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Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Monday, June 3, 2025 - 7:22 am PT
We awoke to low visibility and fresh snowfall on our tent. We waited a few hrs in hopes that the clouds would rise and visibility would improve . We never left camp to start our carry and we are thankful we didn’t because the weather deteriorated more that afternoon and into the evening. While staying at camp we snacked, napped, read and organized camp. We then had some delicious, spicy burritos for dinner and talked about writing a guide book for hot sauces.
Shout out to all our friends and family back home!
Best,
RMI Guides Lacie, Dustin, Will and team
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Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 19, 2025 - 6:37 pm PT
We took a full and proper rest day today. It has been snowing more or less all day in camp, and the winds started to pick up a bit this afternoon. That made it easy to take a long breakfast, rest and read in tents, and take naps throughout the day. We spent a bit of time building some snow walls, which everyone got quite excited about, and some more time reviewing fixed line techniques for when we go higher. We are working on a reindeer sausage jambalaya for dinner, and we'll see if the snow and wind let up over night.
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben and team
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 13,074'
We had a leisurely morning in Pheriche - taking our time to pack and sit in the sunroom playing games. Much needed after our big Lobuche push.
We said goodbye to Dawa, our head Sherpa guide, as he heads back to Everest Base Camp to climb this season and took off out of Pheriche.
Right before we left town, we were sent off by two more of the floofiest baby yaks. Always a day maker.
We took in the views and walked just under three hours to our teahouse in Pangboche. A lovely short day so we had the afternoon to rest before two big days of walking ahead.
RMI Guide Jess Wedel
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Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Ben Luedtke, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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EAT.
SNOW.
LAY.
Today, is another rest DAY.
But, tomorrow we will PLAY.
RMI Climber Andrew
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Mt. McKinley Expedition June 9, 2025
This is your moment!!! Love and hope to you all, that your imagined dreams become reality!!
Posted by: Julie Couturier on 7/1/2025 at 4:39 am
Let’s go!!!! Praying for the break in weather and safe journey up! Miss you Mikayla, you got this! Stay safe - love Mack!
Posted by: Mack Thompson on 6/27/2025 at 11:41 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Calvin Jiricko, Bailey Servais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,200'
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 - 10:19 pm PT
Today, life at 14,200 was pretty easy compared to yesterday. We had a slow breakfast and then roped up to retrieve our cache down at 13,500 ft. The day started with a cloud cap on the South Peak. As we went about our business that gradually morphed into cloud everywhere and a snowy day. But our timing was right and we got our work done before the snow. It only took 20 minutes to walk down to the cache, perhaps another 20 to dig it up and a little more than an hour to climb back up to camp. We were home by a little after noon. Then it was a tent afternoon while the snow fell. It was light, but persistent. Still snowing now at 8:40PM but without any wind. Certainly we’ll hope for some clearing in the night or tomorrow morning.
- RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Mt. McKinley Expedition, June 14, 2025
Nice work team…Proud of you all!
Posted by: Wallis on 6/26/2025 at 4:51 pm
Onward. Hope all is well and weather is good. Regards to all.
Posted by: Richard Harmetz on 6/26/2025 at 1:58 pm
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
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Friday, May 16, 2025 - 10:19 pm PDT
We started our day with breakfast at latitude 62 and ended our day with dinner at latitude 62. Can anyone guess where our day will start tomorrow?!
We spent the morning talking about the finer points of Denali climbing while learning and practicing some new skills. In the afternoon, our pilots at K2 along with the Denali base camp manager saw a break in the weather. Giddy with excitement, we loaded up the plane with all of our bags, put on our mountain clothes, and patiently waited for our chance for take off. Unfortunately, mountain weather can be a fickle beast and the mountain wasn't ready to let us in just yet. We became mesmerized by some classic Denali climbing films and fantasized about when we would soon be in those very spots.
Waiting is inevitable in the mountains, but always hard, especially at the beginning of a trip. I could not be more proud of our team's attitude. They are taking everything in stride and with a smile. We are enjoying constant laughs, telling stories, and building camaraderie that will enable us to run when our feet hit the ground. We will be ready to fly when our time comes. Hopefully that time is tomorrow morning!
RMI Guides Jackson, Ray, Seth and Team
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McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Posted by: Eric Frank, Joe Hoch, Ben Ammon, Calvin Jiricko, Tom Skoog, Hannah Billings
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,100'
Led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Joe Hoch, the Four Day Climb May 8 - 11 teams reached an elevation of 13,100 feet today before being turned back due to route conditions. They are currently descending to Camp Muir for a short rest and to repack before continuing down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
After our big day yesterday, today was some well deserved R & R. We slept in a bit and had a slow morning of bagels and bacon. We then headed to the edge of camp to dig up our cache. After a few hours of rest we then took some time to review fixed rope skills to prepare us for tomorrow, to carry up the fixed lines up above 16,000'.
We then enjoyed some dinner of potato soup and chicken sausage and called it a night.
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
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Mt. McKinley Expedition May 27, 2025
Tell Brandon we are sending good vibes, a lot of positive energy and a lot of Prayers! Remember, You’re not just climbing the highest mountain in North America, but you’re proving how strong you truly are!
Climb High and Stay Strong!
You Got This! Can’t wait to drink a beer with you as soon as you’re back. JT
Posted by: John Tamburo on 6/12/2025 at 7:30 am
Tell Brandon the megel bros and burn we hope you’ll doing great keep pushing almost there! Remember if it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you!
Posted by: Derek goral on 6/11/2025 at 5:55 pm
Posted by: Daniel May, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
We woke up to a surprising blue bird day. The frosty tents and cold night told us the skies were clear. Taking advantage of the good weather we hiked along the relatively flat Ruth Glacier heading deeper into the gorge eyeing new terrain along the way. We caught a glimpse of the east face of Mount Dickey, basically two El Capitans stacked on top of each other and riddled with snow and ice. After a whole day of exploring we made it back to camp just in time for a dinner of some tasty burgers. The team has decided that to counter the incoming bad weather we keep hearing about, they will work on digging underground tunnels from their tents to our cook tent using only sporks. Results to come in future posts.
RMI Guide Dan May & the Ruth Glacier Team
New Post Alerts:
Ruth Glacier Seminar May 2, 2025
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Calvin Jiricko, Bailey Servais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
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Friday, June 20, 2025 9:59pm PDT
Happy Solstice from 11,000 ft
Today was our longest climbing day of the trip so far. We were up just after 2 a.m., in the shadows of the Kahiltna Glacier. Climbing began at 4:20 a.m. on the now-familiar Ski Hill. It was a cool morning, and the walking was easier thanks to a hard overnight freeze.
The hill steepened as we gained elevation, offering a striking view of the pyramidal granite of the West Buttress towering ahead. The team remained in shadow—a welcome relief—when we paused near our 10,000 ft cache from yesterday.
Leaving the main glacier, we stepped into the sun as we entered the basin below 11 Camp. We made it into camp in just under six hours, then spent a couple more building a secure and comfortable site.
There are a few clouds drifting about, but we expect the sun to stay with us well into the Alaskan night.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
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Mt. McKinley Expedition, June 14, 2025
So beautiful and incredible! Keep climbing strong, we are all cheering for you!
Posted by: Lawrence Chan on 6/21/2025 at 1:02 pm
So proud of all of you
Posted by: Jonica Stingl on 6/21/2025 at 12:54 pm
Hoping you all woke up to better weather today. Thank you for the updates and photos! Sending you all good vibes :)
Posted by: Tanya on 6/4/2025 at 8:17 am
Hey Dustin! Sending best wishes for the weather to be perfect for the rest of your climb!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/3/2025 at 11:14 am
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