Entries from Mt. McKinley

Denali Expedition: Jones and Team Return to Talkeetna

June 13, 2016

Posted by: Tyler Jones, Caleb Ladue, Blake Votilla

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

The May 24th Denali Expedition led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Caleb Ladue, and Blake Votilla flew off the Kahiltna Glacier yesterday and return to Talkeetna. According to Tyler, the team was planning to celebrate their climb at Talkeetna's Roadhouse. After 18 days of living in tents the team is happy to be back in the land of burgers, beer, showers, and mattresses. Congratulations climbers!

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Welcome back, Bob. I hope you getting busy planning your next beautiful adventure on this wild planet. Cheers to you and the team!

Posted by: Emily Jenson on 6/14/2016 at 1:58 pm

Congratulations to all of you.. Very Cool and I am sure extremely GRATIFYING !!!

Posted by: Mary Anne Kyburz-Ladue on 6/13/2016 at 9:02 am

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Denali Expedition: Beren and Team Carry to Washburn’s Thumb

June 13, 2016

Posted by: Jake Beren, JM Gorum, Katrina Bloemsma

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

June 12, 2016 - 10:53 p.m. PDT We left camp with chilly toes and no one ahead of us. Pushing toward the fixed lines, we were treated to the sun at our first break. The sun (and uphill effort) warmed us up and soon we were steadily working up the fixed lines. It was a beautiful day and the team got their first taste of real altitude. We did fine and cached just below the impressive Washburn Thumb. The time spent on the West Buttress is the best climbing of the route and we had a perfect day to dance on the ridge. Now we are all set up for the next window in the weather to move higher. Tomorrow we will rest up to prepare our bodies for the next challenge. RMI Guide Jake Beren and team

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Jake - wishing you all success and the best weather imaginable. Have been following your steady progress - and remembering what a great job you did leading our team back in the day. See you in the fall, if not before.

Posted by: Peter Rogers on 6/14/2016 at 6:59 am

Jason,
We continue to see the daunting, yet beautiful pictures. We look forward to hearing your stories of struggles and perseverance. The map continues to show you closer to the summit. Keep it up!

Posted by: Shawn Bernard on 6/13/2016 at 10:51 am

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Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Caches Gear at 16,400’

June 13, 2016

Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

June 12, 2016 - 10:50 p.m. PDT The Denali - Upper West Rib Team did a great job today. Blue sky and light wind graced us this morning, and despite a slower than desired departure out of camp everyone climbed really well. As soon as we stepped out of camp we sank up to our knees. This was the first day we got off the beaten path and made our own trail up to the Upper West Rib. Unfortunately with all the new snow fall in the last couple weeks breaking trail was difficult and energy expensive. Despite this added challenge the team did a great job and we worked our way up to the West Rib at 16,400'. We cached a couple days of food and fuel here and began our descent as the clouds started to roll over the ridge. We're all tired after a high output day but happy with our accomplishments. The weather forecast is calling for a storm approaching tomorrow and lasting a couple days so we will rest and prep for our summit rotation. Thanks for all the support out there! RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Upper West Rib Team

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Dubay, you missed a great summit in Baltimore last week for an even better summit. Good fishing (of course Garrick’s boat caught all the fish), good food, good company. Be safe and enjoy. See you soon.

Posted by: Bill Pinkham on 6/14/2016 at 4:42 am

Amazing photos. Lots of thoughts for you all from down here in WA! Happy climbing!

Posted by: Korinne on 6/13/2016 at 2:55 pm

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Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Rest at 14K Camp

June 12, 2016

Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,270'

June 12, 2016 - 11:35 am PDT Good Evening, Today was a very productive rest day for the Upper West Rib team here at 14k camp. We slept in, had a slow breakfast of eggs and hash browns with lots of coffee and then relaxed. At around noon we started building snow walls to fortify our camp. The team was unstoppable! These guys worked for hours and even when I told them to take a break, they would be back at it 5 minutes later. We are planing to cache some food and file up on the Rib tomorrow, weather permitting. Thanks again for following along, RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and The UWR Team

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Great Job ! Happy Monday morning to you all. The view looks spectacular !!!! Have a great day today !

Posted by: David on 6/13/2016 at 7:17 am

Ben, sounds like you are with the perfect team - always moving and pushing ahead! Do the walls make good forts for a snowball fight? Have a great day! Love, Uncle Marc and Elyse

Posted by: Uncle Marc and Elyse on 6/12/2016 at 12:50 pm

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Denali Expedition: Jones & Team Return to Base Camp

June 12, 2016

Posted by: Tyler Jones, Blake Votilla, Caleb Ladue

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

June 11, 2016 - 11:57 pm PT Hi all, we are at Base Camp. Just when you think it's over it's not till the fat lady sings. We packed our camp for what what we had hoped was the last time early this morning. The crew as always on this trip was ready to roll early and we arrived at base camp at 8:30 this morning with lite snow and cloudy skies. With all our will we wished the fog and snow away. Our wish was only met after the planes has powered down for the day. A long day of anticipation of burgers, beer, and more was lost so we enjoyed each others company and reflected on our journey in the Alaska range. With the weather on the lower glacier clearing a bit this evening we're hopeful to see all the colors of the outer world we departed from 16 days ago. Hoping to smell the summer in the low lands and eat like kings tomorrow. Blow some good weather vibes our way! Cheers, RMI Guide Tyler Jones & the team

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Congratulations Blake. Nice. Very Nice!

Posted by: Adelle on 6/13/2016 at 6:19 am

What a long, strange trip it’s been . . .

Posted by: Dad on 6/12/2016 at 1:09 pm

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Denali Expedition: Beren & Team Rest and Train at 14,000’ Camp

June 12, 2016

Posted by: Jake Beren, Katrina Bloemsma, JM Gorum

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,000'

June 11, 2016 - 11:11 pm PT Today was a delight. We slept in a little, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and hit up some training. The fixed lines loom a thousand feet above us and we prepared ourselves for them with a simulation above camp. We duplicated the transitions with ascenders until the team became certified ascender ninjas. We are ready to tackle them, I only hope they are ready for us. After our training we rested for a bit and then fortified camp. The team busted out walls and worked very well together on the parapets and ramparts that will secure our castle while we are crusading higher. Should the weather hold we will try to establish a cache for the upper upper mountain. We'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow. Sleep well friends. RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Great progress and teamwork! We’re praying for you all!
Jay, Isabelle ran her first 5 miler and did well. She’s looking for her next race. She leaves for bethel today. Love you!
Make it a great day!

Posted by: Isty on 6/12/2016 at 9:23 am

Well said Jodi!!!! Good job team - hopefully you are all helping and supporting each other! Climbing is of course a group effort and it takes everybody to get everybody to the top safely - make sure to help each other along the way!!!!!!!

Posted by: Jesse Godzala on 6/12/2016 at 9:12 am

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Denali Expedition: Jones & Team Back to Thick Air and Bacon

June 11, 2016

Posted by: Tyler Jones, Caleb Ladue, Blake Votilla

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,800'

June 10, 2016 - 10:59 pm PT Waking up at 17K camp this morning was tough after yesterday's big day. We were happy though to be on the move again, back down the mountain to thicker air. Walking down the West Buttress was beautiful, and this time we were actually able to enjoy the knife ridge views. Taking in views is much easier walking down when you're only using half the physical effort as the way up. The mountain treated us with pleasant weather all the way to 11K Camp until we hit the storm layer, walked through some high winds and blowing snow and eventually below the storm to 7,800 camp. Now we're enjoying a cheese, bacon and bagel fry up celebration and looking forward to the final leg of our journey back to basecamp tomorrow! See you all soon and thanks for the support! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

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Still trying to keep a little vertical distance from reality.

Posted by: Dad on 6/12/2016 at 5:41 am

Wow descending almost 10,000 feet and through a snow storm layer—thats a long day! I hope you’re all holding up well on this last leg down to base camp!

Ongun I can’t wait to hear from you! sending you my hugs!
xoxo
Karina

Posted by: karina on 6/11/2016 at 9:29 pm

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Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Moves Into 14K Camp

June 11, 2016

Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,410'

June 10, 2016 - 10:11 pm PT We woke this morning to much improved weather. Some scattered clouds and a light wind but a huge improvement from yesterday. We had a quick breakfast and set about breaking camp. Just after the sun hit we were off and climbing. The team did a great job today, we had to battle a little around Windy Corner, it was a bit windy (go figure), but we were out of it soon and on to 14K Camp. After tents were up, everyone settled in to our new home above the clouds. Tomorrow we will do some training and fortify our camp with snow walls. Thanks for following along with us. The RMI Upper West Rib Team

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Sorry for the late comments. Garrick just forwarded the link. We are following you from afar. We will follow up on past reports. Congrats so far. Hope all finishes well.

Posted by: James and Sara on 6/12/2016 at 10:03 am

Good job team - hopefully you are all helping and supporting each other! Climbing is of course a group effort and it takes everybody to get everybody to the top safely - make sure to help each other along the way!!!!!!!

Posted by: Jesse Godzala on 6/12/2016 at 9:01 am

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Denali Expedition: Jones & Team Return to High Camp after Summit Bid

June 10, 2016

Posted by: Tyler Jones, Blake Votilla, Caleb Ladue

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 17,000'

June 9, 2016 - 10:38 pm PT Hello!!! We are all safe and sound back at our high camp after a long summit push. This morning we got out of the tents at the suns first rays to clear but windy weather. We were a bit nervous as the wind extended into the late morning but once we were tied in to the ropes around 10:30 the sun started to grace the slopes of Denali Pass and the wind let up a bit. We climbed smoothly up to the pass.Today was a chilly one, filled with managing our feet, hands, and faces against the pesky cold. Our bodies were spent as we finished Pig Hill and to our surprise the summit ridge was rather warm and welcoming. We took photos, embraced and congratulated each other on a strong effort. The crew made great time on the way down and we are grubbing on soup and ramen, looking forward to descending to more oxygen rich air. Time for a bit of rest for this tuckered out crew! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

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Congrats team
Very exciting and very thankful to hear you are heading down safe. Please be careful on your way down and cannot wait to hear the stories upon Dan and Eric’s return.
Thanks to the RMI guides for keeping our loved ones safe.
Karen

Posted by: karen Stewart on 6/11/2016 at 6:26 am

Congrats all! Now hurry down Mr. President Oxygen because I’m trying to plan your next expedition :-)

Posted by: First Lady Oxygen on 6/10/2016 at 8:56 pm

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Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Sits Tight at 11,000’ Camp

June 10, 2016

Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

June 9, 2016 - 9:22 pm PT We woke up this morning to cold clear sky's with a nippy wind. After a quick breakfast we packed camp, made a cache and got rigged to start climbing. Of course at this point it began snowing heavily, the wind picked up and the visibility went down. We pumped the breaks and hung out in Jake's posh tent for a little bit. By noon thirty we called it and decided to set up Camp at 11 again. 10 minutes later another guided team returned from an unsuccessful cache attempt saying that it was really nasty up there! After getting tents up we got together for some fresh brewed coffee and snacks, the truffled gouda cheese was a huge hit. The forecast for tomorrow is looking better so we are planing on moving up tomorrow. Thanks for following along The Upper West Rib Team

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Entries from Mt. McKinley

Denali Expedition: Jones and Team Return to Talkeetna

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Beren and Team Carry to Washburn’s Thumb

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Caches Gear at 16,400’

Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Rest at 14K Camp

Denali Expedition: Jones & Team Return to Base Camp

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Beren & Team Rest and Train at 14,000’ Camp

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Jones & Team Back to Thick Air and Bacon

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Moves Into 14K Camp

Denali Expedition: Jones & Team Return to High Camp after Summit Bid

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Denali Expedition: Upper West Rib Team Sits Tight at 11,000’ Camp

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