We woke early to perfect weather this morning and decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to move camp up to 14,200' in Genet Basin. The weather remained great for us all day, with some clouds building mid morning and a few scattered snow flurries, but no wind to speak of. Laden with heavy packs, we made slow and steady progress and after about six hours we arrived at camp. It's been a few hours now and camp is up, the climbers are resting in their tents, and stoves are cranking melting snow for water bottles and heating water for dinner.
Tomorrow we will head back down to Windy Corner to retrieve our cache. That will be a short day and we're happy for that. We're also looking forward to our first complete rest day the following day (Monday). It's time to lick our wounds, rest, and acclimate.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Sounds like your progress is good as compared to last year! Enjoy the remainder of the climb, Tom M! Greetings to you from all the Mulvey-Temples ..... from the Oregon coast!
This one is going to be brief, I apologize but its been a long day!
We were graced with good weather this morning and we rose early to break down camp and move to 11,000'. The team did a great job moving through the terrain. Light snow flurries kept the temps cool and good for climbing. The final hill into 11,000' Camp is a total butt kicker and the team styled it like pros. The team spent the afternoon building camp and setting up tents before enjoying a well earned meal and a good nights rest. Tomorrow we will travel back down glacier to about 10,000' to retrieve our cached gear and then enjoy having the afternoon free. All is well and the team is doing great!
RMI Guide Steve Gately & Team
We're on a roll now with another great day today. We woke to clear skies with a cloud deck slightly below our camp. There was some blowing snow visible up towards our destination, Windy Corner. So to drag our feet a bit and let it warm up and see what the winds were going to do we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of toasted bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon--not bad for breakfast at 11,200' on Denali.
The sun eventually hit our camp and the winds abated. So we followed suit and finished packing up, donned our crampons and off we went. We were loaded down with food and fuel in our backpacks, intent on establishing a cache around Windy Corner. The first obstacle out of camp was climbing Motorcycle Hill, which took us 45 minutes to climb. Next we climbed Squirrel Hill and crossed the Polo Fields. Before we knew it we rounded Windy Corner and arrived at our cache site at 13,600'. We dug a deep hole in the snow, buried our gear, then headed back to camp. We were psyched to see the second RMI Denali team, led by Steve Gately, building camp next to ours here at 11,000'.
The next stage of the game for us is to move camp to 14,000'. We'll see what the weather does and that will influence whether we try to move tomorrow or take a rest day.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Thursday, May 16, 2019
A few short waves of snow showers passed through camp overnight and we woke up to a fresh dusting of new snow. A quick breakfast of oatmeal, dried fruit and nuts got us ready for the task ahead today. The terrain ahead would be a bit more challenging then our first day and the team was eager to explore new parts of the range. A decent amount of recent climber traffic has resulted in a well kicked in trail and we were grateful for the easy travel.
From camp our first obstacle is "Ski Hill". In any other setting this slope wouldn't make you bat an eye lash, but with Denali loads it poses quite a challenge. The team did fantastic with the increase in gradient. A short wave low pressure system was forecast to pass over the region today and we were greeted to a few intense snow flurries that reminded me of the Kahiltna Glacier that I'm more used to seeing. From the top of Ski Hill however, the terrain eases off quite a bit and we meandered our way to about 10,000' where we left a cache of gear to be retrieved later. A quick descent brought us back into camp in seemingly no time at all and the crew is currently taking a load off before an early dinner in anticipation of another long day tomorrow.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, our goal will be to move to 11,000' Camp. Its great to finally settle in at 11,000', build a fortified camp, build the best kitchen this mountain has ever seen and look forward to our first rest day of the trip. That's all for now, thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
After three consecutive days of hard work, we had a lighter day today. But it wasn't all rest; we had work to do, to go back down to 10,000', dig up our cache, and haul it in sleds and backpacks back to our camp at 11,200'. It wasn't easy work, but compared to the last three days it sure felt that way.
The snow conditions were excellent for travel on snowshoes and the temps were enjoyable. Intermittent clouds and light snow showers added to the great day. By the time we made it back to camp it was snowing a bit harder, but with no wind it didn't really bother us too much.
This afternoon we are resting, eating and drinking, and preparing gear and supplies for our next cache, which will be up around Windy Corner at about 13,600'. If the weather is good, that might happen tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Thank you for all the great updates and pictures, Mike! So happy to hear you all are making some good progress and the weather is cooperating.
Tom M, we all are thinking of you and hope your fingers and nose are happy this year!
Posted by: Susan Mulvey on 5/17/2019 at 8:23 am
I’ve been away from internet/cellular coverage for several days but finally I’ve been able to read up on your progress.
So good to hear you’re now well on your way after the initial delay and a couple of false starts -although still fun to catch a flight or 3. Loved the video from the May 10 flight –Hi Tom M xoxo
Here’s hoping the weather continues to cooperate so the team can continue with more of the awesome progress made over the last few days. Mike, thanks so much for the updates –much appreciated.
Best wishes to all. Stay strong, stay safe and enjoy the adventure!!
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 11:00 PM PST
After a good night's rest the team had early start and a quick breakfast before meeting at K2 Aviation to finalize our departure. Weather was looking great and by 8AM we started loading up the planes. Before we knew it we were airborne and on our way. A couple hours spent reorganizing gear at KIA (Kahiltna International Airport) and we donned the weight of a 22 day trip and took off down the Southeast Fork.
It's such a pleasure to be able to travel through this stretch of terrain with good visibility and weather. The Alaskan giants of Hunter and Foraker are staring you down and making the turn North up the Kahiltna glacier Denali slowly reveals itself.
The team did great handling the heavy weight and readjustment to life on the glacier. We are now camped at the base of a major feature known simply as "Ski Hill" at a popular interim camp at 7,800ft. Tomorrow we will bring a cache of gear to 9,600ft, bury it and return to 7,800ft. This will help get all of our food and equipment further up the hill without having to carry it all up at once. I didn't have to do much convincing! Thanks to everyone whose following along!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
Our team had another big day today. We rose early, ate breakfast, and proceeded to break down our camp. We moved from our camp at the Base of Ski Hill (7,800') to 11,200', a big day indeed. When we got here the real work started though: building camp, setting up tents, the kitchen and the bathroom, and the arduous task of melting snow for water and then cooking dinner. We're currently in the melting snow for water stage and we arrived in camp over four hours ago. There's still a lot to get done tonight. Tomorrow we'll go back down to 10,000' to retrieve our cache. Til then...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Good afternoon from Talkeetna everyone! The May 13 Denali Team is safely in Talkeetna and ready to get this grand adventure underway.
The team spent the morning exploring Talkeetna before sitting down for an orientation with NPS to discuss the many facets of life on Denali. After a brief but informative discussion we shifted over to an empty aircraft hangar provided by K2 Aviation to begin tearing apart our equipment and making sure we have the necessary items for safe travel and a long trip. By early afternoon the team had their duffel bags and backpacks packed and ready to be weighed and marked by K2.
During that time my two assistant guides were busy running through our 22 days of food and organizing the rest of our group gear for the trip. It's an overwhelming process at times and the shear amount of gear needed for a successful Denali expedition slowly began to show itself.
It's a good feeling however to now say that everything is prepared and ready for our flight onto the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier.
We'll take the afternoon to relax, unwind and enjoy the amenities of town life before hopefully leaving it all behind tomorrow. We're all looking forward to a great meal tonight at Denali Brewing Company and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we'll rise early and be ready for a potential flight in. In Alaska, flights in and out of the great range depend greatly on the weather. We'll cross our fingers for a decent window tomorrow to kick things off. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll be sending these dispatches from the Kahiltna Glacier!
The team is psyched, the guides are psyched and life is good! Thanks for following along and as always, stay tuned for more!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
Sunday, May 11, 2019
Today was another day spent on standby in Talkeetna, waiting to fly into Basecamp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The weather didn’t seem to notice that we were waiting on it, as it rained in town and snowed in the mountains all day. The team is in great spirits, enjoying some unusual down time from our hectic lives, and busy packing in the calories. We will see what tomorrow brings; the snowy weather looks to continue throughout the day, but lighter than the past two days. Monday will bring high pressure with relief from the precipitation for at least a few days. Today's photos are courtesy of the FAA webcam for the Kahiltna Glacier Air Strip, current conditions and view on a clear day.
We’ll keep you posted with any changes in the status.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
We loaded our on two de Haviland Otter turbo prop single engine airplanes this morning and took off for Kahiltna Base Camp. The flight over the tundra was beautiful as we soared beneath a low ceiling of clouds. As we approached the range it became apparent that our normal access points of One Shot and Second Shot Passes were not options due to the low clouds. So the pilots opted to try "the long way", which means accessing the Kahiltna glacier at its toe and following it up toward Base Camp. The problem was that as we gained elevation on the glacier the cloud did not, and eventually we were flying in the cloud, a thick pea soup, with very little visibility. So the team of K2 pilots made the prudent decision to turn around and head back for Talkeetna.
We spent the rest of the day on stand by to see if weather would improve. It did not, and in fact it deteriorated a little. We'll play the same game tomorrow, with a less than ideal forecast. The good news is that high pressure looks to be moving our way soon!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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14k camp life!!!!! Woooot, give’r boyz, oh yeahhhhh!
Posted by: Brid on 5/19/2019 at 9:31 pm
Sounds like your progress is good as compared to last year! Enjoy the remainder of the climb, Tom M! Greetings to you from all the Mulvey-Temples ..... from the Oregon coast!
Continue to remain safe and enjoy!
Susan M
Posted by: Susan Mulvey on 5/19/2019 at 1:35 pm
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