RMI Expeditions Blog
May 22, 2023
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023, 9:33am PDT
Burdened with heavy packs, we climbed the 3000' to Genet Basin, our new home. Climbing conditions were excellent; weather ranged from warm and sunny to cold and breezy to snowy pea soup. Five hours after leaving our 11k Camp we arrived at 14k Camp, then had another few hours of building camp, melting snow, and making dinner. This morning is beautiful and we will go back to Windy Corner to pick up our cache. Lots of resting and eating will ensue.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team
May 22, 2023
Posted by: Josh McDowell, Bryan Mazaika
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier Four Day Climb teams led by RMI Guides Josh McDowell and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier shortly after 7:00am. The teams spent about an hour on the summit enjoying the beautiful weather. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to the team! Kudos to Vaughn and Zaid!
Posted by: Aisha Ahmad on 5/22/2023 at 12:00 pm
Congratulations, well done, and Team return to Base safely. God Speed….
Posted by: Sanjay Kapur on 5/22/2023 at 8:40 am
May 22, 2023
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:59 pm PDT
It was a wonderful morning to wake up at 14k Camp. A classic 14k Camp morning includes sunshine and stunning views of Hunter and Foraker -- make this trip so special. We waited for the sun to warm the tents, and rolled into coffee with eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon for breakfast/brunch. We readied to run back towards Windy Corner to grab our cache. We made quick work of the back carry, 1.5 hours round trip, largely due to the sudden snow squalls and wind that rolled in hard on us. It motivated us to get back to tents. With all of our stuff now at 14k Camp, we are psyched. The weather looks to remain sporty tomorrow, so we will likely rest, but we are in place and ready to make our first tour up the fixed lines when the mountain says we may pass, and that will set us up to start looking for our summit window. Cheers from 14,000' on Denali!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and team
Just wanted to let Bailey know I’m rooting for her! Enjoy the beautiful mountain, and good luck with the summit push to the whole group! (I hope this is the right group).
Posted by: Cecilie on 5/23/2023 at 5:13 am
Woot Woot!! Looks Amazing up there!
Posted by: Pete on 5/22/2023 at 10:34 am
May 22, 2023
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:47 pm PDT
Today was a big day! Our first official rest day of the trip. After a few long hard pushes, we decided to sleep in and take the entire day to recover, and prep for the big carry tomorrow. We woke with the sun, and had a few rounds of breakfast burritos. After a leisurely breakfast, the remainder of the day was spent resting, recovering, reading and napping. Just before dinner we reviewed a bit of cramponing and ice axe techniques to prepare for the terrain above 11k Camp, and then rolled into an early dinner. Tomorrow we'll make our way towards 14k Camp to cache some food, and gear before returning to 11k Camp.
RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team
Wow! Amazing view!
Glad you got some rest time Kevin and team
Posted by: Karie Seubert on 5/23/2023 at 6:37 am
Climb Strong Kevin and team and rest strong too!!! Spectacular!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/23/2023 at 3:27 am
May 22, 2023
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023, 9:40pm PDT
Hello, hello!
Today we woke up to clear skies and chill to the air. The cold is a welcoming feeling after so much heat. We whipped up some bagels then headed back downhill to retrieve our cache. We made quick getting to it and steady work getting back up to camp. After another round of bagels we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. The sun warmed our tents and dried wet socks before evening showers drifted in. Camp has filled up with more eager climbers hoping for the chance to stand on top of this beautiful mountain. One RMI teamed moved to 14k Camp where another RMI team sits waiting. We are here at 11k Camp with one more RMI team. We have twelve RMI guides currently on the mountain and eight of them are female. It's pretty cool to have so many strong female guides on the mountain at once. Any who, we are all snuggled up once again in our sleeping bags reading books, listening to music, watching TV or eating snacks. It's a fun feeling knowing we do not have to walk anywhere tomorrow and get to sleep in.
So goodnight all,
RMI Guides Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland and Team
Hey Hannah! Tell your team that Farmer Dave said they are Lucky to have you for their guide!! All the best to you and your Team!! Climb Strong!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/23/2023 at 3:30 am
Woo go Corey! So proud of you
Posted by: Mom and Dad Burley on 5/22/2023 at 6:09 pm
May 21, 2023
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Lauren Macklin
Categories:
Elevation: 11,000'
Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 11:18 am PT
We woke up to snow lightly falling at camp this morning, and slow rolled into a warm breakfast of toasted bagels and bacon. After enjoying a second cup of coffee, we rigged the empty sleds to our backpacks, roped up and headed out from 11,000' Camp down to our cache at 9,900'. Making quick work with empty packs, we arrived at the cache in just under a half hour. We dug up the cache, divvied up the group gear, re-rigged our sleds and traced our steps from yesterday back to 11,000' Camp. It was short, but hard stretch to roll back into 11 Camp. We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of snow storms, and enjoying the afternoon to recover. After a few hours of down time, we had a festive dinner of beef burritos with salsa verde and then prepared to potentially carry tomorrow. We will see what the morning brings, check in tomorrow!
Keep us updated!! Climb Strong Kevin!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/22/2023 at 3:33 am
Love the updates! Such an epic adventure!! Cheering you all on from Seattle!
Posted by: Mary Upton on 5/21/2023 at 10:34 pm
May 21, 2023
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Luedtke, Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Nicole De Petris, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb May 18 - 21 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Dave reported broken clouds above with some sunshine coming through and warming the team as they started their descent from the crater rim. There is also a cloud deck below them at around 8,000' this morning. Once back at Camp Muir the teams will repack and take a quick break before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to their return to Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congrats to the summiteers. Especially Vaughan and Zaid
Posted by: Paul Andrews on 5/21/2023 at 3:59 pm
May 21, 2023
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 21, 2023 - 11:27 pm PT
Big moves today. We bounced back and forth on whether to move this morning, as it snowed all night and was still when we woke up. After a bit of waffling we decided it was time. Though it was pretty cloudy and white at 11,000', it was dead calm, and it looked much the same above. We stayed in that cloud until Windy Corner and it was HOT. It acted much like a microwave and we were sweating, both from heat and loads. The theme was pretty similar to yesterday - our travel was smooth, it was hard work, but the team was strong and we clipped right along. Six hours after leaving 11,000', we walked into our new home at 14,000'.
VERY excited to hear the summit word!!!! Hoping for good weather behavior and smooth climbing.
Lots of folks here in “the middle” are watching and pulling for you all.
Posted by: Betsy Wearing on 5/22/2023 at 12:53 pm
｡:.ﾟヽ(*´∀`)ﾉﾟ.:｡
That’s a YAY face!
Great job! Proud of my guy!
Posted by: Lyds on 5/21/2023 at 5:32 pm
May 21, 2023
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Saturday, May 21, 2023 - 10:30 pm PT
Good evening readers,
Today we woke to a wet rain falling on our tents. The plan was for an early start but we postponed our departure by a few hours watching the clouds. After yummy breakfast burritos we began breaking down camp and hit the trail. The team made their way back up Ski Hill on our way to our new home at 11,000' Camp. After walking for a few hours of descent weather we hit a hot pocket that made everyone go into a heat panic. But we persevered and made it to some cooler temps. At our last break the snow flakes got bigger and a chill hit the team but this was short lived and we were back to being hot as we rolled into camp. It was a tough long day with heavy packs but it sure feels good to be here. We made camp, ate dinner and it's off to bed to let the bodies recover. Tomorrow we will back carry down to our cache to be reunited with all our gear and then rest for the majority of the day. Snow falls as we get snuggled in. Frequent taps on tent walls make the snow slide down. We will see how much snow falls through the night.
Good night all,
RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team
Wow impressive to read and how encountered. Hard to believe hot pockets up in the snowy mountain. Keep up the good work.
Go Bethany Go!! Love Mom and Dad
Posted by: Jan L. Gray on 5/21/2023 at 7:29 pm
Rest up well tomorrow, Anna. Veggies will be waiting for you when you get back!
Go team, Tatas!! Keeping all of you in our prayers.
Love you, Anna!
Mom & Dad
Posted by: Kathy on 5/21/2023 at 7:14 pm
May 20, 2023
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
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Saturday, May 20, 2023 8:36am PDT
We kept the proverbial ball rolling yesterday and established a cache at 13,700', above Windy Corner. The weather was remarkably hot Yesterday, a marked change from the previous two weeks we've been in AK. The icy slopes of Squirrel Hill & Windy Corner were mostly Slushy by the time we descended them in the afternoon. And today we are back to some snow and wind. Bizzarro.
Anyway, we're resting and acclimating today, with hopes of moving camp up to Genet Basin at 14,200' tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
So stoked to see you all moving up and being able to make progress in your weather windows! Great work team! Climb on!
Posted by: Rae Anglen on 5/21/2023 at 6:32 am
Well done, team! Strong work! You have braved some serious conditions! Alaska! So impressive! Keep going! If you hear some noise in the distance- it’s probably me cheering for all of you from a Talkeetna! Keep climbing! You got this! Cheers! Susan!
Posted by: Susan on 5/21/2023 at 1:37 am
Could someone just let us know which expedition Scott Crist is on (don’t need any other details) but we would like to follow the blog for that particular trip he is on. He asked me to follow it before he left and after the 2-3 day delay when they could not get on the mountain.
Thanks, Doug Mitchell
Posted by: DOUG MITCHELL on 5/22/2023 at 2:34 pm
Making great progress now !
Posted by: Kim H on 5/22/2023 at 1:58 pm
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