Mt. McKinley Expedition: Van Deventer Get Work in As Weather Improves
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
-640x480.jpg)
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - 10:29 pm PT
Things started to turn nicer up on our big hill. The snow and clouds blew out today, winds quieted, and we spent the day addressing logistical hurdles. The first was that we found out last night that the downline of the fixed lines hadn’t been freed of its icy tomb, so there was a rope going up but not down- recipe for a traffic jam. We made a plan with teams from AMS to send a couple of guides from each team up to sledge hammer out the lines. Accordingly that meant we couldn’t go for a carry as a team. Additionally another guided team needed a guide loan to get their back carry in. So, Nick helped another team with their carry, got back in time for Ben and Pete to head uphill, then Nick took the group to the Edge of the World to look down on the lower Kahiltna Glacier and our first camp at Ski Hill. We were all reunited this evening over a tortellini dinner, and we’ll assess whether to get our carry in tomorrow!
Full team day.
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and team
PC: Pete Van Deventer, Edge of the World. From Previous Expedition
