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Entries By mike walter

Mt. Rainier: July 27th Summit!

Posted by: Brent Okita, Mike Walter | July 27, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  RMI Guide Brent Okita also led his team on the Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise to the summit.  The teams reported clear skies and a beautiful day. 

Both teams will descend to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise later this afternoon.

Congratulations to today’s teams!

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Mt. Rainier: July 21st Summit!

Posted by: Mike Walter, Elias de Andres Martos | July 21, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

Our Four Day Summit Climb teams led by Mike Walter and Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at about 8 o’clock this morning.  The teams had clear skies with a cloud deck at about 8,000’ and moderate winds.  They got to spend some time on the summit and are now making their way back to Camp Muir. 

Congratulations to today’s teams!

Also, Nana says “hi” to Nora.

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Mt. Rainier: July 18th Summit!

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Mike Walter | July 18, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

Our Four Day Summit Climb team led by Mike Walter and Five Day Summit Climb team led by Seth Waterfall made it to the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  The teams reported clear skies above 6,000’ and light winds from the west.  The teams have started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.

Congratulations to today’s summit climbers!

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Mt. McKinley:  Walter & Team Return to Talkeetna

Posted by: Mike Walter | July 04, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 358'

Happy 4th of July!

Our Denali climbing team is celebrating the 4th in Talkeetna, AK! We were able to fly off of the glacier today amidst cloudy skies and low layers of fog. K2 Aviation did a great job of watching the weather and getting planes in to Basecamp when possible in order to facilitate our return to society.
After hot showers and a little down time, we’re looking forward to a festive celebration dinner at the Twister Creek Restaurant.

Thanks for following our journey to the highest point in North America! It’s been a great trip, and we’re already looking forward to our next adventure together…what’s yours?

RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Waiting at Basecamp

Posted by: Mike Walter | July 03, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'

Our team is spending the night at Basecamp tonight, as the weather has been un-flyable all day today. We were fortunate enough to have perfect weather for our summit day, and this little weather glitch is now merely an annoyance. We are all looking forward to some simple amenities like hot showers, cold beer, real beds, running water, and the opportunity to talk with loved ones on the telephone. But we know that these will come shortly and we’re already accustomed to being patient with the weather; the important thing to remember is that we had a safe and successful trip on Denali, and the weather worked out for us when we needed it to. This little waiting period in Basecamp is just a reminder that the mountain is still in charge and we need to play by its rules.

We’re optimistic that we will get to Talkeetna tomorrow and finish our expedition. Until then, we’re all safe, comfortable, and happy. Hopefully our next dispatch will be from Talkeetna tomorrow.

Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

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Mt. McKinley: Mike Walter & Team at Basecamp

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | July 03, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,300

After summiting Denali on the 1st of July, our team has not stopped working. We descended from high camp yesterday morning, and continued to Camp 3 at 11,000’ for dinner and some shut-eye. The former was in full effect in the form of bacon-chicken quesadillas, and the latter was in short-order, as we woke up at midnight to start our descent to Basecamp. After taking advantage of the early morning frozen snow conditions on the lower Kahiltna glacier, we arrived at Basecamp at 8:30 am. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for better weather to allow planes to fly and take us back to Talkeetna. We are all napping in our tents while we anticipate sunny skies.

RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team

On The Map

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Descending to Basecamp

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | July 02, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'

Hi, this is Mike Walter checking in from 14,000’.  We have descended the West Buttress and are back at the 14,000’ camp.  Everyone is doing swell.  Our plan is to continue the descent to 11,000’ and hunker down for a few hours.  There we’ll ‘brew up’ hot drinks, grab something to eat and nap for a few hours.  We’ll traverse the lower Kahiltna Glacier in the wee hours (when it’s coldest) headed for Base Camp.  We hope to arrive at BC tomorrow morning, unless the Weather Gods have other plans in store.  That’s all for now from our tired and happy crew.

On The Map

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Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter & Team Reach Summit!

Posted by: Mike Walter | July 01, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 20,320'

At 4:45P (PDT) Mike Walter called from the summit of McKinley:

This is Mike and I’m calling from the summit of Mt McKinley!  The weather is beautiful; no wind, and just a few clouds.  The summit of Mt Foraker (17,400’) is 3,000’ lower than us, and Kahiltna Base Camp is 13,000’ below us!  Our ascent from high camp took seven and one-half hours, which is very good time.  We’re taking hero shots, hugging and congratulating each other, but soon it will be time to descend to our tents.  After a well deserved rest, tomorrow we will down-climb the West Buttress and reach the thick air at 14,000’ camp.  More reports will follow.

Congratulations to the Mt. McKinley June 12th Team!

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Mt. McKinley: Mike Walter & Team Waiting on Weather

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | June 30, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'

This is Mike checking in from high camp on Denali.  The weather is playing games with us today, but the forecast remains excellent.  We had contemplated a summit bid upon awakening, but a lenticular cloud cap kept alternately forming then dissipating throughout the morning, and we decided to hold off.  It has been quite windy in camp, but high pressure is forecast to dominate the next several days.  Our well rested team hopes to go for it tomorrow.  All is well and we will be back in touch with an update tomorrow.

Wish us luck!

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Mt. Mckinley: Mike Walter and Team Prepare for Summit Bid

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | June 30, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'

Mike Walter called and checked in on Friday night at about 9:50 p.m.  There were some clouds and winds on the upper mountain so the team decided to take a rest day at 17,000’ camp. They have had nice weather at camp and a good rest.  Mike reported an awesome forecast for today with sunny skies and light winds, so they plan to make their summit attempt.  The team is excited and ready to go.

Good Luck Team!

On The Map

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