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Ready to launch! We're all set to tackle our first objective tomorrow, Ishinca. We spent the day today training on the glacier, in the 16,300 ft vicinity. Everybody had a blast, performed well, and is excited to begin what soon will be (with permission of the mountain gods) the opening summit. Hoping to check tomorrow from "la cumbre", that's it for now. RMI Guide Elías and team

Our last day in Namche dawned surprisingly clear and sunny. That was a little unexpected given how persistent the rain was yesterday afternoon and evening. We took full advantage after breakfast, trooping up to the Hilltop National Park Headquarters to see if the mountains were out. Indeed they were, and those of the team that hadn't yet gotten a look at the world's highest mountain were predictably in awe. Those of us that had seen it a few times were also in awe. New snow made the peaks radiant and sparkling in the strong sunshine. Conditions were so calm and pleasant where we stood that we were tempted to gaze for hours. But there was plenty to get done on our final day in the "Sherpa Capital". Our team enjoyed the museum exhibits at the Park Visitor Center and the nearby Sherpa Culture Museum. They shopped the climbing stores, markets, galleries and book stores along the small and winding avenues of Namche. They caught up on the web and friended each other on Facebook. They rested, drank water and got ready for going higher into the mountains in the coming days. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Hello RMI!! I have to tell ya...it is so nice to be reunited with the team! No one at Union Glacier camp would let me put my head on their shoulders and cry. However, when my team saw me at Vinson Base Camp they all gave me big bear hugs! Today we packed up camp and started our climb to Low Camp, close to 10,000 feet. Everyone had a fun day and we worked well getting camp set up. The usual happened with hots and dinner and more hots. Dave is currently buttoning up the kitchen as I write. Tomorrow the team plans on carrying gear towards high camp. We get to travel some fixed line as the terrain steepens. Stay tuned! AND GO PACKERS!!! RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb September 8 - 11 led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! The teams reported clear skies with a light breeze on the summit. They began their descent from the crater rim at 7:50 a.m. en route for Camp Muir. The teams will continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's summit climbers and Paul!

The Five Day Summit Climb August 13 - 17 and the Four Day Summit Climb August 14 - 17 both reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams, led by RMI Guides Dan Windham and J.J. Justman, reported beautiful climbing conditions with light winds on the summit. They were beginning their descent from the crater rim shortly after 7 a.m. PT. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!

The Expedition Skill Seminar - Emmons May 26 - 31, led by RMI Guide Seth Burns, Mike Bennett, Will Ambler and Thomas Skoog reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today via the Emmons Glacier route.  The team hit the crater rim around 11: 30 am today and due to high winds and big gusts started their descent shortly after.  They returned to Camp Schurman around 2:30 pm and will spend a final night at camp.  They will start their descent tomorrow morning, getting back to the trail in the afternoon.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.

Congratulations team!

PC: Tom Skoog and Seth Burns

May 25, 2017 The Denali Expedition May 23, 2017 led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones, JM Gorum and Bryan Mazaika has met their team in Alaska. The group transferred from Anchorage to Talkeetna and spent time arranging their gear, meeting with the National Park Service and enjoying some restaurant meals and showers. The team is prepped and ready to fly but the weather has not yet cooperated with them. At one point they loaded the Twin Otter plans and headed out toward the Alaska Range but the weather deteriorated and they were forced to return to Talkeetna. The group is on standby and will jump when the pilots call and tell them to meet at K2 Aviation. We are hoping the weather clears and they can fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier soon. Best of luck!

Summit day. This morning we got up a little after midnight to a starry calm night. We ate breakfast and put the final touches on our packing and just before two o'clock in the morning we marched out of camp. Within 40 minutes we encountered steep snow slopes and began pitching it out. We slowly worked our way up our route climbing close to 2,000 feet of beautiful ice and snow. The whole team did a fantastic job today. We reached the summit of Alpamayo just before 8:00 AM. Tired as we were, everyone stayed focused for our decent and we walked back into camp tired but extremely happy. We will begin our descent to Base Camp tomorrow. Thanks so much for following along on our climb. It has truly been an honor to climb such a beautiful peak with such a great group. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

Update Saturday, May 30th 8:30 pm PDT Mike Walter & team were safely back at camp by 6 pm PDT. They will begin their descent to Basecamp tomorrow. Saturday, May 30th 2:40 pm PDT RMI Guide Mike Walter and team are standing on the summit of Mt. McKinley! Mike reported a strong team and and short-sleeve weather on top. The team will begin making their descent shortly and will send a dispatch when they are back at camp. Way to go team!

On The Map

The final team is at Camp Three for the night. Just got off the radio with them and all is well. With great weather, all members... getten er dun! While the vast majority of the teams here have now finished with their acclimatization runs, RMI is wrapping it up in the next couple of days with great conditions and no crowds on the ropes. Our group has been working to support all waves in a very calculated way. This type of approach has proven itself time and again. In this extreme environment there is not much room for error. Here at Basecamp (17,500 ft) life is no picnic in itself, let alone these guys at 23,000 ft camped on an ice ledge with a couple of thousand feet of steep ice pulling at them from below. It's comforting to know our guys are some of the best in the business. Some of the other teams are going way down valley where things like trees grow. Man, do I miss the color green. Unless someone is a bit sick we will probably stay at Basecamp and rest here before the summit push. There are many different approaches about what to do at this pivotal point in the expedition, it's tough to second guess what is the right decision for each individual. Many an hour has been spent on this debate. In the end you make the call and hope for the best.