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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team Establish Camp 2

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Kel Rossiter, Levi Kepsel | May 20, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 9,600'

Another beautiful day and another strong effort from our crew! We took advantage of more amazing weather and single-carried all of our gear and supplies up Ski Hill to set up shop at Camp 2, which sits at about 9,600’ on the upper reaches of the Kahiltna Glacier. Our guys clearly trained hard and the long hours on the stairmaster paid dividends today hauling massive loads. We rolled into camp around 4:30 which made for a leisurely afternoon getting situated and taking in the amazing views. After a hot dinner of tortellini alfredo, we all crawled into the tents and are currently waiting for the bitter cold to set in once the sun dips behind Kahiltna Dome.

That’s all for now, we’ll check in again tomorrow!

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Mt. Rainier: May 20th Update

Posted by: J.J. Justman, Jake Beren | May 20, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

At 7:57 a.m. RMI Guides JJ Justman and Jake Beren were standing on Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier, enjoying the views.  There was a gentle 5 mph breeze on the “prettiest day in May that [JJ and Jake] have ever seen.”

The teams began their descent about 8:30 and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.

Congratulations Summit Climbers!

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team - The Winds Win Out

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 20, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'

We woke early this morning, had breakfast, and packed up camp, ready to move to 14,200’ before the sun had hit our tents. But the winds up high were too strong for my liking. We repitched our tents to seek shelter from the wind and waited for a few hours for the winds to abate. Unfortunately, the winds up high continued and a mean looking lenticular cloud had formed over Windy Corner, where we were headed. By noon we made the decision to stay in camp another day and avoid the risks of getting caught in a windstorm high in the mountains of Alaska.

So we wait another day. Such is expedition climbing. The weather forecast looks good for the next few days, and we’re confident that tomorrow will be the day to move camp. We’ll let you know how it goes.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Alaska Expedition Seminar: Marin & Team Practice Ice Climbing

Posted by: Andres Marin, Garrett Stevens, Katie Bono | May 20, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'

There is something about ice climbing in a crevasse that is just mind blowing.  Today the group got to experience ice climbing and how much fun it is.

We headed for the foot hills of Mt. Francis to find a deep crevasse suitable for great climbing.  Big smiles all day long.  Tomorrow we are getting ready to go climbing Radio Tower.  The team is excited to climb higher tomorrow and are doing well!

RMI Guide Andres Marin

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Mt. Everest: Dave Hahn Calls With an Update from C2

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall, Mark Tucker | May 19, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 21,300'

Hello, this is Dave Hahn calling from Camp 2 on Mount Everest, 21,300’.  All is well.  We moved up this morning from Camp 1 in perfect weather conditions, actually a little bit hot in the Western Cwm.  Very much aware of the dramas playing out above us on the mountain.  A number of our friends went to the summit safely and returned in these last couple of days. But, there’s also been some problems up high and much of the mountain was pre-occupied these last couple of days, especially today with trying to help a climber, incapacitated high on Lhotse.  And the drama is still playing out.  Lam Babu, our Sirdar, is putting together a team of Sherpas who will go up tonight and try to get that individual down the Lhotse Face.  So we’re certainly concerned and going to be tuning in to try and back up Lam; meanwhile, trying to continue our own climb.  We’re all doing fine here at Advanced Basecamp.  Our intention is to stage out of here tomorrow to rest and recuperate from our climb up and get ready for a climb higher.  Anyway, lots of exciting times now on Mount Everest as everybody is in motion going for the top and coming down.  All good for us and stay tuned.  Bye for now.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Mt. Rainier: The Ascending Summit Climb Enjoys Blue Skies to Muir

Posted by: J.J. Justman, Jake Beren | May 19, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,000'

It’s quite a bit different than my last climb three days ago. Instead of bitter cold walking up to Camp Muir it was scorching hot!!

The team did great and we are rehydrating and getting ready for our summit bid. Stay tuned and see how well our climb goes!!

RMI Guide JJ Justman

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Mt. Rainier: Muir Seminar Starts Their Week at Rainier Basecamp

Posted by: Casey Grom, Adam Knoff | May 19, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 1,762'

RMI Guides Casey Grom and Adam Knoff are leading our first Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir of the 2013 season.  Today they are spending the day at Rainier Basecamp preparing for their next five days on Mt. Rainier.  Team introductions, gear organizing, and technical training is on their agenda.

While the team was testing out their boots on a hike from Basecamp, they ran into Lou Whittaker, the man who started RMI 44 years ago!  Some stories were told and photos were taken, then it was back to training.

The team is anxious to head up on the mountain tomorrow!

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Mt. McKinley:  Nugent & Team “Walking the Pigs”

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Kel Rossiter, Levi Kepsel | May 19, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,600'

“Pigs” is the term of endearment climbers use to describe any heavy load on a climb.  On Denali our “pigs” are our sleds, and today we took them for their first walk.  The team woke to a bluebird day—welcome after the days of gray—learned about packing, strapping, and roping up our sleds, and then took them out on the trail from Basecamp to 7,600’.  Day one of “walking the pigs” can often be a porcine rodeo with lots of grappling and twisting going on, but this crew made it look more like walking poodles at the Westchester Dog Show.  We’re now at the base of Ski Hill, firing the skillet with fajitas, enjoying the stunning scenery up the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna, and getting ready for tomorrow’s push into steeper terrain—this crew is ready for it.

RMI Guide Kel Rossiter

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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team Fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier!

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Kel Rossiter, Levi Kepsel | May 19, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'

Hey everybody, checking in from the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier where we are settled into Basecamp after a day of exciting weather. We woke this morning in Talkeetna to a couple inches of new snow on the ground and thought it was going to be another day of waiting around for flyable weather. But when I checked in with K2 at 8:00 they said it was actually clear at Basecamp and that as soon as the snow showers in town stopped we’d potentially be on our way.

Well, the clouds broke around noon and our intrepid crew loaded up onto a pair of otters and headed for the Alaska Range. Clouds enroute nearly forced us to turn around but our pilots were able to make it happen and delivered us safely to the Southeast Fork. Some unfortunate planes were forced to turn around after the runway shutdown because of a bank of clouds that rolled in soon after our arrival. These folks eventually made it in later on in the evening when everything cleared up. The views here are breathtaking, if a little humbling.

Wish us luck as we head out on the route first thing tomorrow!

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Alaska Expedition Seminar: Marin & Team Enjoy Spectacular Views While Training

Posted by: Andres Marin, Garrett Stevens, Katie Bono | May 19, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'

Today we woke up with clear skies!  After breakfast we shouldered our packs and went for a hike to the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The Fork offers spectacular views of the North Buttress of Mt. Hunter, South Face of Radio Tower, and the West Face of Kahiltna Queen.  We also learned about snow anchors and glacier travel.  It was really nice to be able to stretch our legs and hike around.  It certainly was a fantastic day.

We also had the opportunity to eat dinner outside enjoying the incredible views.  The weather is looking nice for the rest of the week, so we will be getting around.

Everyone is doing great!

RMI Guide Andres Marin

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