Entries By mike bennett
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Mike Bennett, Avery Stolte
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
6.9.26
Hello all and welcome to Talkeetna, Alaska! After being picked up at the airport, we were shuttled through Wasilla for a quick 45 minute food shop and arrived at our K2 hangar for our official start of the west buttress climb. After enjoying an awesome dinner at Denali Brewpub and beginning to mesh as a team, we were treated with a view of Denali herself.
6.10.26
A day of packing. Twas the perfect day to pack with the hangar doors open. Alas, we are ready. With nerves of steel, we shall fly towards our future. And with great manifestation, our team shall succeed. Stay tuned for the trip of a lifetime.
- RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Expedition, June 9, 2026
UPDATE: Friday, October, 31, 2025
Cumbre!
We all went to bed with a degree of anxiety about the weather. For days prior, and even the day we went to Cotopaxi Refugio, there were intense periods of rain. However, luck was on our side and our guide Sam woke us up around 11pm with the best news ever - it was a clear starry night. We finalized our packs, put on our crampons, and set out for the summit.
The climb began on rocky terrain, a steady but manageable approach. We soon got to the soft snow level and the intensity started to pick up. It was a constant uphill ascent without any switchbacks. For many of us, this was the steepest continuous climb we’ve ever done and also the highest altitude ever achieved. This led to some challenges, but we pushed through with our resilience and amazing support from our guides. Before we knew it, the summit was in sight. The entire group showed their grit and determination and we all made it! What an incredible sight that we were rewarded with at the top of Cotopaxi. After taking it all in, we began the descent. We weren’t able to appreciate the beauty of the mountain on the ascent as it was mostly dark, but the descent revealed Cotopaxi’s splendor from various angles. We enjoyed a light breakfast at the Refugio and then descended to the parking lot where a bus took us to our cozy hacienda. It wasn’t long before we arrived at the hacienda that the rain and hail storms began. It’s still a mystery on how we had such a perfect weather window for our climb, but we are grateful! And all excited about our accomplishment!
RMI Climber, Madhur Nayan
Friday, October 31, 2025 - 11:00 am PT
RMI Guide Mike Bennett sent a quick update to let us know that 100% of the team reached the summit of Cotopaxi today! They will return to the climbers hut, repack and meet their drivers and vehicles for the short transfer to Chilcabamba Lodge where they will spend the night. Tomorrow the team will return to Quito for their final night in Ecuador.
Congratulations team!
New Post Alerts:
Cotopaxi Express October 25, 2025
Posted by: Mike Bennett, Sam Hoffman, Felipe Guarderas
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 16,300'
Cotopaxi Express Daily Blog
The team woke up this morning in a packed climbers hut at the ripe hour of 4am to climb Illiniza. Snow and sleet covered the ground and word came from the top to go back to bed. After a brief breakfast The team set off at 7 am towards Illiniza Norte with a windy snow still coming down but daylight on our side. Teams split into smaller groups to tackle the snowy scramble up the knife edge ridge of the mountain. Conditions remained poor, and we turned around 16,300’ to head down to the familiarity of the climbers hut. Repacked and trekking down to the bus, snow turned to rain and the bus was a warm bumpy welcome down the cobblestone roads. Lunch at a VERY FAMOUS pizza dive. Now the team is relaxing in front of wood stove fires, gazing over pastures towards the cloudy abyss—looking to catch a glimpse of the pinnacle objective hidden in the mist.
RMI Climbers, Dan and Joe Hayden
New Post Alerts:
Cotopaxi Express October 25, 2025
Congratulations all, well done! The view was spectacular, thanks for the pics. Blessings to all.
Posted by: Dadeo on 10/31/2025 at 12:04 pm
Wishing everyone a safe and fun, but not too comfortable, trip. Bonus points for hunting your own food.
Posted by: Kyle Warfield on 10/30/2025 at 6:25 am
Today the team left the comfort of Quito to begin our journey south to Illiniza Norte (because Illiniza Sur is apparently hard so we’re going to skip it). Unfortunately, we had to make an early morning start to get from our rooms to the hotel lobby by 9am.
With everyone safely on the bus we began the drive south to a famous gas station to buy critical snacks, meet our local guides Gustavo, Felipe (one of RMI’s finest) and Jaime, and sign paperwork. After saying goodbye to the gas station (and the last real toilet) we continued our drive to the trail head where we met horses and mules to carry our gear to the refuge.
We are now furiously chomping down popcorn and hoping for a good climb tomorrow.
- RMI Climber, Joe Maguire & Team
New Post Alerts:
Cotopaxi Express October 25, 2025
Good Luck on the climb everyone!! You have some of the best guides ever in Mike, Jaime, and the others! Got to climb with them in Ecuador and they are great! And I think I may know of that famous gas station! Have fun and safe climbing!!
Posted by: William Eldridge on 10/28/2025 at 5:10 pm
Elevation - 15,413 feet
Team Summits Ruca Pinchinca!
This morning we started early for our first acclimatization hike of the trip. We opted to skip the Teleferico (Gondola) ride in order to get ahead of some afternoon thunderstorms. Thanks to Hector for driving us up to 12,800’ feet!
It took us 5 hours to reach the summit and return. The hike gradually picks up with grade and we were feeling it towards the top. Today was hard work and the team did great. We got a glimpse of our main goal - Cotopaxi - which built excitement for the days to come.
We will rest for the afternoon and enjoy a team dinner in Quito before moving to Illiniza Norte tomorrow! Wish us luck.
RMI Guide,
Sam Hoffman & Team
New Post Alerts:
Cotopaxi Express October 25, 2025
Sunday, October 26, 2026 - 6:05 pm PT
Welcome to Ecuador!
The team made their arrival and assembled this morning for their first time as an expedition. After morning introductions, the team talked through trip details before heading out to explore the lovely city of Quito. The team explored the city and visited the equator, getting our first taste of the beautiful South American culture that is Ecuador.
The afternoon lead into a team gear check before heading off to dinner and resting for the evening. Tomorrow's day will be an early start for our first acclimatization hike, Rucu Pichincha.
RMI Guide,
Mike Bennett
New Post Alerts:
Cotopaxi Express October 25, 2025
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Mike Bennett, Avery Stolte, Layne Peters, Tate Hughes, Nina Bridges, Julian Kral, David Rathbun
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams delayed their departure from Camp Muir a bit due to the colder tempertures, with a 2 am departure, they reached the summit around 8 am. They enjoyed some time on the summit before turning around and retracing their steps. Once back at Camp Muir the team will repack and continue their descent to Paradise.
Nice work team!
Awesome Dustin!!!
Very Cool Pictures!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 8/21/2025 at 3:45 am
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Mike Bennett, Lael Butler, Matt Kelly, Oliver Shapiro, George Hedreen, Nina Bridges, Brendan Oates
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climbs enjoyed clear skies and a light breeze on the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Led by RMI Guides Jess Wedel and Mike Bennett, the teams were able to enjoy the views from the summit before beginning their descent around 7:30 am. The teams will be back in Ashford this afternoon to celebrate.
Way to climb!
I’m still riding the high of our summit two days ago!
Mike B. - I know you were taking some pictures/video on your cell phone as we neared the top and the sunrise was happening. Can you share them with us here like we see posted on some of the other summits?
Thanks again to you all for such an incredible experience!
Posted by: Brian Hargraves on 8/4/2025 at 9:45 am
Posted by: Mike Bennett, Joe Crawford, Mac Nolde
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Emmons Seminar Team led by RMI Guide Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at around 8:00 am!
The team has spent the past four days on the snow learning various mountaineering techniques and practicing their technical skills to reach the summit via the Emmons-Winthrop Glacier, the largest glacier in the lower forty-eight states, a feat not to be taken lightly.
After celebrating their accomplishment at the summit, they descended back to Camp Schurman for some much-needed rest and a warm meal. They will spend one more night at camp, then descend the 5,000' to the to the trailhead tomorrow morning and arrive at our Ashford BaseCamp that afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Posted by: Avery Stolte, Mike Bennett, Dominic Cifelli, Dylan Anderson, Nina Bridges, Leif Bergstrom, David Rathbun, Ben Porter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
This morning at 5:30 AM PDT, the Four Day Climbs led by RMI Guides Avery Stolte and Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. Avery reported beautiful weather with no wind. With the early morning summit, the teams are currently descending back to Camp Muir where they will pack their bags before descending the Muir Snowfield to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford later this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
GO TEAM! Hope all is well. Looking forward to updates!
Posted by: John Morrison on 6/12/2026 at 3:45 pm
May Mother Nature work with you! Enjoy every single step!
WOW WOW WOW!
Posted by: Kierstin Decicco on 6/12/2026 at 7:30 am
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