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The Five-Day climb led by RMI Guides, Brent Okita and Henry Coppolillo, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They enjoyed absolutely beautiful day on top this morning with a great route and enjoyable weather.

They will enjoy a casual walk back down to Camp Muir to do some more training this afternoon and tomorrow morning. The team will return to Basecamp tomorrow.

Nice work team!

Today's Mt. Rainier teams reached the summit at 6:00 a.m.  They reported windy conditions with clear skies.  The teams began their descent back to Camp Muir at 7:08 a.m. where they will pack up the rest of their gear and continue down to Paradise.

Congratulations to the summit teams!

The Four Day Climb May 27 - 30 led by RMI Guides Andy Bond and Alan Davis reported pockets of wind slabs on the steeper portions of the route which forced the teams to turn around at 12,800’.  They enjoyed a spectacular sunrise with great views as they descended to Camp Muir.

Photo: Andy Bond

Saturday June 11th, 2022 – 9:04pm PT

After making our way from 17 camp to 14 camp, we crawled back into our tents and took a nap. Around 10pm, we woke up for either a late dinner or early breakfast of Ramen noodles and began packing up camp for what we thought would be the very last time. While we had walked into 14 camp in a whiteout, during our nap the clouds had settled below us and it had become a beautiful brisk night.

With camp packed up, we headed towards Basecamp and the airstrip. While we arrived in decent weather, we got word that clouds kept the planes from flying all day. We've now crawled back into our tents and await a weather window that allows us to fly back to Talkeetna.

Think good weather thoughts!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Mike King has had a successful week of training and Denali Prep. While weather and route conditions kept the team on the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier, they were able to take advantage of the time to hone in on their mountaineering skills. The team trained on and discussed the following topics; avalanche forecasting, route finding, crevasse rescue, camp building, and various glacier travel techniques. 

Congratulations Team! 

RMI Guide James Bealer checked in from the summit of Mt. Baker this morning. He reported that 100% of the team was on top! The team enjoyed a beautiful bluebird day with little to no wind on their ascent to the top.

They were beginning their descent back to camp to celebrate and will get a good nights rest before packing up camp tomorrow.

Congratulations to the climbers!

Monday, May 31, 2021 - 11:09 pm PT

Sunday, May 30th, started out clear and cold but quickly warmed up as the sun hit our camp. The good weather meant moral was high in 14,000' Camp as everyone who was acclimated and ready to go started to climb towards High Camp at 17,200'. We, of course, being new to this high elevation stayed in camp and watched the conga line turn into a log jam at the base of the fixed lines. We made good use of our day by brushing up on our fixed line and running belay techniques. At the end of the day a well worn trail was stomped in by the uphill traffic and left us feeling optimistic about our own plans to cache at 16,200'.

Today (May 31) the team braved a cold morning in order to get a head start out of camp.  We climbed up the fixed lines and cached at 16,250' on the West Buttress.   The afternoon turned into a scorcher on the way down as the solar energy made it feel like 90 degrees outside.  We returned to camp and had delicious burritos for dinner. 

RMI Guide Eric Frank

Hello everyone!

Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000 ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up.

The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!

After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice-ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today’s endpoint.

All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks.

Casey and crew

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