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Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team - Happy To Be Home

June 6, 2016

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Jess Matthews

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

The May 10th Denali Expedition led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, and Jess Matthews were able to fly off the Kahiltna Glacier around 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June 3rd. After 24 days long days on the mountain, the team rushed off for showers, greasy burgers, and real beds. The team's patience paid off with a successful summit of Denali but everyone is excited to be returning home to their loved ones. Congratulations climbers!

The last few weeks have been pretty spectacular. Was fortunate to stand on top of the "Great One" with an amazing, hard working @rmiexpeditions crew. The AK Range officially has my heart.

A photo posted by Jess Matthews (@jess_matthews2) on Jun 5, 2016 at 9:06am PDT

Denali: Walter & Team Complete First Back Carry

May 10, 2016

Posted by: Mike Walter, Billy Haas, Blake Votilla

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Monday, May 9, 2016 - 11:35 p.m. PDT Hello from 11,000' on Denali! Our team had a great day today, as we were able to travel back down glacier to retrieve our cache. Now we're back at 11,000' and after a fulfilling dinner of quesadillas we are all set to make another carry up around Windy Corner (13,600') tomorrow, weather permitting. The weather forecast looks good for the next few days, and we're psyched to take advantage of it. It will be nice to trade in our sleds and snowshoes for ice axes and crampons. The approach is over and the climb is beginning. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Adelle,

Thinking of you and can’t wait to hear all the stories when you return!!!

Posted by: Dada Bredell on 5/11/2016 at 2:47 am

Hi Adelle!!
Hope you are well and keeping strong.
Thinking of you and cheering for you all the way.
Lots of love
Anelise
xxx

Posted by: Anelise on 5/11/2016 at 2:05 am

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Denali: Walter & Team Opt for a Rest Day

May 9, 2016

Posted by: Mike Walter, Billy Haas, Blake Votilla

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Sunday, May 8, 2016 - 10:49 p.m. PDT Hey guys! Not much news to report today. We rose early and had breakfast with the intent of going back down the Kahiltna to retrieve our cache of supplies that we buried two days ago. But, winds and visibility on the Kahiltna, coupled with the fact that we could use a rest day, made us change our minds. Instead we got some much deserved rest at camp today. All in all it was a good day. Now we are eager and with rested legs to get our cache tomorrow so that we can continue working our way up this mountain. On another note, Happy Mother's Day! To all mothers, but especially to these great mothers: Jeanne, Lizard, Kelly, Mimi, Judy, Lynn, Kelly, Melanie, Daphne, Michele, Hao, Nancy Kay, Ann Irwin, Maureen, Toni, Nana, Mama, Maria, and Buffy. Goodnight and we'll check back in again tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Thanks for the Mothers Day wishes. Good luck with the weather and collecting your cache, I hope you can find it! Well done on the progress you have made so far dearest Rogan and the rest of the team. Wonderful photo posted on this blog. Lots of love, Mom xx

Posted by: Daphne Carew on 5/10/2016 at 2:01 pm

Hey congratulations on your climbing so far. Keep up the good work and I look forward to climbing this mountain my self sometime in the future.

Posted by: Kevin on 5/10/2016 at 7:56 am

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom & Team Visit the Otavalo Market

January 23, 2016

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 15,300'

Hey everybody. This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador Volcanoes trip. We have a great day today. We started off with a nice leisurely breakfast at La Casa Sol. We departed there at about 10:30 and made our way, just about 10 minutes down the road, to the big open air market of Otavalo. Otavalo has one of the largest markets in South America. It just so happens that Saturday is the big market there. We spent a little more than an hour doing some shopping, a little bartering and just general sightseeing as we made our way around the the central square in the town of Otavalo. After we had our fill there, we hopped in our van and we go to the town of Cayambe, which sits just at the base of the mountain Cayambe where we had a nice lunch and then we loaded up the vans one more time and had a nice bumpy, but enjoyable, ride up to the hut that is right at the base of the glacier here on Cayambe. We're currently relaxing up here at about 15,000 feet. In fact it is a little after 8:30 for us here, that's east coast time, and the team is outside looking up at a beautiful full moon and a fantastic view of Cayambe. Everyone's doing great. We're going to head to bed here pretty soon and then hopefully head up to the glacier tomorrow to do a little training in preparation for our climb. Other than that everything is going great for us and we'll check in again sometime tomorrow. Alright thank you guys. RMI Guide Casey Grom

RMI Guide Casey Grom calls in from Cayambe Climber's Hut.

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Thank you, Casey, for these wonderful updates and for this awesome expedition! I loved my phone call from the top of Cayambe.

We are thinking of all of you, and can’t wait to hear the stories and see the photos!

Group hug!

Laura

Posted by: Laura Bryson on 1/25/2016 at 6:57 am

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Mexico’s Volcanoes: Justman & Team Summit Ixtaccihuatl

November 11, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

Elevation: 17,340'

Hey, everyone, this is JJ and Mike and Team Mexico. I'm going to give everyone 3 seconds to guess, that's right, three seconds to guess where we are. You don't need that much time you guessed it, we are all 100%, the entire team, is on the summit of Ixta as we speak. I'll tell you what, it was a beautiful day climbing, actually probably my best day on Ixta of all my years, over a decade of coming here. Just a beautiful day climbing and a great strong team, we worked hard but everyone did well. We are taking a few summit photos, have a little bit of water and food and then we are going to throw the rucksacks back on and head down hill. Don't go too far away we are going to go all the way down to Puebla later this afternoon. And I'm going to hopefully make a summit video as well as post a few photos. Thanks for following along. We are really excited to be up here and we really appreciate your support. So stay tuned a little later and you'll see how beautiful today was climbing. Take care everyone, chao from the summit of Ixta. RMI Guide JJ Justman

RMI Guide JJ Justman calls from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl, 17,340', Mexico.

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Congrats to Rhonda and the rest of the team. Stay strong and be safe.

Posted by: Judy on 11/11/2015 at 10:13 am

Awesome!! Congratulations on summiting Ixta! We love the blog and hearing how the expedition is progressing. Can’t wait to see the photos and videos! Hello to our son, Nick:-)!! Good luck with the rest of the week.

Posted by: Julie Beres on 11/11/2015 at 7:35 am

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Mt. Elbrus: Justman & Team Explore St. Petersburg

July 21, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside

Hello from St. Petersburg!! Today our team had an incredible tour of some of the beautiful sights of the city. No doubt it is the perfect way to end a great adventure here in Russia. We visited several cathedrals as well as The Hermitage, which holds some of the greatest art pieces in the World! Enjoy the video below but to be honest...it doesn't do it justice. You have to see it for yourself!! Also stay tuned for Part Two...the team will be taking a boat tour of the gorgeous canal systems that makes St. Petersburg known as "The Venice of The North". RMI Guide JJ Justman

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JJ / Team. ..Congratulation on successful climb. ..JJ you are quickly becoming my favorite cinematographer…Elbrus was 2010 for me…Your videos made me feel like I had returned. ..Best + Bls…Waltero

Posted by: Walter Glover on 7/22/2015 at 9:57 am

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Cotopaxi Express: Teams travels to Illiniza Refugio

October 28, 2025

Posted by: Mike Bennett, Sam Hoffman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 15,100'

Today the team left the comfort of Quito to begin our journey south to Illiniza Norte (because Illiniza Sur is apparently hard so we’re going to skip it). Unfortunately, we had to make an early morning start to get from our rooms to the hotel lobby by 9am.

With everyone safely on the bus we began the drive south to a famous gas station to buy critical snacks, meet our local guides Gustavo, Felipe (one of RMI’s finest) and Jaime, and sign paperwork. After saying goodbye to the gas station (and the last real toilet) we continued our drive to the trail head where we met horses and mules to carry our gear to the refuge.

We are now furiously chomping down popcorn and hoping for a good climb tomorrow.

- RMI Climber, Joe Maguire & Team

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Cotopaxi Express October 25, 2025

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Good Luck on the climb everyone!! You have some of the best guides ever in Mike, Jaime, and the others! Got to climb with them in Ecuador and they are great! And I think I may know of that famous gas station! Have fun and safe climbing!!

Posted by: William Eldridge on 10/28/2025 at 5:10 pm

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Aconcagua Expedition: Smith & Team at Casa de Piedra

January 23, 2019

Posted by: Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 10,550'

We all slept under the stars last night. No tent, just a sleeping pad and sleeping bag. You feel like a cowboy. The moon shone so bright you didn't need a headlamp to see anything. The morning came, we packed up, and continued our walk down the Vacas Valley. An hour into our walk we saw our first guanaco, the Llama of Argentina. After walking for a handful of hours we arrived at Casa de Piedra. We set up our tents and relaxed in the sunshine or down by the river until dinner. With the sun down and well fed we are all turning in. Tomorrow is big, we finally arrive to basecamp where we get to settle in for a few days. Hasta luego, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

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Go team! Have a great climb John! Know you are loved.! Ma

Posted by: Jill on 1/24/2019 at 4:23 pm

Jason,

Are you able to wear your ankle monitor and hiking boots? ;-)

Have a great expedition.

Posted by: Darren Angus on 1/24/2019 at 8:50 am

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Mt. Rainier: Okita, King & Teams Summit in Beautiful Weather

July 11, 2018

Posted by: Brent Okita, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

This morning our Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams reached the highest point in Washington in beautiful, clear weather. The teams also met up with our Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team that ascended from Camp Schurman. After many high-fives and handshakes, they all began their descent down their respective routes. A great job by all teams!

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Great job Climbers! Can’t wait to hear all about it & see pics. We’ll have dinner for the team & Rick’s favorite cookies tonight. Your Mammas love you!! Mamma Kerr :)

Posted by: Mamma Kerr on 7/11/2018 at 2:44 pm

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Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Snow Day at 7,800’

June 22, 2018

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello, Nikki Champion

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,800'

Friday, June 22, 2018 - 8:57 pm PT The snow just kept on coming down last night. It didn’t pile up all that deeply, but it was persistent and wet. We kept checking through the early morning hours, and then through the mid morning hours after a team breakfast, but it went right on until the early afternoon. By then we’d determined to take a hint and declare a rest day. Things actually cleared up nicely by mid-afternoon and Denali came out in all her glory. By then it was unbearably hot in the tents and would have been about ten times hotter walking uphill with big packs and sleds. We rested. It was burrito night in the main dining tent and after a great feed and some storytelling, we returned to the tents under once again cloudy skies. We’ll hope for a better morning tomorrow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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We are so enjoying following your journey and the pictures are magnificent. Continuing to pray for good weather, safety, and health of all of you! Godspeed!

Posted by: Shari Ramsey on 6/24/2018 at 9:28 am

Jon & Margaret - Stay healthy and in good spirits. I check this blog every day.

Posted by: Joy Reuter on 6/24/2018 at 8:29 am

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Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team - Happy To Be Home

Denali: Walter & Team Complete First Back Carry

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Denali: Walter & Team Opt for a Rest Day

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom & Team Visit the Otavalo Market

Mexico’s Volcanoes: Justman & Team Summit Ixtaccihuatl

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Mt. Elbrus: Justman & Team Explore St. Petersburg

Cotopaxi Express: Teams travels to Illiniza Refugio

Aconcagua Expedition: Smith & Team at Casa de Piedra

Mt. Rainier: Okita, King & Teams Summit in Beautiful Weather

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Snow Day at 7,800’

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