouds are certainly building, indicating the arrival of a possible front, but they haven't stacked up like we were anticipating so we are in a wait and see mode. If we are feeling up for it and the weather cooperates we would like to move up to our next camp at 14,200' tomorrow but we need conditions, both weather and the group to align perfectly for that. If we aren't able to make the move tomorrow we will stay here at 11 Camp and rest and recover from the past several days of travel. We will check in tomorrow and let you know how it goes. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

Jambo! We are checking in from the fabulous Plantation Lodge in Tanzania. We had an incredible day of game viewing at the Ngorongoro Crater. At one point we even had a baboon in the driver’s seat of our safari vehicle. That was kind of exciting. We saw many of the beautiful animals that make their home in this extinct crater, lion, giraffe, zebra and elephant along with many species of monkeys and birds. Tomorrow we head out to Tarangire National Park. The weather has been cooperating and everyone is having fun. Wish you were here. All the best, RMI Guide Mark Tucker