Entries By levi kepsel

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 Hey everybody this is Billy here. I'm with Kel, Levi and the rest of the gang checking in from 17K Camp, high on Denali. We had a beautiful day today and it was actually pretty darn hot for our move up to high camp. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon cutting blocks and fortifying our spot. We're hoping to take a crack at the summit tomorrow. The weather forecast looks perfect. We'll call in tomorrow hopefully check in, from the summit perhaps, and then once again once we get back to camp safe and sound. That's all for now, talk later. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

First and foremost, the biggest event of the day was Pete's birthday--14K on a sunny day is not a bad place for a party. Today was a bit a work and a bit of play, or rest anyway. We started by moving the 13,600' cache. We moved the cache and carried the cache to 14K. Resting at the cache spot before our carry, we could hear the water flowing underground, deep under the glacier. The trip back to camp was smooth and everyone arrived back far from flippy-floppy. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the peaceful oasis of our surroundings. Though we all could certainly get used to that lifestyle, we're also eager to make the most of this weather and the team's strength, so we're heading off to bed soon to get ready for tomorrow's carry up the fixed lines. RMI Guide Kel Rossiter

On The Map

Billy here checking in from Camp IV at 14,200' after a strong showing from our team on a big move up. We enjoyed mostly clear skies and incredibly strong sun on the way up from our previous camp at 11,000'. In fact, the sun was a little too strong; while the ambient temperature hovered in the teens we felt like we were boiling for the majority of our climb. It's amazing what a little radiation can do. After all our hard work we were rewarded with an easy move-in to Mike Walter's recently vacated camp. Sometimes you just get lucky. The high pressure is supposed to stick around through the extended forecast so we aim to keep on chipping away... Wulpseeya! RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

There's a great German game show called "Stackenblocken" where contestants arrange objects on a desk at right angles. A judge then comes out with a framing square and a riding crop to punish the contestants who cannot make their desk "Stackenblocken". Well, the weather has been so sunny and warm here at 11 camp that the wall surrounding our camp was indeed no longer "Stackenblocken" and in fact leaned to the point where it comically collapsed... Fortunately for us there was no judge with a jockey's disposition and the blocks remained intact. We were actually able to rebuild it in a few quick minutes; turns out its not so hard on the second go around when all your materials are ready-made. On another note, the team also spent a bit of the day retrieving our cached food and fuel from the 9,600' camp. We made such short work of our back carry that it really felt like a rest day. Good times! More about our intrepid crew as our adventure unfolds... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

In the movie "Spinal Tap" there's a comical part where the rock god explains to an interviewer that, whereas most amplifiers only go up to ten, his "goes to eleven" in case he's really rocking out and "needs that extra push." Well, our strong team definitely needed no extra push in making it to 11K camp today. After a calm night at 9600' we woke to clear skies and prepared to "go to eleven." After caching some gear and food in a snow hole ( which we'll pick up tomorrow) we enjoyed the feeling of dramatically lightened packs and sleds as we moved up. Arriving in camp the team had its first experience with building a true Denali-style fortified camp. Some people were shoveling, some were cutting blocks, some were carrying them: everyone was working hard and in an hour or so we had a veritable Great Wall in place. Everyone enjoyed the upper body workout and the concrete results. The sun sets late at 11K (it's about 10pm now and still brilliant) and folks are settling in to a well-earned sleep. Tomorrow will be a "half-rest" day: we'll be making a three-hour trek to retrieve our cache, but without the work of breaking down and setting up camp we'll be able to also rest and acclimatize. RMI Guide Kel Rossiter

On The Map

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

On The Map

"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

On The Map

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

On The Map

Woke up this morning to snow on the ground and sleet falling from the sky. It turns out that this doesn't make for the safest bush flights or glacier landings so we spent another day hanging out in Talkeetna. We ate a lot of food, hung out some, practiced crevasse rescue, hung out some more, and some of us even drank a couple beers. Tomorrow is calling for more of the same but with a chance of partial clearing later in the day. We have our fingers crossed... More to come as our expedition gets off the ground, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Update 10:34 am PST Billy called from Talkeetna to give us an update: It is snowing in Talkeetna and the team will not be flying today. Update from 5/16/13 at 11:00 pm PST Checking in from a rainy Talkeetna... We woke up early this morning and headed over to the hangar after a quick breakfast at the Roadhouse hoping to finish up our last odds and ends and fly on to the glacier. While we were weighing the last of our luggage for the flight, the K2 staff told us the bad news: snowing at basecamp, flat light, and a low cloud ceiling. Translation: no go for us. So we hung out most of the day today eating food and worrying about what we forgot to pack while the rain gradually built up all day. Unfortunately, it's not looking good for tomorrow either so we may have to organize a pingpong tournament in the hangar. Despite the crummy weather the team is in good spirits and looking forward to our big adventure. We'll check in tomorrow, hopefully from Kahiltna Basecamp. All for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map