Entries from Mt. McKinley

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - 9:20 am PT

Good evening readers,

Today was a beautiful day for a summit bid, but sometimes beautiful weather isn't enough. Due to some logistics of one climber needing to descend to lower elevation, the team took a rest day at 17,000' Camp. All climbers are doing well and their bodies are adjusting to the altitude. Tomorrow, the two guides who went down with the climber will rejoin the team to try for the summit on Wednesday. The weather seems to be holding. Fingers crossed the winds stay at bay and we can pull this off. Keep sending all the calm winds, good weather, healthy bodies vibes our way!

Goodnight all,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - 9:24 am PT

Day 7 on the mountain and our first official rest day of the trip. A late wake up, a leisurely breakfast, jovial conversations, and a time to rest, recuperate, contemplate, and prepare for what’s next. It was a beautiful day on the mountain, the sun was out with a light breeze to keep us cool, and views of the Alaska range stretching out before us to drink in. We’ve hit that beautiful moment in any grand outdoor adventure. When a group of random people, be it an expedition team or just a group of folks traveling down the trail at the same speed, spend enough time together that individual goals truly become a shared group goal. Not just because we have group food and gear to carry, but because we have become invested in everyone’s success, not just our own. It materializes in many ways, from sharing tips and tricks on the best way to stretch that aching IT band or hip flexor, to creating a team wide charcuterie board from all our snacks, to sharing the extra face wipes you may have that others didn’t bring. That type of camaraderie is so crucial for the team. Bringing much needed levity and support through all the challenges already experienced and the many more still to come. Today’s date holds a special place for me, 7 years ago, I was lucky enough to exchange vows with my wife Sophia (here on the mountain too) promising to always be there for that next adventure, partners in all the crazy things either of us want to do. Today is also a bittersweet day, as Sophia and I will head back down to base camp to head off the mountain, Denali has proven to be every bit as hard and grueling a challenge as has been advertised and cautioned. But we leave happy for the time we have been able to spend on the mountain and the incredible experiences we have been able to have with such an amazing climbing team. We will be watching closely and cheering on everyone else as they continue on this amazing adventure, while we head home and contemplate the next step in our adventure. 

Happy anniversary Sophia, I love you dearly.

Oh little darling, don’t you look charming Here in the eye of a hurricane 

Real or imagined, what does it matter Look come inside, can I get you to stay

- Hurricane (Johnnie’s Theme) by Lord Huron

RMI Climber Tait Pollard

Monday, June 17, 2024 - 10:25 pm PT

We are starting to feel quite lucky after another calm, beautiful day. We got up at a leisurely 6:30 AM and had a breakfast of bagels and bacon. By 9 AM we were walking downhill to 10,000 ft to pick up our cached supplies.  Down took 20 min, up then took about 90 min, including a nice rest break. It was just starting to get good and hot when we got back and dove into our tents for shelter from the sun. We didn't come out again until 5:30 PM when we suited up for a short review of the climbing techniques we plan to employ tomorrow. The goal would be to carry a load up and around "Windy Corner" using crampons and ice axes (rather than the snowshoes and ski poles we've been using). The team is excited to see some new terrain.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, June 17, 2024 - 12:50 am PT

We got to sleep in! At least what we consider… The day started with wake up at 6:30am and leave camp by 8am. The route today was 11,000' Camp up Motorcycle hill, up Squirrel hill, across/up the Polo Field, around Windy Corner and stop at 13,500 to bury food and other items that we won’t need until 14,000' Camp and higher. Then head back to 11k camp We got moving with a little chill in the air and some slight wind. Enough to make us all continue to question what layers of clothing should we wear? It’s a constant struggle in the mountains. I literally wore three different types of gloves today as the temps changed. We’re now wearing crampons and carrying our ice axes, so it feels like the climb has officially started! We started right off with a long steep uphill - Motorcycle Hill, which alone took an hour! It was certainly a good way to warm up! Since it is Father’s Day, I took the time during the climb to think about my dad. He and I came out a week before the climb and took a small tour of Alaska between Seward and Talkeetna. It was a blast to hang with him. I thought a lot about him telling me how proud he is of me for climbing Mt McKinley. After all, we carry the same former name as the mountain! Aside from today, I’ve spent the past few days reflecting on the encouragement from friends and family. The mental game of the mountains can be tough. We know it’s physically tough, but mentally it can take a toll on you as well. Self doubt, anxiety, overthinking can set in bad. What’s helped me the most is encouragement like this: “I am so incredibly proud of you and excited for you to have this opportunity. You are going to be great. Be safe, show ‘em what you got, stay tough like I know you can, and help others.” I’ve reflected a lot on that one piece of encouragement. That’s the kind of stuff that can drown out the doubt and keep me moving forward. If you’re reading this blog you’re probably one of those people, helping to push all of us along and suppress the negative thoughts that can come in this environment. We all can’t thank you enough for your support and love. And letting us leave for a month...

The sun came out and we moved at a gentle pace. We buried food and such and then made our way back down. The best part of the day was right before dropping Squirrel hill and Motorcycle hill when Nicole, the guide on our rope team pulled me aside and asked me to take the lead and guide our team down the two remaining steep hills. I was speechless. I wasn’t sure I could do it. My other two companions on our rope team spoke up and told me that I’d be great, and that they hadn’t seen such raw mountaineering talent since reading about Ed Viesturs in “No Shortcuts To The Top”. I looked at Nicole and asked, “Do you think I can do it?” She pulled down her sunglasses, looked me straight in the eye and said “Think? No… I KNOW you can do it, and that’s the RMI difference!” Of course, none of the is true. However, I did lead our rope team down, but that’s because the guides like to lead from the back when going steep downhills. All three rope teams did this. Our guides, Dominic, Nicole and Seth are fantastic. They do so much to make this experience the best.

All in all, we had a great day and are very excited to enjoy a rest day tomorrow at the 11,000' camp.

RMI Climber Dave McKinley

We're at 11,000 ft and loving it.  The team did strong work this morning getting out of camp by 5 AM and onto the now familiar route.  Packs were heavy but our sleds were lighter than yesterday. We made great time and everyone seemed in high spirits to be leaving the Kahiltna and getting to where we could see out.  The great weather continued. We were in bright sunshine for building our new camp at the foot of "Motorcycle Hill".   Tomorrow we'll drop down to retrieve our cache at 10,000, which shouldn't take too long.  Then we'll prep for going higher. 

Best Regard, 

RMI Guides Dave, Sam H, Sam M, Nick

Sunday, June 16, 2024 - 11:56 pm PT

Good evening readers,

Today we woke to perfect weather for our move to 17,000 Camp. The team did well repeating the fix lines and made solid work on the Buttress. The views are spectacular being on the Buttress.There is exposure on both sides and mountains all over. It really is the best part of the mountain. We once again setup camp and got cozy. It's a bit colder up here but it's a cool place to be. Freeze dried dinners filled our empty bellies. And soon we got settled into our tents. It's gonna be a chilly night but that's what we signed up for. Enjoy your warm beds at home.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Saturday, June 15, 2024 - 10:02 pm PT

Another beautiful day on Denali, which started at 2:30 AM for our team. We were snowshoed up and moving uphill by 5 AM. Conditions were excellent for travel. The surface was frozen up just right and the day was cool enough to keep us from sweating as we got on "Ski Hill".  We moved well for four hours to reach 10,000' There at the head of the 49 mile Kahiltna Glacier, we dug a cache and buried our supplies to prevent attack by ravens. It took just under two hours to get back down to camp, by which time we were ready to get in the tents and out of the hot sun. We napped away the afternoon and rehydrated. Tomorrow we'll climb to 11,000' Camp.

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison and Nick Sinapius

Saturday, June 15, 2024 - 8:44 pm PT

Good evening readers,

Today was a day of rest and a small excursion. After breakfast we roped up and took a short stroll to the Edge of the World. From here we can see all the way down to the Kahiltna Glacier, thousands of feet below. Everyone got there hero shots on the rock and will have their new profile picture. The rest of the day was resting and organizing and of course more chess. The weather seems to be cooperating so tomorrow we are going to move up to 17,000' Camp and try for the summit on Monday. This is when we need all the good weather vibes, the strong leg vibes, and health vibes from all you loyal readers. This is what we have been training for. This is our moment. Tonight is our last sleep before we hit it hard for the next 4-5 days. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Goodnight all.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

The skies were clear early this morning, and so it was the perfect time to leave basecamp as the snow surface was nicely frozen and travel was "easy". We were roped up and on our way by 4 AM, watching the sunlight play on the upper slopes of Mts Foraker and Hunter.  Glacier conditions were excellent. There were few open crevasses, and the route was fairly direct.  We pulled into our destination -the base of "ski hill" - in just four and a half hours. 

Camp then went up relatively quickly and we got in out of the intense midday sun for some quality naps.  A breeze came up in the evening, but by then we'd built a dining tent and were able to enjoy dinner in peace. 

We intend to make a carry tomorrow, to 10,000 ft if possible. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius

We awoke to another beautiful day, although day has lost all meaning without night. The clouds had lifted and the mountain that yesterday’s correspondent described as a bride in her white gown, now looked even better without it. Carrying half our camp on our backs and in sleds, we climbed almost 3000 feet up the Kahiltna Glacier. All around hanging glaciers were spread like coats of icing, melting over the ridges. Long after our altimeters told us we were at the cache, Dom lead our caravan up a cliff, our sleds nearly swinging in the void beneath us. He claimed he had taken us further than advertised because we were such a “Strong Team.” Such praise from an RMI Guide is an almost certain indication of a Full Team Summit.

Our round trip was a little over 7 miles. Yes, you heard right, round trip. We’re now back in our camp at the bottom of Ski Hill to make the same climb tomorrow with the other half of our camp. Sisyphus didn’t complain so neither will we. Unlike other beasts of burden, we know that the journey is the destination, and we appreciate each step. So, we accept every challenge because that’s who we are. To paraphrase David Lee Roth: We’re not like this because we’re climbing Denali. We’re climbing Denali because we’re like this.

RMI Climber Kris Reitz