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July 5, 2014 - 5:05 pm PT Adam called and reported that they were on their way up to the summit, just below the Football Field with all climbers doing well. Yesterday was a great move day for them, and they continue to enjoy good weather, with blue skies and 20mph winds. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

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The Four Day Summit Climb July 8 - 11and the Five Day Summit Climb July 7 - 11 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The teams reported clear skies with cold temperatures and 20 mph winds. The summit teams started their descent from the crater rim at 7:30 a.m. PT. Congratulations to today's summit teams!

The Four Day Summit Climb June 24 - 27 led by Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team reported cloudy conditions with winds approximately 20 mph. They spent a short amount of time on the summit and were beginning their descent to Camp Muir shortly after 7 a.m. Once at Camp Muir the group will take a short break to re-pack their gear and then begin the remaining descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb!

Climbing a mountain like Denali is different than smaller peaks. On shorter trips to lower altitudes, climbers can push to their physical and mental limits, with slightly less potential consequences. Here, though, it's imperative that climbers be at their peak strength, and that they are mentally prepared for the challenges of the cold, the altitude, and the difficulty of the route. With those considerations as well as a less than ideal weather forecast, we decided to take a rest day at 14,200' today. While the team performed well on yesterday's carry, we all could benefit from some more chilling and sport eating. So we started our day late, with a bodacious breakfast of egg, bacon, and cheese burritos with salsa and hot sauce. Hot coffee rounded out our top-flight mountain café experience. The team is currently resting in the tents and working through excess lunch food, playing cards and reading. So we sit and wait in a state of relaxed anticipation, ready to spring into action as soon as we have ideal weather. Send us your vibes for more sunny, calm days! Until tomorrow, Tyler Jones, Garett Stevens, Erik Endert & the crew

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 2 - 7 led by RMI Guides Mike King and Sam Hoffman met for a day of training and gear checks at Rainier BaseCamp and then headed onto the mountain.  The team ascended to Camp Muir on Sunday and has enjoyed sunshine and blue skies during their training. Climbers practiced ice arrest, crevasse rescue and glacier travel before making their summit attempt.  Today the team launched from Camp Muir with an alpine start, reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier at sunrise via the Ingraham Direct route. RMI Guide Sam Hoffman reported sunshine and moderate winds during their summit climb. The team has returned to Camp Muir where they will spend their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will descend to Paradise and return to BaseCamp to conclude their program.

Nice work team!

PC: Sam Hoffman and Layne Peters

The Four Day Climb June 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom, Mitch Valaitis and Arianna Drechsler enjoyed nice weather over the course of their climb but unstable snow conditions on the upper mountain prevented the team from ascending above Ingraham Flats.  The team enjoyed some additional training and spent the morning at Ingraham Flats.  They plan to descend from Camp Muir at 10 am en route to Paradise.

After a long and heavy day, the team made it all the way to 14,000' Camp with a warm greeting from some fellow RMI teams. We’ve settled into camp, retrieving our gear from below during our back carry. Now being fully set up at 14,000', we are taking advantage of the bluebird skies to rest, practice fixed line travel and walk to the Edge of the World for the beautiful views and photo ops.

Life may be colder up at 14,000' as opposed to 11,000', but no one here seems to be complaining. Life is good.

RMI Guides Dustin, Lacie, Dan, and Team

Monday, July 1, 2019 - 10:34 PM PT Last night’s snowstorm was short-lived, we got perhaps one inch of new at 14 Camp. Afterward, the bulk of the night was calm and in the morning -with some of the smoke washed out of the sky- we were treated to long distance views of the Chugach Mountains to the SE and to volcanoes 150 miles or more to the South. Reports were that it was still windy high on Denali, but in our sheltered bowl at 14,000 ft it was a calm and easy day. We did a long and lazy breakfast of coffee and pancakes which took us pretty much up to lunch. Then it was time for napping, books, TV or movies on the phones, daydreaming, drinking and eating. An enormous cloud cap formed on the upper mountain and so it wasn’t nearly as hot today as it had been, but the mild temperatures have still made life at 14K considerably easier than usual. We are all for easy. With Mike Haugen’s team waiting up at 17,000 and looking to summit tomorrow, we’ll most likely wait another day at 14,000 so as not to crowd them. The forecast is calling for dry and stable weather, giving us the luxury of dragging feet for better acclimatization before we make the big jump up for our summit bid. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The sun hit camp around 7:20 am and the Team got a slow roll to the day. We ate a delicious egg and potato scramble before packing up our cache items. The calm and warm morning facilitated getting out of camp by 10:30. The terrain between the two camps is comprised of three traverses to gain the 1,600’ elevation gain. Between the first and second traverse is the Ameghino Col which provides a sprawling view of the Andes with several glaciated and snow covered peaks. It’s likely the most scenic and photographed part of the climb. We were in Camp 2 at 18,000’ in just under three hours with about 45 minutes to relax and gather our cached items. A cache for those who don’t know is where a climbing team will bury their gear, food and fuel so weather, winds and birds can’t get to it. In our situation we cover our cache with rocks. The Team performed well and descended back to Camp 1 for some well deserved rest in warm tents, gently swaying in a light breeze. There are reports of increasing wind starting on the 24th and lasting for 3-4 days. If we are all feeling good in the morning, we will move our camp to 18,000’ for the storm and batten down the tents for Christmas and a few rest days. Thanks for following along, the Team sends it’s love to the family and friends back home. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

Saturday, June 9, 2018 1:04 AM The couple weeks of hauling massive loads, sitting through snow storms, sunburns, and eating way too much bacon culminated in that fleeting joy of standing on the summit of Denali this afternoon! Our forecasts have been a bit vague, and sometimes less than confidence inspiring, but we woke up this morning to stellar conditions. It was clear, calm as a koala with a full belly of eucalyptus, and the sun promised to warm things from the forecasted overnight temp of -25. We made our way across the autobahn, glad to see the sun part way across. We ticked off the stretches: zebra rocks, arch deacons tower, the football field, pig hill, and the iconic summit ridge. After 8.5 hours of climbing, we were standing on the summit! It was a warm, beautiful day, with an intense sky of clouds that had built at all levels, making surrounding Alaska incredibly dramatic. After our photos and some time, it was time to head home. We are safely back in camp working on a late dinner. Tomorrow we hope to descend to the land of oxygen and warmer temps, hopefully 11,000' or 7600' camp. RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Taylor, and Team

On The Map