We watched a few different climbing teams go down this morning because the weather was junk and they were out of time and low on supplies. We are very hopeful that Denali will invite us to climb to the summit in the next couple of days. The team is strong, healthy and happy. What a great group of guys! We have all progressed from amateur to professional tent nappers with all of these weather no bueno days.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
A very dry snow started falling yesterday after we returned from our carry to 16,200' and continued throughout the night. When we finally emerged from the tents 6 - 8" of new snow covered camp. As we fired up the stoves for breakfast we dug out camp, clearing all of the snow from the tents, resetting the tent anchors, and pulling our backpacks and climbing gear out from beneath the surface.
With no plan but resting and sitting around camp today, we had a casual breakfast - cooking up a heaping amount of bacon and sitting inside the kitchen, talking about normal 4th of July weekend activities while we listened to the snow fall on the tent above. These rest days can be some of the more mentally difficult days of an expedition as there isn't much to do but sit idely and wait for our move. While they are important for our acclimatization and physical recovery, they are also a test in patience as we wait for the hours to go by. Thankfully the team is doing well and it has been welcome down time after a few big days back to back.
We occupied a few hours in the afternoon paring down our gear for high camp and fitting our overboots to our climbing boots and crampons in preparation for our summit bid. We're waiting to see what the weather brings us for tomorrow.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
We woke up to no winds and a small amount of new snow. We got our summit gear together, had some breakfast and coffee, then set out towards the top. We were breaking trail through deep snow so it was slow going. We climbed into the clouds, but the winds were very moderate and it was not all that cold. The weather seemed to be improving throughout the day as it had been the previous days...until we hit Denali Pass. Denali Pass is a low point into the ridgeline at about 18,200'. As soon as we hit the ridge, the winds were "nuking". We knew that with the direction the wind was coming from, there wouldn't be any reprieve from the ridge and they would probably increase as we went higher. So, we are calling it a dress rehearsal and waiting for that perfect weather day that is coming soon!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Been keeping up with you via your blogs; thanks so much for them. Glad you had a good practice run. Looking forward to your next blog recapping your summit accomplishments. Enjoy your time on the mountain; you’ll be down again with all yor amazing stories before you know it.
<3
jam
Posted by: Janette Mitchell on 7/3/2011 at 9:42 am
Well the 4th is freedom day. Hope you guys will make it today the 3rd of july as your OWN independence day to remember. We all are praying for all of u so u guys can come home quick
Sitting at over 14,000' on the west side of the mountain it takes the sun awhile to reach camp in the morning, so when we got up this morning it was cold, cold, cold. We hurriedly wolfed down breakfast and loaded up our packs with supplies for our cache, all the while hopping back and forth from one foot to the other trying to generate whatever body heat we could. By 8:30 we headed out of camp. Below us the entire lower Kahiltna Glacier came into view as we climbed higher, stretching for dozens of miles through the peaks of the Alaska Range. Above unfortunately wasn't quite so clear and a bank of clouds swirled over the summit of Denali.
We climbed straight up the side of the West Buttress above 14 Camp, soon reaching an ice bulge at 15,500' known as The Eyebrow. From there the route steepens to 50 degrees or so for the final 700' of climbing to reach the ridge line of the West Buttress itself. This section is set with fixed ropes to help protect climbers on the exposed terrain. After a quick break we set out up the fixed lines, soon setting into a comfortable routine as we worked our way up the face, sliding our ascenders up the ropes as we climbed. Before long we topped out of the fixed ropes onto the ridge, stopping at 16,200' on a beautiful but exposed ridgeline, both sides rolling away several thousand feet. By now the clouds which started higher on the mountain had settled down around us, occasionally parting to reveal 14 Camp below us to the south and the Peters Glacier to our north.
We cached our small load of supplies there before turning around and heading back down the fixed lines and continuing on into camp. The team climbed well today, making good time and figuring out the intricacies of fixed lines travel easily. With our cache of gear established on the Buttress we are planning on taking a rest day tomorrow before heading up to high camp for our summit bid should the weather allow. We are all looking forward to some down time tomorrow and are excited to be preparing for the summit push.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hey Frank Marini,
We are all at a BBQ at Norms house for Michelles bday and we have been looking at your blog. It is so amazing! We are so proud of you! You are in our prayers…be safe, above all enjoy yourself.
Christie and everyone at your brothers house!
Posted by: Christie wissinger on 7/3/2011 at 6:46 pm
Looking east at magic hour on Mt Blanc, waiting for the sun to rise on the East to salute your bday!!!! Happy 4th - may it find you close to the top of North America.
Safe ascent and descent - fireworks for the whole em!!! Cheers to the Firecracker!
Posted by: mallory fam at camp molly in cham on 7/3/2011 at 1:41 pm
This is Dave Hahn calling from Mount McKinley. We were able to move from Basecamp to Camp 1 at 7,800’ today. We thought we were going to get a perfectly clear night, but it did end up a cloudy night again. The clouds rolled in as we were going to bed last night and put a little tension in things. We weren’t sure that the glacier surface was going to be able to freeze up with that cloud cover. We woke up to climb at 1:00 a.m. and the cloud cover was starting to break up and things were getting cold again and starting to freeze. We left Basecamp at 3:30 a.m. and conditions were pretty good. We moved on down to the main Kahiltna Glacier, and banged a right turn around Mt. Francis. The lower glacier right now is a little broken in that region with lots of crevasses. There is a lot of contour to the surface. It’s a pretty rough surface because there is ash from the volcanic eruption to the south from a couple years ago which is now on the surface of the snow. Things are melting out a little bit strange this year which made it a little awkward for sled pulling. We saw a number of other guided teams and other teams coming down and we witnessed a lot of folks stepping into crevasses. Most just post pushing a leg here and there but we actually did pretty well and didn’t have too much trouble. Conditions improved as we got closer to 7,800’ with good sled pulling condition. The group moved pretty well and everybody was feeling good, everybody was enjoying the morning.
It took us about 6 hours to here so by 9:30 a.m. we started setting up camp. We have had a relaxing rest of the day. We are taking it easy and trying to get out of the sun.
There is another snowstorm around but we seem to be in a hole. We can see it storm up higher on the mountain and back down at Basecamp. But for now it’s pretty nice right here.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from 7,800' on Mt. McKinley, July 2, 2011.
This is Dave Hahn calling from the last RMI trip on Mount McKinley this season. We are still at Basecamp. We got up again this morning at 1 AM and in fact, this time we got up and had breakfast. We were in clouds, but it didn't seem that bad. Before we were done with breakfast, it started snowing and we had to get back in the tents and it didn't stop snowing for another 5 or 6 hours, and stayed cloudy and inclement for hours after that so we weren't able to move today in a white out and wet conditions. But by afternoon it cleared it up. And this evening things are crystal clear blue sky above and we're really hoping that it freezes up good and solid tonight and then we'll be on our way. Bye for now.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We woke up to howling winds, blowing snow, and cold temperatures. Not a good climbing day. We stayed in the tents most of the day and did some sport eating to make sure that we are energized for our summit bid when the weather clears. The sun finally came out and the winds died down in the afternoon. It turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon and evening. Keep your fingers crossed for us that the weather holds through tomorrow!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
We have been following your progress and think that you have been fortunate so far in the weather gods! Keep it up! Stay safe and we wish you great luck on your summit climb.
Posted by: Ruthann Rossiter on 7/2/2011 at 8:12 pm
After a long day moving from 11 Camp yesterday we took advantage of some excellent snow walls left for us by Mike Haugen and the RMI team ahead of us as we set up camp at 14 Camp. After a quick dinner we were soon sawing logs in the tents, a rest well deserved after the day. We had a relaxed agenda this morning, hanging out in the kitchen tent over breakfast as we waited for the sun to climb higher in the sky and warm up the basin where 14 Camp sits a bit. Around mid morning we grabbed our mostly empty packs and clipped into the ropes, heading back down the route to the cache of gear we left near Windy Corner at 13,600' back on Tuesday.
We made great time down there, retrieved everything from beneath the snow surface where we buried it, loaded our packs, and headed back up to camp. It was another perfect day for climbing, occasional clouds swirling up from below and obscuring the sun helped keep the temperatures moderate and I never got too hot on the climb back to camp.
We returned to the tents just after lunch and then spent a few hours training, rigging up our mechanical ascender systems and practicing how to safely use them on fixed ropes. This is in preparation for our next carry of gear to 16,200' which will bring us up the fixed lines that sit above 14 Camp. We hope to accomplish this in the next day or two, after which we will be able to turn our attention to moving to high camp at 17,200' and making a subsequent summit bid.
We will check in tomorrow and let you know if we are able to pull it off. Happy July 1st to everyone back home, we're pretty sure those backyard barbecues aren't nearly as exciting as our snow kitchen and camping stoves...!
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hope all went well today and wishing you a happy 3rd of July. We’ll set off some fireworks for you guys. Did anyone remember a flag to fly on the 4th? Keep up the good work.
Posted by: John and Lorraine on 7/2/2011 at 6:13 pm
...snow kitchen and camping stoves? It beats playing “Bocce on the beach” , but we’ll be thinking of you!
Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from 14,200' up on Denali. The team made it from 11 Camp to 14 Camp today. We woke up pretty early at 11 Camp and had a cloud deck right about at camp. Everything above us was clear and everything below us was socked in. So we packed up camp and it was pretty cool in the morning as we are on the shaded side of the mountain. Got everything thrown in the bags and started climbing and just had a spectacular day of climbing. Got above those clouds and stayed above them all day. It was a long day getting to 14,000'. We made it in by late afternoon, got settled and had a big dinner and crashed in the tents. The team is doing well. Everybody is healthy and we're all happy to be here.
The plan for tomorrow is to head back down to Windy Corner if we can and retrieve that cache we put in a couple days ago and then come back to 14 Camp. So it shouldn't be too big of a day. We'll try to check in tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Thanks.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Good work! It’s great to hear that everyone is healthy and enjoying the trek. We are so glad to have your entries to follow
. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Lorraine on 7/1/2011 at 6:40 pm
So glad to hear you are all healthy! Lots of relatives are following you along your route…(via this blog). We are all learning a lot and joining in the excitement!
Posted by: Laurie Colaneri on 7/1/2011 at 12:18 pm
We are at high camp...17,000'! No more caches, carries, or moves. We are in position to go for the summit when the time is right. People finally started summitting yesterday after the weather no bueno that we had a few days ago. We are going to watch the weather and see what are gut tells us to do. We could go for it tomorrow if the weather is perfect AND we feel like it. We won't know until Elias and I wake up in the morning and rock, paper, scissors to see who has to stick our head out of the tent first. It tends to be a bit cold in the morning at 17,000' in Alaska.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
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we are thinking of you every day. Happy 4th of July! best wishes to the team for a successful summit.
Posted by: mom Haugen on 7/4/2011 at 1:58 pm
Excited for you, Patrick! Happy 4th to everyone!
Posted by: Janina on 7/4/2011 at 1:12 pm
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