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The Four Day Summit Climb July 20 - 23, 2016 led by RMI Guides Mike King and Kel Rossiter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with clear skies and winds around 15 mph. The team began their descent from the crater rim just before 8 am. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

June 13, 2016 - 7:09 pm PT After a big day caching at 16,400' on the rib we slept in this morning. Eventually folks started to rise and trickle into the kitchen where Steve was make breakfast burritos and fresh coffee, we relaxed, ate and drank our fill until around noon. Then we got geared up for a short walk over to the Edge of the World. Today was a perfect day for it with mostly clear skies and no wind. We spent an hour taking pictures and enjoying the view of the Alaska Range before heading back to camp. We did a little bit of fixed line and running belay training and then chilled for the afternoon. Tonight we will be exploring some exotic cuisine from India and sipping tea before bed. It is looking like the next couple of days will bring snow and high winds to the upper mountain so we will most likely have a couple more rest days at 14 before it breaks later in the week. The weather days are actually a blessing in disguise, it allows us to be fully rested and better acclimatize. Everyone is in good spirits and enjoying some down time. Thanks for following along with us, The Upper West Rib team

On The Map

Hola friends and family! This is Pepper Dee writing along with JJ Justman from Aconcagua Base Camp. Today was a bit of an action packed outing. We started the day off strong with a mule ride across the Vacas River at dawn to reach the base of the Relinchos Valley (probably the closest the team will ever get to starring in a spaghetti western), and then trekked up the valley all day until we reached Base Camp early this afternoon. Everyone is doing great and is adjusting well to life at just under 14,000 feet. It's very windy around basecamp, and we're hoping the gusts start to simmer down during our rest day tomorrow. Hugs from the team! We'll be in touch tomorrow. RMI Guides Pepper Dee and JJ Justman

On The Map

The team woke to cold and snowy conditions at High Camp...normal Aconcagua conditions, just not what we experienced this expedition. We had some gear to pick up at our previous camps, but finally got down to base camp for some much earned beverages and a delicious dinner. We will walk to Leñas, our first trek campsite for the infamous asado...Chapstick application is key to enjoying the grilled carne after being in the Alta Montana for the last two weeks. The moon is newer then our trek in so the stars/Milky Way dust will be in full effect, my favorite place to sleep under the stars. This is our final dispatch of the trip, thanks for the comments. Get down to Leñas next climbing season for the best steak this side of the Galaxy and a bid at the highest peak in South America! RMI Guides Mike King, Jess Matthews & Nick Scott

Climbers on the Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Mike Uchal reached the summit crater of Mt. Rainier at 6:45 a.m. PDT. Brent and Mike reported chilly and breezy conditions on the summit. The teams will spend some time on top before beginning their descent. We look forward to welcoming the climbers back to Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations!

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 - 12:10 am PT

After a big day yesterday and sleeping at 17,000' still, we slept in to get what recovery we could. It was a cold morning, but we eventually roused, downed some breakfast, and got all of our things in packs and headed down. It’s been a funny day of environments. Weather at 17,000 was frigid and clear this morning. Passing through 14,000' Camp felt like we were at the beach, and we said Hi, Good luck, and See ya to our friends with RMI Guide Seth Burns and team.

Moving below 14,000' across the Polo Field, everything was white, muffled, and there was ~24” of new snow on the ground and it was snowing hard. We are now at 11,000' Camp, pausing to sleep and enjoy the warm and oxygen rich climes. It’s not at all how they felt on the ascent! Tomorrow, we’ll pack things one more time, and walk out the Kahiltna Glacier to base camp. We’re excited and ready.

RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and team

Tarangire delivers! Hard not to finish this day by pronouncing ourselves lucky in the extreme. We saw things today... and then we saw more things... and more and more things. At first, we just did a little touristing when we left the Plantation Lodge, hitting a souvenir/art shop and then visiting a Maasai Village. This definitely interested us and is not to be minimized, but then we got into Tarangire National Park and began being mesmerized and amazed. Things built up slowly. First there was the watering hole with a flood of zebra and wildebeest charging in for a drink. Then there were the dozens upon dozens of elephants we watched digging for water. (The proclamation was made -prematurely- that it was the day of the elephant) then there was a landscape where every single tree had a giraffe, eland, waterbuck, impala or warthog under it... for miles. But then there were the cheetahs. Mom and cub, majestic and regal in their fur coats. And then there were the lions. At first there were a handful from a distance... then more of them, walking away. Then a meeting of male and females and cubs in the distance. Then we investigated to find thirteen cats of all sizes going to work on a freshly killed zebra. The sights and sounds were stunning. Better than any TV documentary. Our cameras kept clicking and clicking as the sunlight got golden. But we'd each put the electronics down to just stare in awe as well. A short time later, we were sipping pre-dinner cocktails at beautiful Balloon Camp when our driver/naturalists walked in. Juma and Edson got spontaneous and sustained round of applause. The day couldn't be topped... but it could be savored. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide Robby Young led his team to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The forecasted freezing level of 14,500' rang true and the team topped out with warm temperatures, no clouds and endless views. Their descent began about 7:00 a.m. and we look forward to congratulating them this afternoon.

July 4, 2017 It was the calm and sunny morning we'd been hoping for at 14,000 ft today. Which certainly made it easier to get up and get sorted for going downhill. Independence Day at 14,000' Camp was so nice that we lingered in camp until just after noon. Then it was walking down, hauling sleds around Windy (but not actually windy) Corner, across the Polo Field, down Squirrel and Motorcycle hills and into 11,000 ft. We dug up our long lost cache there and shifted gears. We swapped out crampons for snowshoes and ice axes for ski poles and the got trudging down toward the Kahiltna Glacier. It was stunning to come around the corner and to have the entire glacier laid out below us. We dodged s few crevasses on ski hill and reached our old camp at 8,000' by 7:30. Just in time to throw up tents, enjoy a picnic dinner, watch nature's best fireworks show and to hit the hay for a few hours. We'll likely be up at 1 AM and walking by 3 in our quest for travel in cold conditions. We want the glacier well-frozen for the last bit to the airstrip. I read the blog comments to the team at breakfast this morning (we don't surf the web up here, the comments were cut and pasted into a simple text email to us) and the crew was very happy to hear from so many great friends and loved ones. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Jambo everyone! Yesterday we had a wonderful albeit long day climbing to the top of Africa. We started shortly after midnight beneath a sky full of stars and climbed for a few hours before the moon came out to help light our way. As per usual we climbed in hour increments with 10-15 breaks in between. The weather was very calm allowing us to take our time and not feel too cold which we are thankful for. The climb took about 7 1/2 hrs to reach the crater rim, where we were greeted with a moderate cold wind, but also the warmth of the sun to keep it tolerable. Then came our final stretch over to the top of Kilimanjaro also called Uhuru peak. Once there, we had the place mostly to ourselves and we hugged each other, enjoyed the view and took plenty of pictures. It was a true test of endurance for most of the crew, and I'm really proud of everyone. We descended back to high camp, had a quick lunch, repacked and continued further down the mountain to our final camp on the mountain, where we had dinner and then headed to bed for some well deserved sleep. Today we woke at 7am feeling good, had breakfast, then enjoyed a goodbye song and dance from our gracious crew of posters, cooks, and local guides numbering 46. We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hit the trail one last time. It took a little over three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. Finally we are all safe and sound, and a little less odorous, after an amazing seven day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. The team is currently relaxing and looking forward to Safari which starts tomorrow! RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kilimanjaro crew