Mt. McKinley: Team Jones- Freeze or Fry! Carry to 16,400’
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Bonjour, from the fryer at 14 camp. The essence of climbing the great big mountains is that in the shade we freeze and in the sun we fry. Our carry to 16,400 ft went well and we are now ready for some more rest time.
Today was a long hard effort getting out of the tents around 6:45 with not a breath of wind and clear skies; the not so fuzzy part was -10 F air temp. This had us all moving quickly to eat another bowl of oatmeal and down a cup of coffee before departing camp and wiggling vigorously to keep the fingers and toes warm.
When we reached the half way mark in our second leg of the carry, the sun popped up over the West Rib route and the rays warmed us to our core. It took just a half hour for us to be climbing in our base layer, welcoming the fry portion of our day.
The fixed lines on the West Buttress Head Wall were in great condition with fabulous cramponing - the teeth biting in the snow as if we were on steep green grass. I envy green grass as the only natural colors we have observed are white, blue and the light brown of the granite ridges rising thousands of feet above.
We chopped in firm snow to create a cache hole just big enough to drop food, fuel and supplies. The team then descended down the buttress a short way before a hot and relatively easy and smooth decent off the fixed lines and a short stroll back to our 14 advanced base camp!
In the tents yet again hiding from the magnificent orange ball in the sky! The future of the day and for tomorrow is to chill, eat, drink, and rest up for our summit push hopefully next week! We miss you all! The guides are currently craving an ice cold coke, some one please have one for us! Till tomorrow be happy be chill all is well!
Ciao,
RMI Guides Tyler Jones & Garrett Stevens
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Comments (5)
James,
Cheers, what a challenge! Trust that you will be well hydrated and alert all the way to the summit with high spirit. Continue your adventure safely and enjoy what nature offers there. Following RMI blog. Praying for you and the team successful journey. Love, mom and dad
Posted by: Soonja Choo on
Go Fallout Go!!
Sounds like the team is doing great…keep it up!
sincerely,
-Deputy Dawg
Posted by: Steve Kennedy on
Robin and Team
Sounds like you all are slowly sneaking up on the summit! I wish I could send a little Texas heat your way when it gets cold BRRRRR!!! Hoping weather and temps will be good for your next climb. We will be thinking about you all and looking forward to your next update. Stay safe and stay warm (when needed). Congrats to you all!
-1
Posted by: Matt Prosser on
Robin, Very proud of all you have accomplished and wishing the best for the rest of the trip. Everyone I talk to is excited to hear about the trip when you get back. One more step towards normalcy…. Miss you… Love, Matt (-2)
Posted by: Matt (-2) on
James it is great reading how you and the team are progressing. I wish we could provide some heat and AC when you need it ... But that’s not how it goes. Keep each others’ spirits high! Sounds like you are all doing a great job!!! Fred
Posted by: Fred Klingbeil on