McKinley Expedition: Hahn & Team Set Up Camp at 11,000’
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Saturday, June 20 - 7PM PST
At 2AM things didn’t look so great… there were big clouds and it was spitting snow on our 8K camp. After a cup of coffee, everything looked better and we rallied the team for moving day. We were on the trail just ahead of 5 AM and moving well in the cool shadows. Before long we were up Ski Hill and pulling on to the plateau at 9500 ft. We took a break near our 10K cache and then rounded the corner bound for 11K. The last hill was bigger and steeper but our team was firing on all cylinders and we cruised into our new home by 10AM. It took about 2.5 hrs to hammer out tent sites and a kitchen and dining tent but it then felt pretty good to move in to shelter from the intense high altitude sun. After a few days down in the valley of the Kahiltna, it is a thrill to be looking out at the Alaskan tundra to the NW and back down to 17,400 ft Mount Foraker to the SW. The end of the West Buttress is gigantic above camp. We may actually get a thunder snow shower after dinner this evening as the cumulus clouds have been building and rumbling.
- RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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