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June 29, 2014 - 8:23 am PT We finally got off Mt. McKinley as the snow stopped and the clouds parted. We wrapped up a great adventure with a great meal that did not have to be rehydrated. I want to thank Bruce and Josh for being great partners in our adventure. Bruce is one of my heroes. Even though he is blind, he climbs with a natural ability and has a great mountain sense. He truly understands what mountaineering is all about. I look forward to our future adventures together! RMI Guide MIke Haugen and Team "The Ocho"

A very dry snow started falling yesterday after we returned from our carry to 16,200' and continued throughout the night. When we finally emerged from the tents 6 - 8" of new snow covered camp. As we fired up the stoves for breakfast we dug out camp, clearing all of the snow from the tents, resetting the tent anchors, and pulling our backpacks and climbing gear out from beneath the surface. With no plan but resting and sitting around camp today, we had a casual breakfast - cooking up a heaping amount of bacon and sitting inside the kitchen, talking about normal 4th of July weekend activities while we listened to the snow fall on the tent above. These rest days can be some of the more mentally difficult days of an expedition as there isn't much to do but sit idely and wait for our move. While they are important for our acclimatization and physical recovery, they are also a test in patience as we wait for the hours to go by. Thankfully the team is doing well and it has been welcome down time after a few big days back to back. We occupied a few hours in the afternoon paring down our gear for high camp and fitting our overboots to our climbing boots and crampons in preparation for our summit bid. We're waiting to see what the weather brings us for tomorrow. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

The Four Day Summit Climb May 20 - 23, 2011 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning under clear skies. The team experienced light winds and cold temperatures on their climb from Camp Muir to the summit. They spent some time on the summit before starting their descent. Congratulations to the teams!

Today our group woke up in Mweka Camp after a long and well-needed night of sleep. We had our last breakfast courtesy of Barking Zebra, drank too much coffee, and then began our 4,000+ foot descent to Mweka gate.

On our way down, we experienced mud of all kinds. As we slowly navigated our way down, careful not to fall or twist an ankle, we watched deft porters sprint past us, Shania Twain blaring on their speakers.

At Mweka gate, we said our final goodbye to Kilimanjaro and took one last dirty group photo.

As we ate our final Kilimanjaro lunch, Angela/Breslin (Dave still can’t tell us apart) snuck away to feed watermelon to the rogue tortoises ambling around the grounds. Our amazing porters, who kept us well fed, housed, and alive for a week, sent us off with an a cappella dance party, which forced Jay to get his hands out of his pockets.

On the bus ride back to Usa River, we were able to see Kilimanjaro in all her glory, towering well above 19,000 feet. It was hard to imagine we were at the top 24 hours ago.

Per usual, Dave provided clear instructions about what would happen next and every one of us, especially Kaleb, incorrectly remembered the details. Somehow we all made it to dinner at the Rivertrees Country Inn in one piece, smelling better and ready for safari.

The last week on Kilimanjaro was truly memorable and our group stayed positive and laughing during the rare but difficult times. We debated the pros and cons of cutting a goat hotdog-style versus hamburger-style; reveled in Dave’s many colorful and fascinating stories (“chicks on feet!”); and competed for the final bags of lemongrass tea.

Tomorrow, our group will head out for a new adventure and we’ll say goodbye to one of our own, Walt, who definitely didn’t help the government plant microchips in our brains.

As Dave would say, “well hey guys, let’s go check out some dik-diks.”

May 17, 2024 11:22PM PT

First mountain day in the books. After a pretty grim weather forecast, we had planned to sleep in a bit and have a later breakfast. To our surprise, K2 Aviation called us at 7:30 AM to tell us the weather looked great and to make our way over to the hangar.

By 9 AM, we had changed into our mountain boots and loaded into the plane. After a beautiful flight, we landed at basecamp - unloaded, organized, and rigged up the sleds, buried a basecamp cache for our return, and made our way out onto the lower Kahiltna.

It was a long heavy day - the one day of the trip we carry everything we brought.

Under blue skies, we rolled onto the base of the Ski Hill, built camp, and settled in.

We had a dinner of mac and cheese with bacon and got gear ready to cache tomorrow.

Hoping for another beautiful day, but just glad to be moving.

Check in tomorrow!

RMI Guides Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom and Team

Friday May 14, 2021 6:36 pm PT

Our team had a great day today, waking up to cloudless skies after a good night's rest. We hauled our backpacks and sleds laden with supplies up to 10,000', just shy of "The Corner" below Kahiltna Pass. After digging a deep hole in which to cache our gear, we returned back to our camp at the base of Ski Hill, 7,800'.

We returned to camp in the afternoon after the six hour round trip with time to lounge before firing up the stoves for dinner. The plan for tomorrow is to pack up camp and move up to the 11,200' camp. We'll keep you posted.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

Monday, June 3, 2019 - 9:11 PM PT And on the sixth day, we rested. Boy it felt good to just stay in one place for a day. We woke up to some winds and a little bit of snow, and we were due for our annual rest day here at 11,000' Camp, so we took full advantage. There was no up and attem this morning, as we let our bodies sleep, and waited until 9am to indulge in a eggs and hashers feast. We had a little bit of sun midday, but most of the day the mountain seemed to spit snow and coat us in clouds as we practiced some climbing skills that are pivotal for the coming days. Not much else to report from a day of rest, and that’s a beautiful thing. We’re hopeful to carry tomorrow to a cache site at 13,600’, but the mountain will make the call in the morning. Until then, stay tuned. RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe, and Team Tasty Bite

On The Map

The team slept in this morning after a long day climbing to 16,400' yesterday. With our cache in place we are now just waiting for the right weather window. Unfortunately the forecast is calling for a strong low pressure system to move through the area starting this evening through possibly Tuesday. The system is expected to bring high winds and heavy snowfall. The weather up until now has been spectacular so I suppose we can handle a few days of rest. That's all for now. Thanks for following along. RMI Guide Steve Gately

On The Map

Saturday, July 7, 2018 2:37 AM PST Some days you eat the bear... We’re down at 11,000 ft. We had lofty ambitions this morning but Denali played hard to get. There was a mean wind blowing through much of the night and sadly right through the morning. We waited it out as long as we could but called it at mid day. Tough as it was to let go of the summit, it was pretty obvious that it was out of reach under the circumstances. We broke camp at 17 and got moving down -as did every last climber on the mountain. A storm is moving in, according to the forecasters. For that though, today was spectacular once we were on the move. There is a bunch of forest fire smoke creating a haze, but we still got great views down to the Kahiltna Glacier as we carefully walked the ridge crest, dropped down the fixed lines, dug out our sleds at 14k and pushed on around windy corner with heavy loads. We piled on down the squirrel hills and motorcycle, and came into 11,000 at 9:30 PM. Our tents went up fast and dinner wasn’t far behind. The air down here is chock full of oxygen and it isn’t nearly so cold as we’ve gotten used to. We’ll get some low altitude sleep and plot our final escape to the airstrip soon. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Jordan Cargill reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Steve reported clear skies, light winds and very cold temperatures with some thunderheads building in the east. The team will spend some time on the summit before heading back to Camp Muir. Congratulations to Today's Teams!