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Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Calvin Jiricko, Bailey Servais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 10:43 pm PT
There are amazing views every step of the way from the crest of the ridge, but with heavy packs and steep terrain to negotiate, we didn't take so many pictures. Sure enough, the wind was still blowing and the slope was still loaded when we woke at 17,000' this morning. We packed up and started down the West Buttress at 11AM. The fixed rope section went smoothly and we were digging up our 14,000' cache by 2PM and continuing our descent by 3:30. Much snow had fallen on Windy Corner since we'd last been there and the walking and sled pulling was a little challenging as a result. We persevered on down the Polo Field, Squirrel Hill and finally down the reflecting oven that Motorcycle Hill tends to be in late afternoon. At 11,000' we got right to work building a hasty camp and running the stoves. We'd been in blazing hot sun but as soon as we sat down to an outdoor dinner, a spectacular hailstorm hit. But we were hungry and sat through it.
Folks are getting a few hours rest now. We'll get up in the night and make a push for the airstrip in the early morning hours.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Mt. McKinley Expedition, June 14, 2025
It was a crystal clear and bright morning in Phakding. We started walking at 8AM along the charging, frothing, roaring river. Before long we could see Thamserku towering 10,000 feet above us. The rock and ice was in stark contrast to the lush farmland we walked through. A couple of hours in, we reached the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park. The team ate an early lunch at a tea house in Jorsalle before getting on with the big work of the day -climbing the Namche Hill. It began with a walk across a very high cable bridge and then we set ourselves to walking slow and steady up switchbacks in a thick pine forest. Things clouded up -predictably- as the day went on. We gained 2000 feet and finally turned the corner into Namche Bazaar at around 2PM. We were relieved to pull into Camp De Base. Calling it a tea house doesn’t really do the place justice as it has become a fine hotel by any standard. We rested and rehydrated for the afternoon and evening, getting used to life at 11,300 ft.
Best Regards
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
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George and Team - it is amazing what you guys are doing. We are all pulling for you! Wishing you strength and good weather - Bergmann’s Heil! JE
Posted by: JE on 6/18/2014 at 5:55 am
14 sounds like a good number! Looks like you are all in good company and the weather might be turning in your favor. We are all watching for the moment you are standing at the top!
Safe travels to Dawn and team!
love mommeg and all from CT
Posted by: Meg Scata on 6/17/2014 at 9:03 pm
On The Map
Hi Jeff. I’ll be glad to share some of this 96 F heat with you. Love ya! Dad
Posted by: allen on 6/18/2011 at 8:45 pm
Yeah Patrick. I hope all your hard training is paying off.
Posted by: Sam on 6/17/2011 at 10:24 pm
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Ben Luedtke, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Friday, June 27, 2025 8:21pm PDT
Blog Denali – Day 19
Bonjour à tous!
Today marks day 19 since we all met in Anchorage, and day 17 on the mountain. Since the first week went so well, many of us believed we’d be off this frozen rock after 15 days... However, Mother Nature had different plans for us. I now understand why Denali has such a tough reputation: the freaking weather!
Today is our 10th day at 14k camp, and the 6th day of weather delay. We’ve endured two snowstorms, and the last one—lasting almost 36 hours—brought 40 cm of fresh snow. Although the weather is finally on our side today, we still can’t move due to avalanche hazards.
Over the past week, no one has summited, and the few teams that made it to high camp were stuck in even worse conditions than we’ve experienced. I’m grateful to our responsible and professional guides for making the decision to stay put.
On a more personal note, this has been one of the hardest weeks of my amateur climbing career. I’ve never waited this long in full winter camping mode, with almost nothing to do. Mornings are cold, and many toes in the team are freezing. On top of that, I feel weaker every day at this altitude. I’ve lost weight and am probably missing plenty of essential nutrients like vitamins and soluble fiber. (Also, the fact that I ran out of food and entertainment played a big role—LOL.)
On the bright side, my amazing team is kindly helping me survive—special thanks to Andrew for the Kindle, Tait for two bags of beef jerky, and Mikaila for letting me use her InReach. I’ve also gained valuable experience for future adventures. I’ve learned about clothing layers (my thin ones suck), baby Nalgene bottles, Leuko tape, pressure breathing, how much toilet paper to bring, glacier travel, gnarly supplements, and more.
Overall, it’s amazing that all 9 team members (and 3 guides) are still here, holding onto hope of reaching the summit. We’re also lucky, in a way, to have a weather window this weekend for a summit attempt. Many teams haven’t even gotten that chance this year.
À ma famille et mes amis, j’ai hâte de vous revoir! J’espère que vous passez un beau mois de juin, plus chaud qu’ici! Même si je manque une partie de l’été montréalais, je profite énormément du plein air, et les paysages glaciaires sont à couper le souffle. J’ai hâte de vous montrer les photos! Évidemment, je suis très stressé pour les deux prochains jours... Envoyez-moi des ondes relaxantes, haha!
Étienne XOX
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Mt. McKinley Expedition June 9, 2025
Salut Étienne! Sens-tu l’énergie que je t’envoie du lac Temiscouata, Lou aussi t’envoie plein de bonnes ondes alpha. . Une semaine à chilller, une rare opportunité. Le mot chilller prend un autre sens dans ton cas. Évidemment je vous souhaite un départ imminent. Garde le moral et je suis surpris de lire que tu ne sembles plus avoir de brownies! Bonne continuation Étienne et n’oublie pas que nous sommes avec toi et que nous t’aimons. J’admire ton courage…. A bientôt
Posted by: Sylvain on 6/29/2025 at 6:15 pm
Go Mikayla: You’ve got this. Can’t wait to see pictures from the top of the world. Love ya, Grandma
Posted by: Grandma Donley on 6/29/2025 at 12:26 pm
Posted by: Brent Okita, Dustin Wittmier, Dylan Anderson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb from May 19–22, led by RMI Guide Brent Okita, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning!
At 7:40 AM, the team was at 13,500 feet and continuing their ascent. Conditions were snowy, but the team was doing well. Camp Muir reported high clouds and no wind at that time. By 9:15 AM, the team had successfully reached the summit.
They will return to Camp Muir to pack up their gear before continuing their descent to Paradise later today.
Nice work, team!
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Jambo Everyone
We are still here on Kilimanjaro!
After a good nights rest and a full breakfast with plenty of coffee the team set off uphill for day two. We only hiked for a short while before the rain sadly returned, but we continued to persevere as we did yesterday. It was a pretty wet day so we took our time to stay safe and arrived in camp a little over 5 hours of being on the move. The team is doing well and in good spirits and very much looking forward to some much needed sunshine.
We have enjoyed some delicious warm meals and joyous conversations in our dinning tent which has helped keep the morale high.
If anyone back home is play “the rain in Africa” by Toto. Please turn it off!
RMI Guide Casey and crew
Aww, Jon! Sorry the ever elusive summit just wasn’t in the cards again! But better safe than sorry. Great job to the entire team, I’m sure the views were spectacular all along the way. Get down safely!
Posted by: Sunita Bendale on 7/4/2025 at 2:06 pm
Impressed by the speedy descent! I’ve loved following along over the past few weeks, and hope everyone is healthy & safe. Hope the experience was wonderful, regardless of the outcome! We live to climb another day.
Posted by: Katie Gardner on 7/3/2025 at 10:19 pm
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