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Tuesday, June 26, 2018 - 10:58 PM PT Ahhhh. We made it to a much deserved rest day. It kept on snowing lightly through the night with some restless breezes playing through in the morning, but we didn’t care much what it did. We slept in and did a long, slow, yummy bagel breakfast in our comfortable dining tent. The day was a mix of napping, reading, and visiting with other climbers. We watched a handful of neighboring teams pick up and move to 14,000' Camp, although it looked as though they’d have to deal with higher winds on the way. Weather got gradually better through the day and by evening it was just calm, sunny and nice. At dinner we went through plans for our own big move up to 14,000' Camp tomorrow. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Friday, June 1, 2018 - 4:58 PM PT Today we awoke to a clear and cold morning in camp and after breakfast we began the hour long climb up Ski Hill. Taking advantage of the brisk temperature, it allowed us to stay cool and good snow conditions had us walking in just our boots. Walking without snowshoes let us set a good pace to our cache site at 10,200 ft. At the cache, we left some group meals, extra personal food and gas that we don’t need for a few days. After burying our gear, we descended back to camp in bluebird skies, sun and incredible views of the Lower Kahiltna glacier. Soon enough however, the heat of the sun had us retreating back down to camp and into our tents for some rest and relaxation after a hard morning. The menu for tonight calls for some quesadillas, which is most often a favorite meal on the mountain! If the weather holds true tomorrow, we hope to make the ascent again tomorrow and move our camp to 11,200'. RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 5:28 PM PT Today we awoke to some of the first stormy weather of the trip. After sleeping in a little and taking the time to make a delicious pancake and bacon breakfast we roped up and spent the afternoon climbing to Furien Col taking advantage of a good weather window. The climb was steep and involved. We used many of the climbing and anchoring techniques that we've learned throughout the week. It was fun to put our skills to use and get up to a high point. Unfortunately, no views for us because the weather rolled in and we were inside a pingpong ball. We descended from the col and are taking time to rest in our tents. RMI Guide Christina Dale

We are kicking off RMI’s 2018 Denali climbing season. Our team met in Anchorage on Monday afternoon and traveled north to the small town of Talkeetna. Yesterday was a busy day of packing gear and preparing for our expedition, including a trip to the National Park Service to register our group and have a pre-trip orientation. With our bags packed and weighed for loading onto the glacier planes, we’re all set for our adventure. Currently there is some stormy weather that is not allowing airplanes to access the Alaska Range, so we’re in a holding pattern until we get a clearing. We will keep you up to speed with the team’s status. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Hello again everyone. It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Then made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jumpstart on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1,500' before we started our hike to nearly the top of a local peak called Cheget. Normally we got to the top of the peak but being close to the border of Georgia, the Russian military had the upper part closed to climbers for some odd reason. Regardless, we enjoyed stretching our legs. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and plenty of other hikers enjoying the day, and we even caught a few glimpses of Elbrus too. After the hike we made our back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting for us. After lunch we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats. We wrapped up the evening with another nice home cooked meal here provided by our ever so gracious local outfitter. Things are good here. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

June 6, 2017 The cocoon of warmth and comfort provided by our sleeping bags is tough to leave sometimes, especially when the mercury is hovering well below zero outside. But starting at 6:30am that is my job: to look outside and check the climbing conditions for summit worthy weather. The winds around camp had settled a little, but blowing snow was obvious above us around Denali Pass. Although better than yesterday, I was still rather leery of bringing the team into conditions like that. With improvement by 7:30 we had hots on for breakfast and the team prepared all they could by being all dressed and ready to go, but hanging out in their tents and staying warm. At decision time there was still blowing snow off the higher ridges and the Pass, and I made another tough decision not to go for the summit, As soon as it warmed up a bit we continued with the home improvements started yesterday and are now proud owners of a roofed and enclosed bathroom. Ok, basically it's just a place for us to pee and poop, but we'll now have some privacy and a little protection from the gusts of wind and snow we've had to deal with the past few days. Up here, it's the little things that help make this tough life at 17,200' just a little nicer. It was good for all of us to move and work a bit, and many blocks of snow were cut in the construction of our masterpiece. I believe we impressed our neighbors to no end, with many people coming over to garner building tips for making on of their own, or just taking pictures and marveling at the energy we put in to our humble commode. As these days pass by even the most patient of us are getting antsy for the summit, but there's one thing we don't have control of is the weather. So, we just make the most of what we have. Life on this beautiful mountain in the company of some pretty cool people. Things could be a lot worse. Bye for now. RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT

On The Map

May 30, 2017 The weather yesterday evening was a pleasant break in snow showers, but only for a few hours! We had heavy snow over night that wound up only stalling our progress for the time it takes to whip out 100 silver dollar pancakes with blueberries. The morning snow dissipated just as we stuffed the last few items in our packs. We began our climb today in a brisk wind which we welcomed with the hard work of trail breaking. The team did an amazing job getting to our previous high point, where we loaded our personal food and equipment in our sleds. We have "Friends in High Places". Big thanks to our other RMI team lead by Brent, Christina, and JT. They helped us by bringing some of our group food and fuel from our cache yesterday during our storm rest day at 7,800 camp. With the climbing done for the the day, we entered the second half of the work day building camp and a mighty fine job our crew has done. We finished our day with loaded quesadillas and relaxing in the cook house. We are happy to have full bellies and the kit all here ready to rest and acclimatize at camp tomorrow. With weather on our side the team will deliver groceries to 14 Camp on Thursday! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

Today's Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Elias reported colder and windier temperatures than expected on their ascent. The team enjoyed some time on the summit before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Let's get the exaggerations out of the way at the start... Winds today at Low Camp were between 70 and 80 mph. Except those figures are probably right, judging by how many times the gusts demolished the snow walls protecting our tents. Those walls were made of blocks we could barely lift. The storm is well and truly upon us... And upon everyone else too for that matter. There wasn't any moving from camp to camp today -or carrying of loads. It was hunker down and hang on day. The storm didn't let much sun through to warm us either, so life was grim. Conversation in the tents was tough to accomplish with the tent walls snapping like machine guns in your ear. Walking outside the tents was bound to include getting knocked to the ice a few times. But we are still hanging in, here at Low Camp, waiting to catch a break. The views we did have today were quite dramatic, with giant wind sculpted clouds diving off the high peaks. We can't quite say yet that we've been through a full on Antarctic storm yet, because it ain't over. Soon though. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

RMI Guide Leon Davis and the Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams checked in at 7:00 a.m. They were at 13,000' on their descent and Leon reported that it was really nice day on the mountain.