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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

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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.

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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!

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Reach 17,000’ Camp

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | June 29, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'

Mike Walter called at 12:00 a.m. Friday morning and reported that he and the team had reached 17,000’ Camp on Mt. McKinley.  They had a nice day of climbing with light snow and no wind.  They rolled into camp at about 5:00 p.m., and are now resting.  The team may take a rest day at 17,000 but if everyone is feeling good they might just go for the top.

Good Luck Team!

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Staying Put at 14k Camp

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | June 27, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'

We went to bed with clear skies and a forecast for 12-18” of snow overnight. The clear skies persisted overnight and we didn’t get any new snow. There is a lenticular cloud on top of Denali today, indicating strong winds. We’re also seeing snow blowing off of the West Buttress between the top of the fixed ropes and high camp. The current winds and the increased avalanche hazard from yesterday’s foot of snow are keeping us at 14k for another day. The sunny weather at camp today is welcome, and is helping to keep our spirits high. It looks like some better weather is approaching for the weekend, and we’re hoping we’ll be able to take a crack at the summit then. With any luck, we’ll be able to move to high camp tomorrow and be in position for the arrival of the more favorable weather. We’ll keep you posted!

RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Cozy at 14K Camp

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | June 26, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'

Hello again from 14,200’. It’s snowing right now, and it snowed all last night. There’s only about 6” of accumulation so far, bur more is expected today and tomorrow. The good news is that there isn’t any wind here at 14k, and we’re all comfortable and cozy in our camp. We’re still in a holding pattern, waiting for decent weather to move up to high camp and be in position for a summit bid when the current weather pushes out.

In the mean time, we’re getting plenty of rest here at camp. Everyone is patiently awaiting better weather, although we’re all a little antsy for some exercise and a chance to move higher. We’ll keep you posted…

RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Rest Day at 11K Camp

Posted by: Mike Walter, Paul Edgren, Mike Hinckley | June 19, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'

Hi guys, this is Mike checking in from the 11k camp on Denali. All is well. We decided to spend another day here at 11,200’ instead of moving up to 14,200’ today. We are spending the day resting, eating, and getting more acclimated to the altitude before venturing higher. We are hoping to move up to 14k tomorrow, weather pending. Until then, we’re enjoying the sunny, hot weather and just lazing around. Hopefully our next dispatch will be from higher ground.

Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Send Happy Father’s Day Wishes

Posted by: Mike Walter, Mike Hinckley, Paul Edgren | June 17, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'

Happy Fathers Day from our Denali crew! We’re just checking in from our new home at 11,200’. We moved up here yesterday in nice weather, but shortly after we arrived the winds picked up and it started to snow lightly. The gusty winds and snow continued thru the night, but it seems to be calming down this morning. We’re not too concerned though, because we are planning to take a full rest day today. We deserve it after 3 hard days of carrying heavy packs and pulling sleds up to 11k.

We enjoyed seeing Tyler Jones and the RMI June 5th Denali crew here at camp as they are descending after a successful summit. They are eager to get back to base camp and fly back to Talkeetna. But unfortunately the current weather is making them drag their feet and hang here in camp.
We’ll be in touch again soon…

RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Situated at Ski Hill

Posted by: Mike Walter, Mike Hinckley, Paul Edgren | June 15, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'

We are on the Mountain!

After landing at Basecamp our team loaded our sleds, grabbed our packs and we were on our way.  We moved during the night to 7,800’ on the Kahiltna Glacier, located at the base of Ski Hill.  Everyone is doing well.  The weather has been beautiful- nice and warm during the day and good travel conditions at night.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

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