Entries By sam hoffman
September 4, 2024
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Sam Hoffman, Tom Skoog, Mitch Valaitis, Hannah Blum, Robert Whyte
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The September 1 - 5 Five Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Sam Hoffman. Climbers reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5 am and were able to enjoy some time in the summit crater. The skies are clear and it's a bluebird day. The teams left the crater rim at 6:10am and are currently on their descent to Camp Muir. Once back at camp they will get to rest and enjoy the views and will spend tonight on the mountain. Tomorrow they have another 4.5 miles to descent in order to reach Paradise. There program will conclude tomorrow with a celebration of their adventure.
Nice work team!
August 28, 2024
Posted by: Sam Hoffman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
Monday, August 26, 2024
Good evening,
Checking in from high camp - we summited today around 11:30am! We had sun, clouds, a bit of rain, and even a rainbow on our climb. Now we eat and sleep hiding from the rain. Hoping for clear skies and sun tomorrow! Special shout out to James for his first summit of Mt. Shuksan.
RMI Guide Sam Hoffman
August 24, 2024
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Mitch Valaitis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,127'
Led by Sam Hoffman and Mitch Valatis, the RMI team summited mid-day Thursday. With the anticipation of poor weather, the climbers adapted and climbed a day-early. The push paid off and we enjoyed sunshine on the top!
Congrats team.
August 20, 2024
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Jack Ritterson, Dylan Anderson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781
100% of the Mt. Baker Easton Glacier team stood on top around 6 am this morning, August 19th. After facing thunderstorms and unrelenting rain, the team led by RMI Guides Sam Hoffman, Jack Ritterson, and Dylan Anderson were able to capitalize on a early-morning weather window.
August 13, 2024
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Calvin Jiricko, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise Team reached the top of Mt. Rainier Early this Morning in 6 hours and 35 minutes. The team spent the week learning advanced mountaineering skills as they trained on and then ascended the Paradise Glacier to Camp Muir for a summit attempt via the Disappointment Cleaver route. RMI Guide Sam Hoffman reported a clear and calm day on the summit! They will descend via the Muir Snowfield this afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
August 4, 2024
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Will Ambler, Hannah Billings
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
RMI guides Sam Hoffman, Will Ambler, and Hannah Billings led the team to a successful summit of Mount Baker yesterday evening for the sunset. The team enjoyed smooth route conditions, pleasant weather as well as solitude on the beautiful Easton glacier.
July 19, 2024
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Michael Murray, George Hedreen, Margo Kerr, Rosie Hust
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Sam Hoffman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier very early this morning. The teams had clear skies, and great views of the surrounding Cascade Peaks like Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams as they climbed.
Congratulations Team!
Thank you so much to the RMI team. Every member was excellent at what they do. A special thank you to Guides Sam, Rosie and George. They got me through this tough and amazing experience. How special it was to complete this with my son. Thanks again!
Posted by: Jeff Hallum on 7/20/2024 at 1:00 pm
What a great trip! Thank you guides for a wonderful job on a difficult course for us novices
Posted by: Clint Seymour on 7/20/2024 at 6:37 am
July 15, 2024
Posted by: Brent Okita, Sam Hoffman, Will Ambler, Roland Scott, Stella Johnson, Hannah Billings
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb July 11 - 15 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Sam Hoffman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today on a beautiful day. The team is currently on their descent. Their patience paid off as they waited yesterday for many RMI Guides to reestablish the route to the summit. The teams will return to Camp Muir to repack and rehydrate before continuning down the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later today.
Congratulations climbers and a HUGE thank you to all the guides working on the route over the last several days!
PC: Stella Johnson
Shoutout to Sam and Roland for making this an incredible experience! The fact that you worked longer hours to ensure we had an alternative route to reach the summit is what made this entire trip! I have nothing but great things to say about you both! I hope to climb a different destination with you both one day in the future! Thank you again!
Posted by: Jade Craig on 7/16/2024 at 8:23 pm
I won’t be on the DC route next week when I climb, but wanted to thank the guides for working hard to re-establish the route around what sounded like a gnarly crevasse collapse. Congrats to the climbers that reached the summit. Enjoy the Rainier Beer and cider.
Posted by: Constantine Velentzas on 7/15/2024 at 2:10 pm
July 2, 2024
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 - 8:15 am PT
So the plan was to walk out in the early morning with the glacier surface frozen up nice and firm. Good plan. But it didn’t freeze. We had a wet snowstorm from 11 PM until 6 AM at our final camp… mostly it just preserved the slush. And then we were socked in with cloud until midday. But when the clouds lifted, we broke records taking down camp and stretching out the rope teams. We were moving at 1PM and then stopped at 1:01 PM figuring out the first crevasse crossing. There were a few thousand more to figure out. Our final day took about six hours and included a couple dozen snowshoed feet and legs going into crevasses, but thankfully no bodies. And magically, as we pulled up the final hill, the weather cleared and two beautiful K2 Otters glided in to the snow strip. We loaded planes and were off deck by 8 PM. There wasn’t much time for gear sorting back in Talkeetna. But there turned out to be time for Mountain High Pizza Pie and the Fairview Inn. The team still has a couple of high altitude hacks, some tired legs and some sunburned faces, but those faces were smiling last night as we settled into the Swiss Alaska Inn.
No summit… it is true. But we tried.
Best Regards
RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
PC: Dave Hahn
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 11, 2024 Emails
Tony - Wow. Incredible on so many levels. What an experience. Life is what you make of it … and clearly you are making the most of it!
Posted by: Marc on 7/7/2024 at 8:27 am
Congratulations to the guides and climbers on a job well done! Whether in climbing or so many other things, some day’s a diamond, some day’s a stone. Hugs to all. Saying hi to Karen. Hope to see you soon at Green Lake Fitness. We’ll keep the light on for you. Dean
Posted by: Dean Wingfield on 7/2/2024 at 2:45 pm
July 1, 2024
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 8,000'
Sunday, June 30, 2024 - 10:16 pm PT
It was cold at 14,000' this morning because we didn't wait for the sun to get around the mountain. But the cold was nowhere near what we'd experienced up high. We ate breakfast, packed and got on our way. Back to pulling sleds. We pulled them around Windy Corner, through the Polo Field, down Squirrel and Motorcycle Hills. Down at 11K, we dug up the cache of gear and made our switch to snowshoes. It was a treat to be the only team left on the lower mountain (there are perhaps five or six teams still above us). It was pretty easy going down the Kahiltna Glacier until we reached Ski Hill where the combination of mushy snow and crevasses made things less fun. Even so we made good time reaching 8,000'. We set up camp as clouds rolled in from above and below. Our hope is to have things freeze up in the night to make for safer and easier travel, but with cloud cover, that doesn't always happen. We'll see what we get. Basecamp is potentially just four hours away.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
PC: Dave Hahn
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 11, 2024 Emails
Bummed you guys didn’t summit.
Was of course hoping you would on July 1st.
I was fortunate enough to summit on July 1st 1994 with Craig John, Ford Huntington , and Jennifer (?) as our guides.
Guess there is always next year.
If any of you see Joe Horiskey tell him Hi for me !
Posted by: Don West on 7/1/2024 at 8:15 pm
Very thankful to Sam and all the guides who helped me summit Rainier
So glad I did it!!
It was hard but so worth it.
Thanks to professional and experienced guides - it was a challenge worth trying
Posted by: Alex Fedorchuk on 9/10/2024 at 12:10 pm
So grateful for this opportunity to climb and summit!
Our guides Sam and his team were absolutely amazing!
They gave very precise instructions, paid attention to all of our needs and encouraged us to believe in ourselves. Very well trained and knowledgeable in mountaineering. Very professional and polite.
We felt like family.
P.S. Sam, I was able to complete my marathon three days later in 3:45 :)
Posted by: Vera Fedorchuk on 9/10/2024 at 12:08 pm
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