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The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom & Ben Thorneycroft have been training and climbing via the Emmons Glacier. Yesterday they moved to Camp Schurman and this morning launched their alpine start.  Their team was in the summit crater around 7 am and is now making their way back to camp.  They will spend a second night at Camp Schurman and then continue down to the trailhead near White River Campground tomorrow.  The team will conclude their adventure tomorrow afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford.

Nice work team!

It was a pretty full day, prepping everything for a few weeks of glacier living and making sure we get it right. We started with an orientation from the Park Service this morning, before diving in to unpacking our kits, and repacking them for the flight to base camp, where we will unpack them again, to pack for climbing. It's a lot of shuffling but we're feeling confident that everything is set to go. And everyone was buoyed as the skies were clear as could be all day. These clear days are when Denali (McKinley) shows off, encased in white and gleaming brightly on the skyline. Weather continues to look good for tomorrow, so we are prepped to fly first thing and get this expedition truly underway!

RMI Guides, Pete, Ben, Nick, and Team

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - 9:24 am PT

Day 7 on the mountain and our first official rest day of the trip. A late wake up, a leisurely breakfast, jovial conversations, and a time to rest, recuperate, contemplate, and prepare for what’s next. It was a beautiful day on the mountain, the sun was out with a light breeze to keep us cool, and views of the Alaska range stretching out before us to drink in. We’ve hit that beautiful moment in any grand outdoor adventure. When a group of random people, be it an expedition team or just a group of folks traveling down the trail at the same speed, spend enough time together that individual goals truly become a shared group goal. Not just because we have group food and gear to carry, but because we have become invested in everyone’s success, not just our own. It materializes in many ways, from sharing tips and tricks on the best way to stretch that aching IT band or hip flexor, to creating a team wide charcuterie board from all our snacks, to sharing the extra face wipes you may have that others didn’t bring. That type of camaraderie is so crucial for the team. Bringing much needed levity and support through all the challenges already experienced and the many more still to come. Today’s date holds a special place for me, 7 years ago, I was lucky enough to exchange vows with my wife Sophia (here on the mountain too) promising to always be there for that next adventure, partners in all the crazy things either of us want to do. Today is also a bittersweet day, as Sophia and I will head back down to base camp to head off the mountain, Denali has proven to be every bit as hard and grueling a challenge as has been advertised and cautioned. But we leave happy for the time we have been able to spend on the mountain and the incredible experiences we have been able to have with such an amazing climbing team. We will be watching closely and cheering on everyone else as they continue on this amazing adventure, while we head home and contemplate the next step in our adventure. 

Happy anniversary Sophia, I love you dearly.

Oh little darling, don’t you look charming Here in the eye of a hurricane 

Real or imagined, what does it matter Look come inside, can I get you to stay

- Hurricane (Johnnie’s Theme) by Lord Huron

RMI Climber Tait Pollard

Thursday, June 13, 2024 8:34 pm PDT

Hello again,

Today we enjoyed our well-deserved rest day! It started with a casual breakfast of hot drinks and blueberry pancakes. That's right folks, Our very own pancake house at 14,000'. With bellies full of pancakes, we then enjoyed lounging in our very hot tents. Letting the bodies recover and rest is Important for the big days we have in front of us. In the afternoon we fine-tuned some skills needed to go up the fixed lines and use running belays. The Team is ready and psyched to get one step closer to our goal of getting to the top and home safely.

Tomorrow, we will do our carry. Once we get the carry in, we Are in position to wait for our summit window. So once again wish us luck and send all the good weather vibes our way.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Tuesday June 4, 2024 3:05pm PDT

Hannah Smith & Team are flying onto the glacier, and will officially start their climb!

Today we practiced the art of chill and sought a much needed day of R&R at lower elevation in the lively, colonial city of Puebla. From visits to the pyramid in Choulula, to various mole covered samples, and viewing historic buildings, our goals were fulfilled. Tomorrow, we head to our final objective of the trip, Pico de Orizaba (18,491’). The weather is looking a bit wet in the morning, however improving through into tomorrow evening. According to our local staff and some weather models, we may even be lucky enough for some fresh snow on the upper portion of the route. But for now, we will worry about enjoying some creature comforts throughout our final evening in this quaint and polished hamlet that is Puebla!

RMI Guide Alan Davis

Muchas Gracias to everyone who followed our team as we set out to climb two of Ecuador's highest mountains. The RMI Ecuador Volcanoes climbing adventure wrapped up yesterday back in the city we started in but our day was anything but ordinary. On Sunday morning we all packed up at Chilcabamba eco lodge after a great day's rest. From there we made our way up to the Jose Ribas Refuigo located at 16,000 feet on the northern slopes of Cotopaxi. At 11 pm, our final day together began. We knew the weather on this giant volcano had not been good for at least three days so we were hoping by the time we arrived and settled in things would be improving. This hope was dashed even before we arrived at the hut. From the time we stepped off the bus to the time we put on our crampons and readied ourselves for the climb, nothing had changed. The winds blew a steady twenty with much higher gusts. Add on top of that a snow so wet I was calling it white rain, and you have yourself a pretty rough climbing day. We all left the hut together at 1:30 am along with 25 other motivated but not necessarily optimistic climbers. 30 minutes into the climb we all resembled walking popsicles but our psych remained high. Things quickly began to deteriorate the higher we went. By 17,000 feet, the mountain had made our decision for us. There would be no summit attempt. Other teams continued on past our retreating group but we saw them back in the hut a few hours later tired, cold and completely encased in ice. They gave the climb a valiant effort but no one came close to reaching the top. I'd like to think we made the smarter choice. After our short attempt we phoned the magic bus and had Victor arrive early so we could escape the angry mountain. By 9 am were bound for Quito. Waking up at 11 pm always throws the body for a loop so a good lunch led into a nice siesta which then led into one of the most enjoyable final evenings I can remember. Thanks to our beer loving Iowa boys, we found ourselves in the beautiful old town of Quito, drinking great locally crafted beer at Bandido's Brewery. The pizza was top notch, the setting unique and the beer superb. The company could not have been better. We told stories of our adventure and made plans for climbs to come. This journey could not have ended any better! Thanks to everyone on the team for being so supportive, flexible and positive. From a guide's perspective we could not have asked for better! Ecuador Volcanoes Out........ RMI Guide Adam Knoff

June 6, 2015 11:08am PST No trip to Denali is truly complete without a taste of the Talkeetna Hang. With the unsettled weather this week continuing, it hasn't been possible to fly in to the Range. While that can be tough for some to hang out in town, it doesn't take many days stuck in a storm on the mountain before we will be wistfully remembering our down days in town. The team is doing their best to stay in the game. Despite being ready with planes loaded and boots on, we spent the day in town, not flying. With nothing else to do for the trip, we set out to really get into the Talkeetna Hang. An afternoon pizza party prompted a trip to the river to skip some rocks and look towards the mountains. We couldn't see anything but dark clouds toward the Range so we pushed on. Making a stop at the historic Fairview Inn the team got into some fierce ping pong action. Doubles, singles, it didn't matter. Nice to get the heart beating again. After the games a farmer's market set up shop nearby, a concert in the park struck up and we eventually returned to the hanger for a game of Cards against Humanity. A solid day of hanging. With any luck we will fly today, but if not I think we can find a museum or two to explore. RMI Guides Jake Beren, Christina Von Mertens, Andrew Kiefer & Team

We were fresh out of good weather today. Ran out sometime during the night. By morning, the high peaks were capped with wind-sculpted clouds and things had a decidedly unstable look. We procrastinated...ate breakfast and watched the progression of cloud formations. We got a weather forecast from Vinson Basecamp around noon, and decided to go for a walk. The thinking was that we'd be climbing in relative calm for several hours, in which time the day could turn sparkly and fine. That isn't what happened though. After a couple of hours and perhaps 1,300 feet of vertical gain, we were in wind and cloud... The times when we were granted better visibility, we could see more wind and cloud up higher. Ultimately, the decision was made that -with the "normal" cold temperatures (-15 to -20 F) we were enjoying, we couldn't fight against very much wind. We turned back to high camp, intent on waiting out this non-storm. The gang cut snow blocks to beef up the tent walls and we dug in just in case a real storm shows up. We are hopeful that morning will bring better things. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Another fine day on Kilimanjaro's trails has led us to high camp. The name of this camp is Barafu which translates to 'ice'. So you can tell it is not always the warmest spot. True enough, we have been getting some ice pellets or graupel hitting the tents since we arrived. Hopefully we'll have the normal evening clearing and a nice climb tonight. The team members are all in our respective tents sorting gear and relaxing before we head out. Our crew just prepared a delicious lunch of hamburgers and macaroni salad. Perfect for the physical effort that awaits us. Our plan is to get up at midnight and get on the trail by 1 AM. It should take us somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 hours to reach the top. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map