Entries from Alaska
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Friday, June 6, 2025 - 6:37pm PT
After three weeks in the mountain we flew from Kahiltna Base Camp this morning. While warming our hands with a final cup of coffee at base camp, we got the message that we had all been waiting for. K2 had launched their planes. Thirty minutes later, the distinctive red and white Otters roared over and landed in the snowy white landscape.
While weather kept us from standing on top this time around, we had a resoundingly successful trip. I cannot thank our climbers and my fellow guides enough for all of their work, effort, laughs, determination, and patience during this trip. Until next time,
RMI Guide Seth Burns
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Friday, June 6, 2025 - 10:45 am PT
Team Dustin/Lacie/Will rose early to low winds, partly sunny skies, & a delightful breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, bacon, & coffee. We broke camp and began our move to Camp 2 at 11,000 feet. The early part of the climb was hot with bright sun, to which one of our Lone Star State participants proclaimed “Welcome to Texas!” The weather gradually turned cloudy with snow which seems to be our mantra but we made good time up the steep terrain. We set up camp and our guides prepared yet another great dinner. The hot sauce selection is truly five stars. The team crashed in anticipation of a full day tomorrow back-carrying yesterday’s cache and training.
--Climber Robert
PS Happy first birthday as a mom to Melissa!
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
Hey Dustin! Sending Best wishes for Strong Legs, Big Powerful Lungs and Perfect weather for you and your team!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/7/2025 at 3:22 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
Thursday, June 5, 2025 - 10:31 pm PT
Another successful day! We slept in a little bit, and had a filling breakfast of smoked salmon, cream cheese and bagels and then rigged our empty sleds and duffles to make our way downhill to our cache. After about 30 minutes of walking downhill in light snowfall, we made it upon our cache site. We made quick work of digging up all of our group and personal food, restocked our sleds and packs and turned around to make our way back uphill. After about two hours of hard work, we made our way back into camp. The rest of the afternoon was spent swapping anchors, and prepping to carry to 13,500' tomorrow. The day was wrapped up with another crowd favorite, burritos and beats by Hannah. Hoping for good weather for our long carry day tomorrow!
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 27, 2025
Wishing Nikki a very Happy Birthday on the 7th and a very successful climb!!
Posted by: MAUREEN ANDREWS on 6/6/2025 at 1:35 pm
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
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Wednesday, June 4, 2025 - 11:35 pm PT
Told you we were feeling optimistic, and it panned out. We were up this morning to light snowfall, but better visibility than we've had in days. We blasted stoves, and had a quick breakfast of oatmeal before taking down camp and packing everything back into our heavy packs and sleds. Once we were saddled up, we followed in line behind many other teams who had the same idea and weaved our way up Ski Hill, through the 9,500' camp, past our cache, and finally up the final hill into 11,000' Camp. Upon our arrival we saw many familiar faces, as weather has been especially bad at 11,000' and climbers haven't been able to move up or cache for over a week. So after some hellos, and searching the crowded camp - we were able to find a spot to settle for the next few days, built platforms and dug out a kitchen before having a filling meal of ramen, and crawling into bed. Tomorrow weather looks favorable for our back carry where we will be reunited with our other 2/3 of food and fuel.
Looking forward to sleeping in a little.
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 27, 2025
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,300'
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 - 10:14 pm PT
When we think of Sisyphus, we think of a man cursed to repeat the same arduous task each day with no end in sight. Each day he must think this is it - he has rolled this massive boulder to the top of the mountain, and surely his quest must be complete, right? Yet he awakes each day to the boulder back at the foot of the mountain, only to start again. How tragic! How crushing!
Or is it? In his essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus”, Albert Camus posits that perhaps Sisyphus is not doomed to a life of despair, but is actually a deeply satisfied individual. (Mind you, I have never read this essay and have only a surface-level knowledge of French existential literature let alone Greek mythology, so take this with a Denali sized grain of salt). But consider: this man wakes up each day with a clear task. It’s tough work rolling that boulder but he has some sweet views along the way. Every day he completes his task and must feel satisfied with a day of hard work. He goes to sleep feeling accomplished each night. How many of us can say that we have a clear task each day with no other distractions, a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day, and the delicious feeling of going to bed bone-tired which always produces the best sleep?
Our team made it back to Kahiltna Base Camp today, the last leg of an epic three week expedition. We now wait for skies to clear enough for a flight back to Talkeetna. Although the mountain’s infamous weather system ultimately prevented our team from making a summit bid, we are deeply satisfied with the gifts that The Great One has provided us. We were awed by the austere beauty of the Kahiltna and and vastness of the surrounding peaks and ridges. We were pushed to our limits and learned to dig deeper than ever before; whether it be cramponing on blue ice, being blown around on Windy Corner, struggling with all things altitude, or keeping our extremities warm in -40F windchill. We - a group of strangers prior to May 13 - became not only friends but teammates, encouraging each other in our hardest times, cheering each others’ successes, and cracking the most ridiculous and obscene jokes all day and late into the night.
Climbing Denali/Mt. McKinley has been physically and mentally the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Yet each night I went to sleep in the tent feeling a deep sense of gratitude and accomplishment.
Thank you to our incredible guides (Seth, Jackson, and Ray) for showing us the way, and more - from whipping up breakfast and dinner each day, to performing minor foot surgery, to digging Sisyphusian amounts of snow on the daily, to dealing with all of our client shenanigans. You each have unique gifts that helped me get farther than I thought possible.
Thank you to the rest of the team - the Dont-nalis :) Shannon, David, Ethan, Will, Juan, and of course my other half Jason. I am deeply grateful to have met and befriended each of you. I look forward to our paths crossing again on this great expedition of life.
Love,
RMI Climber Grace
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Grace, thank you for this beautiful reflection for what may have been a defining moment for each of you. I want to thank each of the RMI guides and all of the climbers for these daily blogs. You have taken us on this virtual journey that few ever physically experience. This journey may be coming to an end, but the memories and experiences will live on along with your new friendships. Can hardly wait to see you and Jason in person!
Love,
Grace’s folks, Victor and Lela
Posted by: Lela & Victor Ling on 6/5/2025 at 11:52 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Wednesday, June 5, 2025 - 9:09 pm PT
Surrounded by a majestic you cannot see morphed into our first true view of the epic beauty that surrounds us. Lord of the Rings minus the hobbits, Gandalf, and everything other than really the mountains. Bad analogy but it’s the best I can do.
We cached at 9,900’ and tomorrow, weather permitting, we enter the gauntlet again to Camp 2. I figured making a list of all the things learned so far might be fairly entertaining for all the loved ones back home.
1. Individual snack bags are the way to go. Shoutout to Bob’s daughter, what a game changer.Sifting through a duffel of snacks in 30 MPH winds and snow hitting you in the face makes the See’s Candy not taste as good.
2. Leave a crack in the tent zipper at night. Humidity is very very real, and a damp tent is far from ideal.
3. Nobody will beat the chess savage, Connor. I don’t think Magnus Carlson has much interest in a game up here in the Alaskan range.
4. Falling while skiing naked in Colorado is not a good plan at any point in your life.
5. Some adults use binkies, in public, and carry a car seat we believe for themselves? I am as confused as you are, trust me. Hot sauce is the most essential condiment. And under no circumstances can you only bring one.
6. While in Louisiana triple AAA provides world class home cooked service, local errands included.
7. Hot sauce is the most essential condiment. And under no circumstances can you only bring one.
8. Tea tree oil and baby powder is life changing. Bring it, you will not regret it.
9. While training with your pack remember to wear your harness. Your hip bones will thank you a million times over. Seriously, wear it, as stupid as it may look the pack and the harness are enemies.
10. Be organized. Use every tent pocket imaginable. And always, always put things in the same place. Life isn’t easy up here but knowing where your crap is makes a world of difference.
11. When the guides offer you two bagels take the second one with a smile. There’s a method to the madness, don't ask questions and find a way to get it down. Politely refusing a second bagel is a mistake you will only make once.
12. When you are going downhill use a sled brake. The friction from the rope keeps the back person from playing sled dodge ball. Bumper cars with a 90 pound sled on a glacier is more reminiscent of bowling, you are the pins and the sled gets to be the ball.
I almost forgot,you can never bring enough skittles. Sure they freeze, but frozen skittles taste as good as room temperature skittles. The originals only.
Thank you for all the prayers, thoughts, and awesome people to come home to.
We wouldn’t be here without the village behind us.
Love,
RMI Climber Caroline and team
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
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
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
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
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
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Monday, June 2, 2025 - 11:25 pm PT
We woke up to the muffled sound of snowfall on our tents. Once we made our way out of the tents, it was obvious that a challenging morning would be ahead of us. Seeing if weather or visibility would improve enough to break trail back uphill, past our cache, and to 11,000' Camp. After wandering around camp, chatting with all the other guide teams and sipping a cup of coffee. We began breakfast, a mellow morning of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and fig bars. As we ate, we waited to see if weather improved, and waited, and waited some more. Sadly weather did not improve, snowfall just became more heavy and the winds began to increase. Around 10A we officially made the call that it would be a weather day. So everyone made their way into the tents and hunkered down. Movies were watched, books were read, and world problems were solved. Finally around 7P we all came back to share dinner. World famous jambalaya chef'd up by Hannah, and made a game plan to hopefully move tomorrow.
Fingers crossed.
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 27, 2025
Beautiful! Best of luck with the weather!
Posted by: Janessa on 6/4/2025 at 7:36 am
Good luck team and wishing you all the very best for your success! Cheers!
Posted by: Neale Bennett on 6/4/2025 at 5:49 am
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, June 2, 2025 - 11:07 pm PT
We slept soundly last night despite strong winds and snow thanks to the fortress our team built. After breakfast, we discussed the intense stormy weather we are currently experiencing and the forecast that has no adequate weather windows in site. This lead our team to the tough decision that we need to start heading down the mountain. The team took this in stride as they have taken everything throughout our program. With any luck we will start our journey down the mountain tomorrow picking up caches and shaking hands with other RMI teams along the way. Once back at Basecamp we will wait patiently for our brilliant pilots at K2 to come whisk us away and take us back to Talkeetna!
RMI Guide Jackson Breen
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
I am so sorry for the team, I know it was really disappointing, not being able to summit the mountain. You should all be very proud of yourselves., what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! Definitely this team gave it all that they have, congratulations to all of you for a great client and effort .
Love Juan‘s mom
Posted by: Laura Hittmann on 6/3/2025 at 6:27 pm
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Monday, June 2, 2025 - 3:45 pm PT
We woke up at 17 Camp to large plumes of snow sublimating off Denali Pass. We slow rolled putting on every layer of clothing we had waiting for water to boil, hoping the wind would subside by the time breakfast was ready. To no avail. By the time we were packed and headed downhill the wind had reached our front door and we were blown down the West Buttress back to 14 Camp with our tails between our legs. Reuniting with friends back at camp and worsening weather reassured us that we had made the right decision.
We have gained a lot over the last couple of weeks; new friendships, good conversations, silly jokes, and some peace from the fast pace of modern life. Though reaching the summit isn’t out of the cards yet for our team, we are beyond satisfied with what the mountain has given us so far. Climbing brings people to their best and their worst, it can cause great joy and great fear. It is a very vulnerable and intimate relationship.
In this world of rat races and anonymous faces it is refreshing to be with good people in a beautiful place. Thank you Mt. McKinley for brining us all together.
Peace, love, gratitude--
RMI Guide Ray Holt
Congratulations to you all on the incredible experience of a lifetime!!!
Posted by: Carol Yu on 6/11/2025 at 5:10 am
My eyes are teary catching up on the team’s journey. What an experience. I’m sad for ya’ll that the weather didn’t cooperate. But I feel relieved that it sounds like all of you are returning safely and with so many new memories and experiences. Congratulations to you all on the experience of a lifetime!!! Shannon, excited to hear all about it. Way to go ya’ll!!!
Posted by: Emily Pembroke on 6/8/2025 at 6:12 am
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