- Melissa Arnot
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Entries By ben liken
Mt. McKinley: Mike Walter and Team Retrieve their Cache
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 22, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
The weather was beautiful today, sunny and warm, and barely a breath of wind. We took a quick trip back to Windy Corner (13,600’) to retrieve the cache we left there well over a week ago. The hike back to the cache took us 15 minutes, and about an hour to ascend back to the 14,200’ camp that we established yesterday. The rest of the day was spent buffing out camp and practicing fixed rope travel techniques in preparation for tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan on carry supplies up above 16,000’ to get ready for our summit bid. The weather looks good for the next few days; hopefully the forecast pans out. Tomorrow will be two weeks into our expedition, and we’re all excited to get up high soon.
We’ll let you know how our carry goes. Stay tuned…
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Move to 14K Camp!
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 20, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Hello All!
We awoke this morning to calm winds and relatively warm temperatures; a welcome change from the last week of stormy living at 11,000’. We had a quick breakfast and broke down tents just as the sun began to thaw out camp. Eager to make our move, we started our ascent at 10 am and arrived at our camp in the Genet Basin at 14,200’ at 3:30pm. Everyone did great and we enjoyed the warm sunshine and lack of chilly breeze getting around Windy Corner.
We spent the rest of the day working hard building walls and getting our camp in order.
Looking forward to getting a good nights rest and getting our cache tomorrow!
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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.
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Mike, I went to the book store and asked the clerk where the self help section was. She said she could help me but that would defeat the purpose. Then… read more
Posted by: John on 5/20/2013 at 6:37 pm
Good call. Hunker down and get back to some sport eating. I’m on Otdoor Ed until Thursday night but I’ll try to shoot off a weather report before I go.… read more
Posted by: K2 on 5/20/2013 at 3:31 pm
Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team See Improvements in the Weather
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 18, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
The weather has definitely been improving for us. The winds have calmed, and only light snow has fallen today. The storm produced a little over two feet of snow, with deeper drifts. Hopefully the improving trend continues and we can move camp tomorrow. We’re all ready and rested for some more climbing.
That’s all the news from up high today.
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Mt. McKinley: Waiting Game Continues at 11,000’
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 17, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Another day goes by and we are still here at the 11k Camp. The winds have died down for the most part, but it is snowing and visibility is nearly zero. We’re still doing well, tent bound mostly. Hopefully the storm passes soon and we can move camp up higher.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Wait Out a Storm at 11K Camp
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 16, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Our team is hunkered down at the 11,000’ camp still, as the weather has progressed to become a pretty significant storm. Snow is falling and winds are howling as we sit tent bound for the majority of the day. Save for breakfast and dinner, and some quick forays to the bathroom, there is really no reason to leave the relative comfort of our tents today.
We’re all doing well, albeit a bit eager to go climbing. Hopefully the weather breaks soon so we can get up the the 14k camp.
That’s all the news from this end…
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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Staying at 11K Camp Another Day
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 16, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Well, we’re still at the 11,000’ camp below the West Buttress. The temperatures dropped and the winds picked up considerably today as a cold storm system is affecting Alaska. Apparently, it’s snowing in Anchorage; that’s about 11,000’ lower altitude than our camp. So yeah, it’s cold here. But we’re all doing well. Most of the day found us either in our sleeping bags in our tents, or in the cook tent, staying out of the wind and passing the time by reading, playing scrabble, and telling stories. We’re hoping the winds abate tomorrow and we are able to move camp up to 14,200’. We’ll keep you posted.
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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Cache Gear at 13,600’
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 15, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 13,600'
We woke up early to a beautiful morning today: cloudless and calm, but very cold. After fueling up for the day with a good breakfast, we started up Motorcycle Hill in the shade, bundled in warm clothes. Our packs were loaded with supplies to cache up high. The weather couldn’t have cooperated much better for us today. After the initial chill on Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill, the temperature was very comfortable on the Polo Fields and around Windy Corner to our cache sight at 13,600’.
We climbed and descended about 2,500 vertical feet today before arriving back at our camp at 11k. We had a big meal and plenty of fluids, and now we’re all horizontal for the night. Our next step will be to move camp to 14k. We’ll keep you abreast of our progress…
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team
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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Acclimate at 11,000’
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Ben Liken | May 14, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Hello again from the 11k camp on Denali!
We decided to take another day to rest and acclimate to the altitude. We spent most of the day lounging around, reading, listening music, napping, and telling lies, all the while getting stronger for our forays up higher.
The weather was cloudy, cooler, and windier today, and a trace of snow fell overnight. But as I lie in my sleeping bag typing this dispatch, a cloudless sky sits above us. We’re hoping for good weather tomorrow so we can carry supplies up to around 13,600’. We’ll stay in touch.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & team
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Mike, what did the blonde say when the guide blew in her ear? Thanks for the refill. Good Luck John and Steve
read morePosted by: john riester on 5/14/2013 at 4:10 pm
Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Enjoy a Rest Day
Posted by: Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter, Ben Liken | May 13, 2013
Categories:
Elevation: 11,200'
We got a good night’s sleep last night, and even slept in until the sun warmed our tents. Then we indulged in a hearty brunch of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and plenty of coffee.
We took a much needed rest day today, and enjoyed lounging around in the sun. We also did some work, like building walls around our camp and improving our kitchen area, as well as preparing our equipment for our cache tomorrow. Barring poor weather, we will carry supplies up to around 13,600’ and then return to our camp for the night. Tomorrow will bring a much anticipated change, as we trade our snowshoes and trekking poles for crampons and ice axe. Motorcycle Hill, right out of camp will provide the first of many challenges tomorrow, we’ll let you know how it all plays out.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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