Denali Expedition: Smith and the All-Women’s arrive on the Kahiltna Glacier!
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7400'
Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:55pm PDT
Hello from the Kahiltna Glacier!
What a busy day it was. We loaded planes and were in the air by 9am. It was chilly morning in Talkeetna, warmed by bour last Lattes and Michael but man was it hot on our walk. I thought it was cold in May. We took off downhill on what is called heart break hill. It is not heart breaking yet but it will be on our return. But that is a way away from now. Everything is so big around us you have little idea how far everything is. Is it close or is it miles away? We walked for 5.5 hours to reach our camp at the base of ski hill. It is a tough walk with heavy sleds and heavy packs. You really enter a pain cave to push through. One stretch is your quads, the next your hip flexors, the next your calves, something is always uncomfortable. But hey that is what we signed up for!
After setting up tents and moving in we gathered for dinner. We carried in pizza from Mountain High Pizza, and it was delicious. We topped off the night with a hot drink and the crawled into our sleeping bags. It’s a marvelous feeling to lay down and release the body. Tomorrow we will carry gear to just over 10k feet and then return to our camp for the night. The lighter loads will feel a lot better going up ski hill. Weather is moving in so fingers crossed it stays at bay till we return to camp or even better till the following evening so we can get to 11k camp. The team is looking good, and morale is high.
We are all excited to keep moving uphill.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team
Comments (7)
Remember Corey, the only thing to fear is fear itself. That and frozen pizza. Stay warm!
Anna + Bennett
Posted by: Anna Nolan on
Go Aunt Corey, Go!
Posted by: Jack McKenzie on
Bethany
Moving on up! Hope you got my comment posted yesterday. Look forward to reading more of your adventure love mom and dad
Posted by: Jan L. Gray on
You got this Aunty Molly!!
We love you!
Posted by: Julia Broccoli on
Great start Tatas! Thank you for the updates, much appreciated. You got this Molls! More.
Posted by: Todd Wardwell on
Go Corey! Go Tatas!
Posted by: Jon Gill on
Wow! Moving fast! Wish you all an excellent trip, successful climb, and memorable trip. Best of luck to all of you. Excited to be able to follow your progress. Special greetings to my sister Evička.
Posted by: Susan Losonsky on