Thursday, June 20, 2013
We have begun! Talkeetna was warm and sunny this morning, with perfect weather for flying into the Alaska range. We had our last big breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, putting down heaping portions of eggs, toast, and reindeer sausage. Within an hour of finishing, we had the two Otters loaded up, and were climbing on board for takeoff. The scenery flying in is always stunning, and our excitement built as we watched the lush green swamp land give way to glacial toes, rocks, and finally, the steep and imposing walls of the Range. We had a great view of Denali, before banking sharply and descending to base camp. With record setting warm temps this week, we had to set camp at basecamp and wait to move until tonight to give the glacier time to freeze up. So we had a leisurely day of sorting gear, rigging sleds, and getting our kits dialed. It will be an early morning for us as we try to make it to the base of ski hill at 7,600 feet tomorrow before the sun turns on the heat!
We'll be in touch!
RMI Guides Pete, Geoff, Robby, and gang
Buenas Guapo!
Looking forward to hearing how things went today.
The pictures are beautiful; so glad the sun is shining for your team.
We are thinking of you.
The Pets are all fine!
XO Guapa
Posted by: marion on 6/22/2013 at 7:09 pm
We’re eagerly awaiting more news about the climb. Michael, we’re thinking of you.
Mom & Dad
Thursday, June 20th, 2013
We made the move. The wind was blowing most of the night last night. I set my alarm for 2:30 a.m. just to see if the weather was going to allow us to move up camps. Right when my alarm went off, it was as if someone hit a switch and turned the wind off.
We got up, packed up camp, and headed up another 3,000 feet. The move only took us about six hours to hike, but we had to work hard building snow walls once we arrived at Denali's 14k camp. This camp, as much or more than the other camps we have been in this far, can receive huge winds that pick up at a moment's notice. We used snow saws to quarry blocks of snow to make walls that surround our tents.
All of this hard work will pay off with a full rest day tomorrow. The sun does not hit this camp until around nine in the morning. I am pretty sure that none of us will be out of our tents until he sun warms us up!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and the RMI Summit Team 6
What is the temperature range at 17,200? Is it balmy? (“No such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”?) We’re hoping for both to be good, and for all the luck possible!
Posted by: Kathy Uchal on 6/22/2013 at 6:23 pm
Great to see your progress!! Hope the weather holds up. Mtn Mo
Thursday, June 20, 2013
The lower glacier was fully covered in fog when we turned in last night and to our surprise it had cleared completely by the time we decided to walk. The early morning light on the surrounding mountains and the waxing moon in the purple sky made an absolutely surreal walk out of the range. The team finished very strong, hitting the runway in style in the morning just as a pair of Otters hit the upper strip. Now in Talkeetna, the team is enjoying the comforts of reentry and in a few hours we are going to enjoy a big meal cooked over something more refined than a camp stove. What a treat!
It is hard to believe that we are back in town already. Enjoying nearly perfect weather and a very strong team, we were able to take advantage of the weather windows and climb the route entirely by ourselves in quite reasonable conditions. Additionally if there was ever a team to handle some downtime and extra rest days with quality conversation, this was it. Yet the weather smiled upon us and our training and strength as a team really came together for an efficient ascent with great folks. Thanks again to everyone on the team for really rising to the challenge of Denali and matching themselves perfectly to their environment for a safe, successful climb. It has been a pleasure.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Jake Beren & RMI Organization,
Thank you to the guides at RMI for making it possible for family and friends to keep track of their loved ones while climbing Denali. The map, photos and blog made it possible to live vicariously through your courageous experience.
I hope hot showers, home-cookin’ and comfy beds are in your near future!
Safe travels home!
Congratulations to the Team!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
The team is assembled and ready to go! Yesterday, we all stepped off the plane into the fire; both literally and figuratively. Alaska has been experiencing a strong heatwave, and Anchorage was toasty. We also had a lot to get done, buying the rest of our food for the mountain and making the drive to Talkeetna. We settled in to relax for the night, leaving the gear sorting and packing for today.
Now, all of our gear is packed and weighed for the plane, tents have been set up and checked to make sure that they are good to go, and everyone is excited for the flight through the Alaska range. Now we just need the weather to cooperate tomorrow AM long enough to get us onto the mountain! Hopefully we'll check in from the glacier tomorrow!
Cheers
RMI Guides Pete, Geoff, Robby, and the team
Hola Guapo!
What a nice group picture! You look so happy…what a beautiful place for your third climb!
I’m so proud of you. We will be following you daily. it seems the weather is in your favor.
Love you! we are here cheering you on. I bet you wish there were sherpas and donkeys there!.....:)
XO Guapa
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Well the wind finally died down yesterday afternoon and instead of hightailing it out of 17 Camp, we chose to relax and enjoy where a few weeks work can put you. It was a gorgeous day to rest and recover and truly enjoy the place we had spent so much time and energy getting to and have the recent memory of our time on top fresh in our minds.
This morning we made a move down the mountain and retraced our steps down the West Buttress towards the fixed lines and 14 Camp. Few teams were out and about, mostly holding tight due to the higher summit winds and we rolled into 14 Camp to find that our kind friends with RMI McKinley Team # 6 had helped us out by digging up our cache. Thanks a bunch guys, so nice to have friends out here.
After increasing our pack weights, we headed down to 11 Camp and had some grub before catching a few winks. Soon we will hit the glacier for our final approach to the Kahiltna BC and see if we can high five RMI McKinley Team #7 and hop in a warm seat for the return to "civilization." It has been a fantastic trip and we've still got one more day to go, but we're certainly in no rush to leave this beautiful place and wonderful team.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
We moved a cache all the way up to 14,000 ft camp today. It is a big day to gain that much altitude with a big load, but our crew did great. In fact, several people commented on how good we looked as we pulled in.
We made great time getting back down to 11k. Jake Beren and crew stopped by for a visit as they are relaxing in 11k camp on there way out to Basecamp and the landing strip. Our plan is to move up to fourteen tomorrow, but only if the weather is as perfect as it has been.
Steve says hi to Tania!
Cindee says hi to dad and wants him to know she is safe and happy!
Quinn says hi to Liz!
Lance says hi to the girls! I hope Penny's school play went well.
Haugen says hi to Amber and the girls!
Peter says hi to Bob and Perk! Trust the puppies are doing well. Love to Ivonne.
Grasshopper says hi to Annie, Rose, and kin!
Katie says hi to Cody!
Uchal says hi to all his people in Rock City!
Sandra says hi to mom, dad, and Hikari!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
We are getting beautiful weather day after beautiful weather day! We retrieved our cache from 10,000ft. We are now set to bring a load up to around 14,000ft. This will be great for our acclimatization since it fits into the climb high and sleep low model.
The team has really been doing a great job of taking care of themselves. We are doing a lot of sport eating and drinking as we sit around camp. I am usually a hydration nag, but this crew is on top of it!
Stay Classy North America!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
So great to hear you have good weather. The pictures are amazing. Keep trucking. Love, mom and dad.
Posted by: Kathie Constantine on 6/19/2013 at 8:51 pm
Grasshopper, Big Steve, & Quiet Sandra - Cheers! Hope you’re enjoying a few rewards after work? That is along with proper hydration. Keep it up! Remember, hills are your friends!! Mtn Mo
Tuesday, June 18 , 2013
What a day yesterday was! We were the only team to climb our route and truly enjoyed having the whole day to ourselves. It was a touch windy, but with warm air temps, it was perfectly manageable. The team climbed strong and stood on top in the afternoon with perfect visibility were treated to spectacular views the whole way up. The summit day is only possible with a combination of factors all coming together and we did a great job matching ourselves to the mountain. Bravo everyone!
Today really makes our call to go for it yesterday seem like the right one. The wind picked up last night and has been blowing hard ever since. We have been hanging out and resting at 17 camp and once the wind dies down we will tackle the Buttress and start the cruise home. We are going to wait a bit and maybe take off tomorrow after this spike in wind speed. For now we could use the rest after a few huge days.
Looking forward to seeing everyone as soon as Denali grants us safe passage.
RMI Guides Jake, Leon, and Josh
We’re glad you all made it to the summit and the weather held! It must seem absolutely religious if the pictures are any hint. Come back safely and be sure to tip the guides—they’re the best.
Il Padrino
Posted by: R.B. on 6/19/2013 at 4:04 pm
Congrats Josh on getting to the summit your first try. Post some pics -Richard Boucher
Posted by: richard a boucher on 6/19/2013 at 7:33 am
Monday, June 17, 2013
Hello everyone. We made it back to camp after a good day of climbing. Everybody is safe and sound. We're just finishing up a little dinner before turning in for a little bit. Looks like we just beat the storm. We'll move a little lower tomorrow. That's all for now.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in after their successful summit.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Hello, this is Jake with RMI #5 standing on top of Denali with an awesome crew on an absolutely beautiful day. We'll give a shout when we get down but it doesn't get too much better than this. Thanks everybody for the support, and will be checking in from down low. Over and out.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren calls from the Mt. McKinley summit!
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Buenas Guapo!
Looking forward to hearing how things went today.
The pictures are beautiful; so glad the sun is shining for your team.
We are thinking of you.
The Pets are all fine!
XO Guapa
Posted by: marion on 6/22/2013 at 7:09 pm
We’re eagerly awaiting more news about the climb. Michael, we’re thinking of you.
Mom & Dad
Posted by: Sara Doherty on 6/22/2013 at 4:36 pm
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