Rainier Mountaineering Inc (RMI) Review

I could not have had a better experience. Absolutely phenomenal guides and employees in general. The guides have incredibly positive attitudes and could not be any cooler (or patient). The planning, thoughtfulness and safety are sincerely appreciated. The respect and maintenance of the mountain trail our guides exhibited was special and inspiring. Thank you Mike, Lucas and Andy, when I come back next Summer I hope our paths cross again!

I would highly recommend Rainier Mountaineering for climbs of Mt. Rainier, Mt. McKinley, and more. I've had a great experience climbing with RMI guides and look forward to the next adventure.

I have climbed with RMI on Rainier several times in the past three years and on Mt. Elbrus last summer. All of the guides have been skilled professionals, as well as really nice, thoughtful people. RMI seems to hire individuals who not only have great climbing and safety skills, but also great people skills. Additionally, the office staff members who handle the logistics are excellent to work with. Given the opportunity, I would absolutely climb with RMI again.

My experience is a bit older meaning I went with RMI up to Rainier in 2003. I had a blast. First days was full of practice around the Paradise area and on the second day we went up to Camp Muir. Third day we did a lot of practicing again including crevasse rescuing. On the fourth day we went up to the summit and back to Camp Muir before we descended on the final day down to "base camp".
The guide were great and provided an exceptional experience and also a lot of great stories about other climbs like Denali. All together it was the best mountaineer experience I had in my life.

I can't thank RMI enough for the experience of a life time. Leon, Jesse and Ben were amazing in every aspect of the summit climb. From day one they made everyone feel comfortable and at ease. Their professional approach and patience with everyone that was new to this sport added a sense of mastery to what they do. No one on our team ever felt that our safety would ever be compromised and I personally felt we had drawn a first rate guide team. Thank you all again for an amazing time.

Very impressed by this organization. Top notch guides, experienced, knowledgeable, and friendly. The 4 day Rainier summit climb was a great experience. Highly recommend.

Very professional guide service with excellent guides. Excellent safety record. Excellent facilities in Ashford. Nice, friendly people. Super retail store. My advice for climbers: (1) Know and pre-set your gear. If it is cold, you won't be able to fine tune anything in gloved hands, but bring liner gloves just in case you need to make minor adjustments. You don't want to be bare handed in the cold, even to apply sunblock. (2) The descent is faster and harder than the ascent. Prepare your legs and knees for the variable and off-angle impacts; re-tie your boots tight at the summit to save your toes. Keep toenails trimmed to the minimum. (3) Be prepared for the strongest possible sun exposure on the snow fields and glaciers: get the best sunblock and apply it often, and use a Buff with UV protection. (4) Read up on high altitude and brain injury and climb smart. An extra night on the mountain may be a good option. No need to race up.

Thoroughly professional guide services.
I climbed Rainier with RMI in summer of 2016 and became their fan!

excellence all the way around. most knowledgeable experienced guides out there. they encourage, guide, teach and correct amicably to give you the best shot to reach your goal safely

Overall the guides at RMI are extremely knowledgeable, and as someone who is brand new to mountain climbing they were very helpful. But if they determine that at any point you are not maintaining their strenuous pace or the weather is less than ideal, they will completely discourage you from climbing.
I signed up for the 4 day summit with a fair amount of hiking/backpacking experience, and I anticipated that the more technical aspects of Mt. Ranier would be challenging. Over the first 2 days I was impressed by how quickly and easily the guides taught our entire group the necessary skills to climb Ranier safely. However, my experience was soured by the last "2"days of the climb. Days 3 and 4 are spent climbing to Camp Muir and then attempting the summit the following morning. Day 3 arrived with some rain/snow and generally crummy weather and it seemed the guides made numerous disclaimer statements about the weather shutting us down before we even started climbing. After an hour of climbing at a fairly grueling pace they decided that other members of our team were not meeting their specific pace standard and could not make Camp Muir at a reasonable time. Which I could understand, but we didn't begin climbing until after 10am, and since the guides had seen the slower members climbing the previous day it would have made more sense to begin at a earlier time (perhaps 7 or 8) to ensure every member of the team was able to at least climb to Camp Muir. After another hour of climbing (at roughly 12:30) the lead guide said the weather was too dangerous to climb further and we turned around and hiked back down to paradise. I understand that the guides at RMI have an obligation to ensure the safety of their climbers and that is one of the reasons they are hired, BUT at the same time it was extremely disappointing to pay their company thousands of dollars only to be turned around by a snowstorm on a mountain. Given the cost of their service I had hoped they would be more flexible to different climbing speeds and willing to seek input from their paying customers. Again I paid this company thousands of dollars to climb roughly 2,000 feet and be told a snowstorm prevented us from even attempting to reach Camp Muir. So the 4 day summit actually bought me about 16 hours of the guides time.
Please note that RMI did give our entire team a small percentage off another attempt in the next calendar year but as someone who lives across the country I will be unable to afford the cost of travel and the guide service again.

I've climbed Denali, Aconcagua, and Elbrus with RMI and I have to say that they've been top notch on every single climb. Guides are super knowledgeable and friendly which makes the trip that much more enjoyable.

While they take everything very seriously on these expeditions (as they should), they also are fun to be around.

I wouldn't hesitate to use them again on any future expedition.

My experience with Seth Waterfall and RMI was on a 4 day summit of Mr Rainier. The pre climb instruction was very informative and reassuring, we went up into the snow and learned how to fall correctly and self arrest as well as some team drills. In the weeks and months leading up to the climb I received email instructions and best practices for training that I still use years later. The climb itself was difficult but I felt prepared. My gear and the gear I was able to rent helped but confidence in my guides gave me the edge I needed. Being on Mt Rainier is an experience that will never be forgotten and I will seek RMI for other mountaineering adventures.

I had an unforgettable experience climbing Mt Rainier last summer with RMI. All 9 members of our team made it to the summit because of the knowledgeable, supportive guides. Would love to climb with them again in the future. Could not have been improved in any way.

My experience with RMI climbing Rainier on July 23, 2016 was fantastic! The 3 day climb was well organized and concentrated on what was most important.
What most impressed me was my guide, Mike King. A well rounded and seasoned climbing professional. His experience of 50 summits on Rainier instilled great confidence. His emphasis on safety, paramount. Climb day proved to be one of the busiest days ever which created several timing and safety issues to overcome. Mike did so with calm assuredness and professionalism. What also impressed me was Mike's unwavering attention to trail maintenance both up and down the mountain.
Thank you RMI for enlisting talented individuals with a true passion for the mountain. I give my highest accolades to your team.
Myron Hauge
Vashon Island Fire/Medic One

I wanted to think over my experience for a couple days before writing this review. Unfortunately, my experience with RMI on the 4 day Rainier climb was not entirely a positive one. Orientation and mountaineering school were great.

Day 3, not so great. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were just being herded up the mountain the entire time. There wasn't really any time to stop and appreciate where you were. In fact, during one of the breaks, I was still putting my pack on when the lead guide decided to take off without me. I felt that was very discourteous. Also, the temperature was very warm the day we were heading up to Muir. And yet, we were pushed to move at a pace that was a bit too fast for conditions in my opinion. Asking the lead guide to slow down, even a bit, was not an option according to the guides - you either kept that exact pace or you went back. The heat became too much for me and I ended up opting to turn around since it was clear to me that only one of our 3 guides seemed to care about the clients.

Now, I've been to Muir several times in sun and rain. I've made it in 5 hours each time. I'm not sure what the rush was with our guide, but it felt as if he was pushing for <5 hours to Muir. This isn't a race to the top of Rainier, at least, I don't think it shouldn't be. I'm not very impressed by RMI. More than likely, I will be hiring one of the other guide services for Rainier next summer.