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Posts from 05/2011

Mt. McKinley Expedition: Hailes & Team Rest at 11,200’ Camp

Posted by: | May 31, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'

Rest, rest, rest…the order of the day was rest. After five days of mountaineering work on Mt. McKinley everyone enjoyed our first day of eating, napping, reading, more eating and then bed time.

As luck would have it that the first windy, snowy day coincided with our day of rest. Perfect timing. As we get in bed for the night the sky is clearing and the wind has subsided.  We are hoping for another good day tomorrow as we climb to 14,000 feet.

Happy anniversary Steve and Denise.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes & Team

On The Map

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Mt. McKinley: Knoff & Upper West Rib Team Move to 14,000’ Camp

Posted by: | May 31, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'

Hello, this is Adam Knoff and the Upper West Rib Team.  We are settled in nicely here at 14,000’, Advanced Base Camp. We moved up today in the harsh winds but pushed through, maintained, got here in good style and everyone here is doing great. 

We have coined ourselves a new team name that being “The Family Style West Rib Team”.  Because back in Talkeetna we decided we were going to fit 5 people in a 4 man tent on our expedition. Courtney Scaife being a good old fashion Wisconsin girl said “This is just like family style camping” and now we will refer to ourselves as the Family Style West Rib Team.

The weather here is cloudy but calm and relatively warm for this altitude. We will be taking a rest day tomorrow, with the exception of climbing down about 500’ below camp to retrieve our cache .  The following day we will have a full rest day.  So a nice, leisurely couple of days coming up compared to the seven solid days of movement we’ve had the last week. We will be checking in tomorrow and let you know how our rest is going.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

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Mt. McKinley: Hailes Update

Posted by: | May 31, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'

Mt. McKinley’s “Windy Corner” lived up to it’s name today. We carried a load of food and gear into a head wind to a cache site at about 13,500 ft. Luckily once we made the turn around the corner the winds died and we enjoyed the bright, warm sunshine while we buried our cache and took a break before heading back down to camp.

We will rest tomorrow in preparation for our move to our next camp.

Mike would like to wish a “Happy Birthday to Papa George”.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes

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Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team Reach the Summit!

Posted by: | May 30, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'

What a perfect day for a summit! And so, what better way to spend the day high on Denali than to go for a little walk. First to Denali Pass still shrouded in the cold morning’s shade. Then, bang a hard right followed by a sweeping left towards Archdeacon’s Tower. Over hill and dale to the Football Field, then up Pig Hill for a final but kicker and onto the summit ridge.
We finally reached the summit at about 5:30, wearing our big down parkas to protect us from a rather chilly breeze. What a day!

Unfortunately we were missing a couple of key members of our team, a consequence of not taking a rest day after our big push up from 14,200’ camp. But we all discussed the gamble of taking advantage of a perfect day on your first morning and agreed on the strategy.

So, Clay and Frank, having reached their personal high point of 19,000’ today, will have another chance at the summit tomorrow if the weather holds up along with their motivation. These two have probably earned the right to summit as much as anyone due to their hard work for the team, selflessness, and good nature. Maile, Leon and I, along with the rest of the team, are completely committed to helping these two amazing individuals reach their goals.

We’re all looking forward to a good night’s sleep, so until next time…

RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Maile

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Mt. Everest Expedition:  Season Ends

Posted by: | May 30, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 17,575'

RMI Guide Mark Tucker reported from Everest Base Camp that RMI Guide Melissa Arnot and her climbing partner Dave Morton have safely returned to Base Camp.  Unfortunately, they were unable to summit Mt. Everest on this expedition but we are all glad that they are back safe and sound.

The season on Mt. Everest is complete and the tent city at 17,575’ which came alive in mid March with expedition members, trekkers, Sherpa and Base Camp staff is now bare of tents and people.

Congratulations again to RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Linden Mallory on their successful summit climb.  Thank you to Mark Tucker and all the staff at High Altitude Dreams for another safe and successful season on Mt. Everest.

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Mt. Rainier: May 30th Update

Posted by: | May 30, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,060'

The Four Day Summit Climb May 27 - 30, 2011 made their summit bid this morning but were forced to turn around at 13,800’ due to poor visibility.  The team is descending to Camp Muir and will be making their way back to Paradise by early afternoon.

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Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team Move to 17,200’ Camp

Posted by: | May 29, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'

An always tough move to 17,200’ was made a bit more pleasant today with some perfect weather and climbing conditions.

We’re all in bed now after setting up camp and having dinner. We’re awaiting the morning to see if this nice weather holds out. If things are perfect, we’ll go for the summit! I’ve learned that you just can’t pass up a perfect day on this mountain. I’ve seen too many other folks squander opportunities that never arise again.

However, a rest day would be most welcome if conditions are at all marginal. It might just mean that we have to wait out a weather system coming our way in the next couple of days.

Goodnight,

RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Maile

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Mt. McKinley: Knoff & Upper West Rib Team Move to 11,000’

Posted by: | May 29, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'

Hello, this is Adam Knoff and the Upper West Rib Climbing Team.  We are established comfortably here at 11,000’ on Mt. McKinley.  We moved up today from our camp at 10,200’ in very nice weather. 

The weather deteriorated a little bit this afternoon bringing some clouds and light snow.  We were able to climb above camp for a few hours and found a nice place to do some ice climbing and some training.  That got everybody excited and morale is good. 

Everyone is feeling strong and we expect to make a carry up to 14,000’ tomorrow.  Then we will see what the weather is like as the forecast calls for a low pressure system on Tuesday and Wednesday.  This puts a little uncertainty into our planning so we’ll play it by ear.

As our team gets to know each other we have discovered that the never snoring Mr. James Fitch does in fact snore. And that is one of the fun new discoveries of the trip so far.

We’ll keep you posted as our plans for the upcoming days develop.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

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Mt. McKinley: Hailes & Team Move to 11,000’ Camp

Posted by: | May 29, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'

Good evening friends and family,

We are all comfortably moved into our new camp at about 11,000 feet. It took us 2.5 hours to move here from 9,500 feet and about 2 hours to level tent platforms, dig our cook area, and retrieve the cache we established yesterday. Everyone worked hard to refine this camp because we are planning on being here for the next three nights. We will carry gear higher on the mountain, rest, and continue to acclimate.

We will check in again soon.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes

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Mt. Rainier: May 29th Update

Posted by: | May 29, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,000'

The Summit Teams departed Camp Muir for an early alpine start today but were forced to turn around at approximately 11,400’ due to high winds, poor visibility and reportedly high avalanche conditions.  The Five Day Summit Climb May 25 - 29 and the Four Day Summit Climb May 26 - 29 teams returned safely to Camp Muir and rested for a few hours before starting their decent to Paradise.

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