Sunday, June 2, 2013
Today we woke to a splitter red sky, the most beautiful morning of our trip. As the saying goes, though: red sky in morning, climbers take warning! The weather continues to cloud up and a few snow flakes have fallen between breaks in the clouds. This change is rather abstract compared to the last few week of very high pressure over the region. With an early start the team climbed well for 5 hrs. We now find ourselves enjoying some well earned down time back in the tents eating, drinking, sleeping and chatting. Most importantly hiding from the seemingly gorilla strength sun rays in our new home at 11k. Tomorrow we plan to sleep in, have a deluxe breakfast, and retrieve our luggage just a short way down the hill. Each of our team members want to say hi to family and friends; we are doing great and love you all! We'll check in after our grocery shoppe and petrol refill.
RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Garrett Stevens
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Just knowing that today we had absolutely nothing to get accomplished gave us all that sense of ease and happiness often felt on the first day of a great vacation. Breakfast (yes, smoked salmon, bacon, fried bagels and cream cheese) didn't even start until the sun had warmed up camp, and lingered almost to lunch.
We relaxed outside in the sun and inside away from its strong rays. Some got horizontal and read or napped, while others of us hung out in the Posh talking about everything from music and movies to food, wine and other delicacies.
Those of us with FM radios gave a brief news summary, and like many discussions of any depth, eventually the tide of our conversation turned to politics. But with such a nice group of folks who are fast becoming good friends, the talk was of a healthy sort and not the ugly type seen all too often elsewhere.
I don't know if it was the Indian cuisine we had for dinner or what, but dessert was accompanied by song, poetry, comedy and a lot of good natured ribbing. The day has ended all to quickly, we all agree.
We ended our day by listening to the evening weather forecast, which has been calling for an end to the incredible high pressure we have been enjoying and calling for clouds and some snow, but all with fairly light winds. I've certainly heard of worse forecasts, so we'll just wake up in the morning and see what we see. If the skies are anything like they have been, we'll break camp and retrace our tracks back up the fixed lines and West Buttress, having the added confidence that comes with having climbed it once before. But we'll need good weather to tackle that climb again. Otherwise, another day or two here will only make us stronger for the summit later.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
Monica, Im in sunny fla, dad and i are following your adventure and know you and the team are doing great!all our thoughts are positive and confident in your skill And strength. We toast you with a glass of wine out on the dock each night! Cheers!
Posted by: meredith on 6/3/2013 at 4:51 pm
Monica and team, I’m betting by the time you get this message you will be in high camp ready for your summit day. Be strong..it is such an amazing view from the top of North America…soak it all in and then get down safely… Good luck team…
Saturday, June 1, 2013
This morning we got up at 4 am as planned to carry our first load of luggage up towards 11,000'. Breakfast was a quick affair of granola cereal and bars, and by 5:30 the team was underway. Our slow, steady pace helped us gain elevation, while the moderate breeze blowing down the glacier kept anyone from overheating. The peaks of the Alaska range glowed at the tops as the sun crept higher in the east, lighting the summit ridges of Mt. Crosson and Kahiltna Dome. Looking back down the main Kahiltna Glacier at our breaks, we were treated to a morning view few people get to enjoy: snow, ice and rock in every direction, sculpted by nature into a cathedral worthy of reverence.
All too soon we arrived at our cache location, but we enjoyed the acclimatization benefits of working a little bit at 10,000'. The crew all worked well and within minutes we had safely buried all our gear and turned back towards our warm tents at 7,800'. The pace was quicker as we dropped back down, and we were soon dropping our packs and crawling back into our tents to avoid the ruthless solar radiation. The team is now focused on rest and rehydration, preparing for our move to camp at 11,000' tomorrow.
We'll keep you posted as we continue to climb higher, stay tuned!
RMI Guides Tyler, Garrett and the Crew
Friday, May 31, 2013
Excitement, trepidation, anxiousness and a whole slew of other emotions ran through the team last night and this morning as we prepared to make our carry up the fixed ropes to 16,200' and beyond. How would we do on terrain steeper than any most of us have yet tackled? How would we do with the altitude? Everyone had similar questions that only time would answer.
Our day started in the early morning before the sun hit camp. Temps were probably around 0-5 F. But we knew we wanted to avoid any traffic jams on the fixed ropes if possible. And an early start would help insure a smooth ascent.
An hour and a half and 1,200' above camp the sun finally warmed our bodies. It amazes me still how in a five minute period it can go from bitingly cold to almost sweaty hot. With the fixed lines above we were psyched that we would have warm conditions to deal with them.
We all progressed well up the lines, so well that everyone wanted to continue further up the West Buttress to make our cache.
With climbing conditions on the ridge in great shape our progress was good, and before we knew it we were less than an hour from 17,200' camp. Although a challenge to climb at that altitude, everyone was up to going all the way to camp. Most people find just getting up to 16,200' challenge enough. But around 3:00pm we were there!
What made this day so especially memorable was the fact that this was the first time in my twenty three Mt. McKinley expeditions that the entire team had made it all the way to 17,200' camp.
We're back at 14,200' camp now and are looking forward to another well deserved rest day. After dinner we enjoyed reading all your blog replies. Thanks so much for all the support!
Good night from 14,000'
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
Monica and team, I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow! I’ve been calling in all my favors to Mother Nature.. Hopefully it’ll work! I’m so happy for you all to have made it to 17,200, now all on to the summit! Good luck!!! Miss you! XOXO
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 1:30 pm PT
We have made our first move up the mountain to the base of Ski Hill at 7,800' on the main Kahiltna Glacier.
Since our arrival yesterday we enjoyed a great first feast of totally loaded quesadillas and snoozed up just a few hours of rest before the 2am wake up. We organized our literal mountain of equipment and food in to individual group loads for what will hopefully be our only single carry. This mean we won't have to carry all our equipment at once but rather double carry, stashing equipment high and gaining fitness through mileage with manageable packs. Mileage is what we will need as the days grow harder and longer the higher we climb.
The arduous loads were all near 100 pounds each. Every climber on our team did a fabulous job getting the heaviest day of the trip over with. We are now truly underway and five miles closer to our goal of reaching "The High One" Denali.
We hope to carry equipment to around 10,000' tomorrow and return to recently renovated camp at 7,800'. We are going to catch some midday ZZZs and hide from the sun!
Will check in tomorrow,
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Hey Lori, Thank you for the post card. :) You all are amazing! Climb safe! Hugs from Maggie and Casey.
Posted by: Casey Hansen on 6/1/2013 at 5:10 pm
Robin and Team
Mexican food @ 7800’... who would of thought…. What? no Subway?? :)
Hope everyone has a good climb today. You are all in my thoughts and prayers
today for a continued good safe ascent and good weather.
Eagerly looking forward to your daily blogs and new map locations.
Stay warm and stay safe.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Hey everyone, this is Billy. I'm checking in here with our group. We are at 11,000' part way through our descent. After our big summit day yesterday, we packed up our camp at 17,000' and then moved on down. Brent Okita's crew was kind enough to cook us up some dinner at the 14K Camp, and we continued on down to 11,000', where the crew is all, actually snug as a bug, in their sleeping bags out in the open because it is so warm compared to where we've been living. We plan on getting up in the middle the night tonight and making a run for the airstrip hoping to get a flight off tomorrow sometime before the weather takes a turn for the worst. We'll give a shout when we reach Basecamp. That's all for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Awakening the crew just before 9:00 a.m. to enjoy a breakfast of blueberry pancakes in our posh house as the sun warmed up camp was a real treat. We knew the noon hour was upon us and a few clouds began to gather around camp. We booted up to walk to the Edge of the World, a place from which you can look 7,000' down to the NE fork of the Kahiltna. From here we were treated to dramatic views of a vertical world, in fact, you could even see our very first camp of the trip, a place we past through, which seems so long ago, but in fact was only eight days ago. Some swirling clouds added the drama of being there.
The rest of the day was spent rebuilding our latrine with blocks cut from the snow to protect us from the weather. And later, we welcomed our other RMI team down from 17,200' camp after their summit day yesterday.
Tomorrow we'll be carrying a load to above 16,200', perhaps as far as 17,200' camp. It'll be a big day for us but we'll do fine. Of course, the first time up the fixed ropes is always a bit of a challenge, but this rest day has been good for us, mentally and physically to get ready for it.
We'll let you know how it goes. Until then, we'll just end with another birthday greeting: Nic, Happy Birthday from Dennis and the team.
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tyler and Garrett checking in from RMI Denali Expedition Number 4. Yesterday afternoon found us in the ranger station getting some good details about the route, our responsibilities on the mountain, and what we can expect to see as we climb higher. Interestingly, we also were reminded that this year is the 100-year anniversary of the first ascent. While we have the benefit of fancy new gear and a century of knowledge, the actual climb of Denali remains as challenging as it was in 1913, and our team is ready to tackle that challenge.
We landed on the glacier today, and we're currently camped out in Basecamp. The mostly clear skies and warm temperatures make it hard to believe we're almost at the Arctic Circle! Because it's so warm here, we won't be heading out for our first camp until later tonight (more like early in the morning) so that the snow will freeze up and make our walking a little smoother.
Everyone is excited to have gotten a smooth start to the trip, and we're hoping the weather continues to hold. We'll check back in tomorrow, keep it dialed in for more!
RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Garrett Stevens
I feel like I should be up there with you! I’ve been following Logan and Brent and they have been having great climbing conditions so far. I hope it holds together for you.
By now you’ve probably learned that James Choo and I were tentmates on Aconcagua. He’ll carry his weight-you can depend on him. Fred Klingbeil was also in the tent with us and I see he has posted on the blog and is following along. Hi Fred!
My poor substitute for Denali this year is going to Elbrus in July. I was on Kilimanjaro this past February. I’ll be at Elbrus with Casey and he and I were also at Kilimanjaro.
Good luck and climb safe. I miss you guys. XXOO
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 5/31/2013 at 11:06 am
have an excllent trip and we’ll see if we can get the elmendorf guys to give a gentle flyby
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 10:41 a.m. PT
Hi, this is Billy checking in. We are back in camp safe and sound from our successful summit bid. We got 100% of our team to the summit of Mount McKinley today, aka Denali. We are back in camp. Everyone's hanging out, rehydrating, eating some delicious freeze-dried meals, and hopefully going to get a great night's sleep before we gear up to head down and head home. And that's all for now. We'll check in again as our descent continues.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Billy Nugent calls in from High Camp after successful summit.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Today we awoke to another beautiful day at 14,000 camp on Denali. Feeling better about the altitude we cruised down to our cache and back in no time. A cloud rolled in and brought light snow this afternoon which has surprisingly been a welcome change to the hot temps and our sunburned lips from these past few days. We were able to do a little practice with fixed lines in preparation for the real deal in a couple days. Everyone did great, even with monster lobster gloves on! Tonight, Gerald treated us to duck burritos, with duck that came all the way from New Jersey, also a welcome change then to "chicken", resembling tuna from a bag. A shout out to Emma Rose, happy birthday!
RMI Guides Leah, Logan, and Brent
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DJ - Looking good - good chance for summit soon - go for it guy but stay safe - Love Mom & Dad
Posted by: norm uhlir on 6/3/2013 at 8:29 pm
Jessica,
From your hubby. Hope you all had a good rest day. Look forward to reading more. Safe climb!
Until the next post. Hector
Posted by: Hector Valle on 6/3/2013 at 7:16 pm
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