Minutes below the highest point in North America - 20,320' Mt. McKinley

CUSTOM EXPEDITION

Veteran guide Dave Hahn is leading a Custom expedition to Denali beginning June 25, 2009. The team will maintain a 2-to-1 climber to guide ratio, with a maximum group size of eight climbers and four guides. A post-summit celebration dinner in Talkeetna will be hosted for the team. Join Dave for this once in a lifetime experience on Denali!

PRIVATE EXPEDITION

Private expeditions require advance arrangements. Please contact the RMI office.

TEAM MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS

Expedition participants must have previous glacier travel experience and be familiar with various snow and ice techniques. Completion of an RMI Expedition Skills Seminar or equivalent instruction in a mountaineering course is required for team membership. Previous experience at altitude (Kilimanjaro, Mexico, Aconcagua, etc) is always a benefit. However, altitude experience is not a substitute for the skills that are required for this expedition.

Mt. Rainier offers some of the best training opportunities because the combination of weather, altitude, and terrain so closely resembles the environs encountered on Mt. McKinley. Furthermore, gaining these skills on Mt. Rainier allows our staff to get to know you, and in turn provides you the opportunity to see how RMI guides conduct themselves on a mountain. This makes for a very strong expedition team in Alaska and is integral to our success guiding on Denali since 1975.

We strongly encourage participants to complete technical training at least three months prior to your scheduled McKinley expedition. When submitting the McKinley Registration form, prospective climbers should list in detail all formal instruction (please indicate the provider, date, length and curriculum) together with all associated outdoor experience on snow & ice, rock, scrambling, backpacking, skiing, snowshoeing, and so forth.

Applicants must have previous formal training and be familiar with all of the following techniques:

• Snow anchors. Specifically the construction, placement, equalization of pickets, ice screws, deadman anchors, and bollards.
• Running Belays
• Belaying Techniques
• Cramponing (ascending, traversing, descending; French technique)
• Technical (40 degree +) ice climbing
• Roped glacier travel experience
• Rope handling skills
• Route finding on glacier
• Crevasse rescue (from both the victim and rescuers perspective)
  • Anchor selection
  • Pulley methods - C and Z systems
  • Site considerations: Location. Weather. Severity of injury. Pack/sled weight
• Fixed line travel with mechanical ascenders
• Knots & slings - prussik, butterfly, Munter, etc
• Ice axe self and team arrest, with and without a backpack
• Rappelling
• Snow camp / snow cave construction
• Pressure breathing, rest stepping
• Self care

Top of Page