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This is Dave Hahn calling from 14,000' on Denali. Today was our first nice day in at least three or four days. We took full advantage of it and carried loads up the West Buttress. We reached 17,000', just a few hundred feet above Washburn's Thumb and maybe a 1/2 hour's easy walk from camp at 17,000'. We cached food and fuel up there and came back down to 14,000'. Beautiful day and quite a relief from the snow storms we have been experiencing for the last few days. Everybody got the big view from up on the West Buttress looking out at Foraker and Hunter. It is still a sea of clouds down low covering the rest of Alaska but we were above it all today. Everything is going well and we'll check in again soon.

Billy called from their high camp this morning. The weather is beautiful and they are ready to make their summit attempt on Aconcagua in the morning. He will call us from the summit, weather permitting, tomorrow. Wish them luck!

Friday, June 7, 2019 - 7:17 PM PT We woke up to a calm and clear morning. The air was significantly warmer at the 4:30 am wake up call. A perfect day to get camp packed up and moved to 11,200’. The Team has seen all but the last three hours during our cache day. Leaving the snowshoes on our sleds we climbed up the Kahiltna glacier in crampons and made excellent time. Our goal was to beat any afternoon thunderstorms that had been rolling over Kahiltna Pass the last few afternoons. We pulled into camp shortly after 1 pm feeling the altitude and heavy pack/sled combo. I can hear some snoring from some as they nap in the heat of their tents. Others are reading and organizing their gear. Everyone in this group is doing well with the heavy loads and rapid swings in weather. Tomorrow we will get an early start so we can retrieve our cache at 9,300’ and then the remainder of the day will be our first “active rest” day. Light clouds are moving into camp but we still have great views of Kahiltna Dome and the West Buttress of Denali, the namesake of our climbing route. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

Good afternoon from Talkeetna everyone! The May 13 Denali Team is safely in Talkeetna and ready to get this grand adventure underway. The team spent the morning exploring Talkeetna before sitting down for an orientation with NPS to discuss the many facets of life on Denali. After a brief but informative discussion we shifted over to an empty aircraft hangar provided by K2 Aviation to begin tearing apart our equipment and making sure we have the necessary items for safe travel and a long trip. By early afternoon the team had their duffel bags and backpacks packed and ready to be weighed and marked by K2. During that time my two assistant guides were busy running through our 22 days of food and organizing the rest of our group gear for the trip. It's an overwhelming process at times and the shear amount of gear needed for a successful Denali expedition slowly began to show itself. It's a good feeling however to now say that everything is prepared and ready for our flight onto the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. We'll take the afternoon to relax, unwind and enjoy the amenities of town life before hopefully leaving it all behind tomorrow. We're all looking forward to a great meal tonight at Denali Brewing Company and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we'll rise early and be ready for a potential flight in. In Alaska, flights in and out of the great range depend greatly on the weather. We'll cross our fingers for a decent window tomorrow to kick things off. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll be sending these dispatches from the Kahiltna Glacier! The team is psyched, the guides are psyched and life is good! Thanks for following along and as always, stay tuned for more! RMI Guide Steve Gately

On the good side, it wasn’t windy last night. The tents were quiet and we got good rest. On the bad side -from a flying perspective- nothing else changed. It was still snowing and the clouds were still sitting right down on top of us this morning... and throughout the day. Nobody went flying. So the folks in Punta Arenas who were hoping to get in stayed put. The people at the South Pole wanting to get back to Union didn’t. The gang out at Vinson ready to go home sat at Base Camp. The peeps at Union wanting to head to Vinson had to wait. Those that wanted to go to the Pole did not. And the five of us intent on escaping Antarctica never had a chance today. So we took it easy, went for walks and lectures and books. Ate meals and took naps and read forecasts of more poor weather. Basically, we hung in there. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 11:40 PM PT Today we got a nice breakfast in town and headed over to the hanger for a final bit of packing. The weather turned out to be a bit fickle so we started some training to pass the time and our fingers were crossed for improving weather. We went to our lunch break and just when the rain started in town the mountains opened and we got the word we would try to fly on the glacier. We’re finally here at Base Camp and will make our first move early in the morning toward 7,800 camp at the base of Ski Hill. We enjoyed our first dinner as the skies were clearing and caught a glimpse of Denali in the distance! RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Bryan Mazaika and Nick Scott

On The Map

The final Mount Shuksan climb of the year ushered in the autumn season with some winter weather last week.  The occasional storm brought us fresh snow and great training conditions.  The whole team was able to learn a ton of mountaineering skills and summit the classic peak via the Southeast Ridge.  Great team. Great trip. RMI Guide Ben Liken

On the Disappointment Cleaver route of Mt. Rainier, RMI Guides Seth and Solveig Waterfall led their Four Day Summit Climb Teams to the summit this morning. Meanwhile on the Emmons Glacier route of Mt. Rainier, RMI Guide Mike Haugen led the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons to the summit this morning. All teams reported light winds and warm temperatures while on the summit. The Four Day Summit Climb teams will descend back to Camp Muir before returning to Paradise this afternoon and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons will descend to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. Congratulations Climbers!

Monday, June 24, 2019 - 1:19 PM PT We're taking a rest day today after a big day yesterday and in preparation of moving to High Camp on Denali for our summit bid. The weather is sunny today even though snow and clouds were forecasted. We're hoping to move to High Camp in the next day or two if we get a weather forecast that looks favorable for a summit attempt. In the meantime, we're resting and acclimating and getting stronger. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

This is Mike checking in for the Mexico Volcanoes team. Everyone arrived with bags in tow yesterday. We will head out in a few minutes for a day hike on La Malinche. The goal today is to stretch the legs and lungs a bit and sleep at 10,000’ tonight. Our drive today takes us out of Mexico City and into the surrounding countryside for three scenic hours before climbing the lower slopes of the mountain. we’ll spend the night in little cabanas after our acclimatization hike. We’ll check in each day, thanks for following along. RMI Guides Mike King & Dustin Wittmier