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Posts from 05/2012

Mt. Everest Expedition: Dave Hahn Calls from 26,000’ South Col

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot | May 25, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

It is 4:30 in the afternoon on the 25th of May, at South Col, Everest High Camp.  We didn’t go for it last night, there a few too many people, I don’t know how many exactly, but on the order of 90 – 100 and there was a wind last night, so we didn’t pull the trigger last night.
We are going to go for it tonight.  We’ve got the forecast in our favor, the winds are supposed to drop down. There are other people going for it tonight but manageable numbers and we feel pretty good about it.  It’s a sunny day up here at 26,000’ and we are hanging out, making plans taking care of our selves, getting ready because tonight we want to start up for the roof of the world.

I’ll try to give you a call when we get up and are brewing up in the dark tonight and the cold. But all is well,  we are going ahead with things.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Update

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot | May 24, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and the Mt. Everest team have decided to remain at Camp 4 and postpone their summit attempt until tomorrow night Nepali time.  The winds remained strong and they are hoping for better weather tomorrow.
We’ll keep you posted.

Best of luck to the Everest Climbers!

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Team At Camp 4 Ready for Summit Bid

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot | May 24, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling down from High Camp (Camp 4) on Mt. Everest.  We are just about at 8,000 meters.  I hope you can hear me the winds are beating the stuffing out of our tent fabric right now.  We got up here late morning today, we moved up pretty well from Camp 3, in about 4 ½ hours.  Very crowded conditions on the Lhotse Face but the team was doing well and we cruised on up here.

It was a beautiful day but as soon as we got into the South Col the wind was blowing. Our forecast has changed a little bit, it’s not looking like quite the great window of opportunity that we thought it would be.  There are a number of teams going for the summit tonight.  In fact, many of them are starting and it’s not even 8 pm yet.  We may not be starting if the wind is still blowing.  We are thinking we can wait it out and maybe get some better weather tomorrow.  But we are ready to go if this wind drops and the crowded conditions aren’t too bad.

Four team members, four Sherpa up here on the South Col and it’s exciting as always.  We don’t know what’s going to happen but we are going to play our cards right.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Enjoy Another Rest Day

Posted by: Mike Walter | May 24, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'

Hey all,
One more rest day here at 14,000’. The weather isn’t bad, actually really warm for May, but it wasn’t perfect this morning so we decided to take one more day of rest.

We took the opportunity of a break in the clouds after breakfast to head out to the Edge of the World for some spectacular photos. Just outside of 14 camp, the Edge of the World is where Genet Basin falls away 5,000’ to the NE fork of the Kahiltna. The views are spectacular, and we were able to see our first camp at the base of Ski Hill, as well as the climber’s track heading up the glacier from Base Camp.

It was great to have a chance to stretch our legs, and with our impending summit attempt, the stoke meter is a solid 8 today. Everyone is getting amped up to head high, but with that comes a little bit of nerves for everyone knowing how much effort is just around the corner.

Wishing everybody well, over and out from 14,000’

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the gang

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Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team Ready for Expedition

Posted by: Brent Okita | May 24, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 358'

What a day!
A team meeting over breakfast followed by our park service orientation was just the beginning. The real work started at the hanger of our flight service, K2 Aviation. It was here that the tedium of going thru our gear, both personal and group stuff will pay off hugely when we get to the mountain and are stuck with the equipment we’ve chosen. REI has yet to set up shop on the Kahiltna Glacier.

As we wind down the day a great meal sits in our bellies and we look forward to a final night luxuriating in a real bed where a hot shower and toilet lie but a few carpeted paces away. Tomorrow will be different!

With luck we’ll be flying onto the glacier at 9:00am to start our trip… One that we have all been working so hard and dreaming about for so long. And we start it as a group of individuals already well on our way to being a team of climbers and, more importantly, friends.

I know that we’re all excited to get under way.  I know too that I’m excited to climb with this very impressive group.

Well, all for now from the cozy little town of Talkeetna.

RMI Guide Brent Okita

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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team at 14K Camp

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Geoff Schellens, Anne Gilbert Chase | May 24, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'

Well, we’ve made our move on up to camp at 14k on a scorching hot day with our second trip around (not-so) Windy Corner. We rolled in around 4:15 pm where Mike Walter and his crew were kind enough to leave us a great looking camp to move into.  This left us with significantly less work building walls and digging platforms, lucky us! Thanks Mike! Clouds have moved in this evening and it has started to snow a bit but we are already fed, settled in, and for the most part crashed out. It was a tough day especially with the heat but the gang persevered.

‘til tomorrow,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team Carry to Windy Corner

Posted by: Billy Nugent | May 23, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,300'

Woke up today to splitter (blue) skies and warm temps! The original forecast was for a snowstorm to hit the range sometime today but it didn’t appear that way to us this morning.  The incorrect forecast was great news for us and we were able to push a load of supplies up around Windy Corner this afternoon. The crew made it back down to camp at 11,000’ in time to soak up a bunch of afternoon sun. Needless to say our tans are coming along nicely with all of this good weather. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we plan on picking up camp and heading up to 14,000’.

The team is climbing great and in great spirits! Wish us luck on a big day tomorrow…

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Mt Everest Expedition: Dave Hahn and Team at Camp 3 on Lhotse Face

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot | May 23, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 24,000'

Hello from Everest Base Camp,
I spoke with Dave and Melissa at Camp 3 and WOW did they sound great!
The climbing team left Camp 2 early this morning under perfect conditions.  As they periodically checked in it sounded like they were truly enjoying the climb and taking pictures when possible. As you can imagine, under harsh weather there isn’t time to enjoy the mountain and the views.

Our super Sherpa team started a bit earlier and set up tents at Camp 3 then returned back to Camp 2 to spend the night. The equipment that had been brought up there weeks ago was all intact and the team was able to pull into a well provisioned home for the night. Last I heard Melissa was kicking Dave’s you know what in the stove boil off competition for dinner, Go Melissa Go!

As this climb is quickly coming to it’s conclusion, and a day like today that can be so pivotal in the future success I get so excited with this good luck. Not that these tough individuals wouldn’t meet the challenge of wind, cold and snow. I just like the way it is shaping up.
The weather forecast is still looking good with winds decreasing over the next few days.  You have to love that!

The Sherpa team will get out of Camp 2 early tomorrow morning and the climbing team will try and have a seamless hand off of some gear to them from Camp 3, check out time should be around 6:00 am.  Then the whole team should climb together up to high camp the South Col, getting there midday, that should allow enough time for rest and preparation for early departure toward the summit that night.

RMI Guide & Everest Base Camp Manager Mark Tucker

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Rest at 14,000’

Posted by: Mike Walter | May 23, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'

We spent today resting at the 14,000’ camp on Mt. McKinley, getting stronger for our impending move to high camp (17,000’). The weather today was pretty mild for this time of year, with light snow showers throughout the day. The weather forecast looks pretty good, with similar weather on tap for the rest of the week. Everyone is doing well, and we’ll likely take one more rest day here at 14,000’ before moving up to high camp.

We’ll keep you posted.

Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team Update

Posted by: Billy Nugent | May 23, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,300'

May 22:
Resting here at 11,300’ on Mt. McKinley... Not much to report other than worsening weather through the day today and that while hanging in the posh (cook tent) the team was able to solve most of the world’s problems. We broached the taboo subjects of politics, religion, economics, ancient societies/civilizations, space exploration, extraterrestrial copulation, ancient ruins, plate tectonics, coral atoll nations and the rising sea level, doomsday cults, classic car restoration, moral bankruptcy, and escalating health care costs just to name a few. Currently it’s snowing moderately but fortunately without wind. A good day to rest after all. Hopefully we get a small break in the weather tomorrow so we can push a load of food and fuel up around Windy Corner which will put us in position to move up to 14k camp.

Ciao,
RMI Guides Billy Nugent, Geoff Schellens and Gilbert Chase

May 21:
After an uneventful night we awoke to more mostly sunny weather with some high cirrus clouds. The plan was to sleep in a little and enjoy the first morning of the expedition where we didn’t have the chore of breaking camp. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon on toasted bagels with cream cheese and then geared up for our walk down to the cache at 9,600’. After less than four hours we had retrieved all of our groceries and returned to camp at 11k. After eating dinner and hanging out, the glacier in camp suddenly settled sending a large shock-wave through the ground, needless to say scaring the crap out of everyone. I’ve never really felt a glacier do that before, pretty wild. Tomorrow calls for a rest day which might be good timing with the weather as things seem to be slightly deteriorating. There are some lenticular clouds forming on the peaks across the Kahiltna which may be indicative of some moisture on he way.

Will check in tomorrow from our rest day…

RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang.

May 20:
Hi everyone.
Today was another great day of unbelievable weather for our push up to the 11,000’ camp. We left behind a cache at our previous camp at 9,600’ of mostly food and fuel (alongside some miscellaneous personal items) and thus enjoyed a significantly lighter move than the loads from the previous two days. After a little bit of digging and improving of an abandoned camp we moved in and enjoyed a great tortellini dinner.

Hoping for a smooth first night at a new elevation,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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