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There were many bright spots to what was otherwise a very cold, snowy and windy week on Mt. Rainier. Our team met on Sunday for our six -day Expedition Seminar and our day of prep was well used as we got our gear all ready for a possible push to Camp Muir the next day. However, the weather on Monday was marginal for moving to Muir, so we got a great day of training on the mountain and camped at about 6,200’ below Panorama point. Tuesday was blue bird and made for excellent hiking conditions to Camp Muir which the entire team reached in good shape. From there the weather conditions deteriorated and Wednesday saw temperatures reaching 2 degrees F with winds averaging 30-40 mph. But that did not keep us from training. Our team only ascended a few feet higher than Camp Muir at 10,188’, but we had a great experience and learned a ton, much of which came courtesy of Mother Nature. Friday the winds abated enough to allow us to descend back to Paradise, although it was still windy, snowy and a white out much of the time. But everybody did really well cramponing and snowshoeing down to Paradise. We later celebrated the week and our time together sharing a burger and a cold one at our favorite local restaurant. From the comfort of the dining room I could take stock of the really bright spot of the week: sharing time with a remarkable group of individuals. RMI Guide Brent Okita