Entries from Mt. McKinley

Alaska Seminar: Dale & Team are On the Kahiltna Glacier

May 26, 2018

Posted by: Christina Dale, Lucas Haaland, Alex Halliday

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

After a great night sleep, and tasty breakfast at the Roadhouse, we had the most scenic flight I've ever had into the Alaska Range. We easily landed on the snow thanks to the K2 pilots, and build ourselves a great camp at the base of Mount Francis. Everyone was all smiles while digging out tent platforms because of the sunny weather and perfect views. After moving into the tents, snacking on some salami and chocolate the team headed out to learn more mountaineering techniques. Self arrest, rope travel and foot work were all refreshed through the afternoon. Now for some hot food and drinks in our spacious kitchen tent. RMI Guide Christina Dale

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Ascend to Genet Basin Camp at 14,200’

May 25, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

Friday, May 25, 2018 - 7:44 PM PT We woke early this morning to beautifully clear skies, and fired up the stoves. After an efficient breakfast, we took down camp and packed up. It was a chilly morning, the coldest we've seen thus far (-10F), plus it was the earliest that we got out of the tents so far this trip. We had beautiful weather and great climbing conditions all the way to the Genet Basin Camp at 14,200 ft, where we currently reside. It was a hard day with heavy packs, and everyone did well. After six hours of climbing at altitude with heavy packs we're all ready for some dinner and then some horizontal time in the tents. Tomorrow we will go back to 13,700' to pick up the cache we left there two days ago. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Hi Tom My Man!

If I have it right today is summit day. May the force be with you and may we be the wind at your back. You’ll find a pint at the summit we left for you, enjoy :-), Hujo and Katie.

Posted by: HUGH DE PENTHENY O KELLY on 5/31/2018 at 7:20 pm

Tom, rock on dude! Back in Bay for a few days, hiked with Jacquie and MSLDH’s yesterday. Back on PCT Wednesday Tuolumne north. Good luck to all!

Posted by: Christopher Rumm on 5/27/2018 at 8:55 am

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Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Arrive Kahiltna Base Camp on Second Attempt

May 25, 2018

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

It took us an extra try, but ultimately our patience prevailed and the very talented pilots of K2 Aviation were able to thread us through some funky clouds and get us in to Kahiltna Base Camp. We made our first run at 12:30 PM and made it almost all the way before a bank of fog turned us back. We landed back in Talkeetna to heavy rain, took off our boots, and settled back in to our waiting game. Then at 5 PM there seemed to be a break and we got the green light. The flight in was spectacular as always, flying right through the rugged peaks and walls of the Alaska Range. Since we weren't in until evening, we decided to put up camp, make dinner, and spend the night here. Tomorrow we will hopefully have the conditions to move our camp and all of our gear to our Camp 1 at the base of Ski Hill. We are happily tucked into sleeping bags for our first night on the mountain, glad to finally be here! RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Taylor, and team

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Rest Day at 11K Camp

May 24, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Thursday, May 24, 2018 - 6:21 PM PT The snow that started last night continued into the morning, necessitating a 3:00 am shoveling session to dig out our tents. We picked up a little over a foot of snow over night, with no wind. We had a rest day planned for today anyway, so the snow was of little consequence. We simply ate a leisurely brunch and lounged around our tents, resting and acclimating. Tomorrow, if the weather allows, we plan to move camp up to Genet Basin, at 14,200'. We will let you know how that plays out. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Awesome progress and so good to hear about the good weather!! -10 sure beats -70 that was showing on the weather reports a week ago! Wahoo! Be safe and know we are all thinking of you and following your progress each day! We hope the climb to the summit is spectacular and weather remains good!
Hugs from Larkspur!
Susan

Posted by: Susan on 5/25/2018 at 8:56 pm

Alex and Tom!

Keep up the great work and motivation! You all are truly amazing and such an inspiration to me!!

Love-Courtney

Posted by: Courtney on 5/25/2018 at 5:00 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Have Another Great Day

May 23, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 5:21 PM PT Our Denali team had another great day today as we carried supplies up to establish a cache around Windy Corner (~13,700'). The weather was perfect, with scattered clouds keeping the temps pleasant throughout the day. The climbing conditions we also perfect, with great, consistent névé for cramponing. In fact, the whole route so far has been in great shape. Now we are back at our 11k camp, where we are lounging around, eating, and rehydrating. Tomorrow we are planning to take our first full rest day, as we need to recover and get used to the altitude before we move up to 14,200' RMI Guide Mike Walter

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We are sure it’s ruff out there, but we are paw-sitive you two will succeed! (Dog puns are definitely intentional.)

-Isaac and Christina

Posted by: Isaac and Christina on 5/25/2018 at 4:00 pm

Enjoy your first full day of rest. Happy to hear the route has been in good shape so far and hope that continues. Not far to go!

Posted by: Mary Lou on 5/24/2018 at 5:40 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Making Good Progress

May 22, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - 7:45 PM PT Another day of beautiful weather let us descend back down to ~10,200' to dig up our cache of supplies and haul it back up to our 11,000' camp. The rest of the day was spent hydrating, resting, and preparing for the next step of this climb: establishing a cache at ~13,700', just past Windy Corner. If the weather holds, that will be our plan for tomorrow. We're making good progress now, and we are all excited to exchange snowshoes for crampons and trekking poles for ice axes. Stay tuned as our progress continues. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mike,
I hope the weather Gods are good to you this year. If you have room in your packs going down, rather than throw all that valuable stool down a crevasse, ship some to me for my fecal transplants. Business is booming.
Buenas suerte amigo.

Posted by: Dr Dave on 5/23/2018 at 5:40 pm

Hello Dave Head, Shane Kidd and Team hello from Las Vegas we love you guys so proud and love you stay safe we will continue to pray for your safety and good weather KEEP ROCKING !! you got his.

Love Mom and Dad #2

Posted by: Ken peterson on 5/23/2018 at 1:42 pm

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Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Prep in Talkeenta

May 22, 2018

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 348'

Our day in Talkeenta progressed at a pretty leisurely pace. We started off with our orientation at the National Park Service after a visit to the coffee shop, and followed that with brunch at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, lest old traditions fail. Then it was into gear: double checking everything we brought, sorting, and packing for the plane flight to Kahiltna Base Camp. With our bags weighed and stacked, ready to be loaded into the Otters, we have done all we can do. It's in the hands of the pilots and weather now. We will head out to town for dinner, and hope to wake up to clear skies and flying weather! We'll keep you posted, RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford, and team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Enjoy your adventure Danny! Can’t wait for you to return home so we can hear all about it. Stay safe!

Posted by: Sheryl & Kevin Burford on 5/29/2018 at 7:41 pm

Be safe, no heroics, know your limits always in control and be wirin yourself.

Tdp

Posted by: Tim pettit on 5/25/2018 at 8:25 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Move to 11,200 Camp

May 22, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

Monday, May 21, 2018 - 11:51 PM PT Our upward progress on Denali continues, this time moving camp up to 11,200'. Snow and weather conditions were near perfect with scattered clouds, a few snow flakes, and a light breeze to keep us cool. Now that we've established a nice camp here, our plan is to go back to 10,000' tomorrow to pick up our cache of supplies; this will set us up for moving up onto the upper mountain. Everyone is doing well and we're hoping the good weather continues. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Dave and Shane….. you guys are so close now. Great progress and great weather is seems.

May the Sun shine for you each day and the winds blow gentle.

Love,

Dad

Posted by: George Head on 5/31/2018 at 11:33 am

Alex and Tom we are so proud of you. Keep up the incredible work and wishing you all the best :-)
Love Amy & Phil

Posted by: Amy and Phil on 5/24/2018 at 12:17 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter and Team Carry Supplies to 10,200

May 21, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,800'

Sunday, May 20, 2018 - 11:56 PM PT The weather forecast for today was for 70% chance of snow. And, while I guess they got it right, we only saw light flurries for about an hour. The rest of the day was scattered clouds with great views of the Alaska Range. At times the sun was so strong that the heat was stifling. That didn't stop our team from having a successful carry day, bringing supplies up to ~10,200'. Now we have returned to our camp at the base of Ski Hill (7800') for the night. Tomorrow, if the weather allows we plan to move camp higher, to 11,200. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Joseph, it has become my morning routine to look at the updates and it’s so exciting to see the pictures and read about the progress you guys are making. I hope you’re having a blast. Be safe!

p.s. Hope you didn’t forget the matches :)

Posted by: Attila Incze on 5/21/2018 at 7:45 pm

Hey Alex and Tom-

Glad to hear you are on the mountain!! I’ve been riding Tom’s new bike every day…. just kidding! On a serious note, I plan to take your recycling out tonight…. so you can sleep well knowing that its taken care of!

Good luck… safe journey!

Neil

Posted by: Neil on 5/21/2018 at 3:50 pm

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Denali: Walter & Team Set Up Camp at the Base of Ski Hill

May 20, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,800'

Sunday, May 20, 2018 - 1:12 a.m. PDT The squirrely weather persists on Denali. It snowed all night last night, but fortunately we only picked up 4 inches or so. We woke up to more snow, wind, and very limited visibility. After breakfast we slowly started to pack up camp, hoping the weather would improve. Around noon the weather finally improved so we packed up our tents and rigged up our ropes. By the time we were ready to walk, the weather was back its former, stormy self. We decided to give it a try and if conditions worsened we would make camp down on the Kahiltna Glacier and at least make some progress on the mountain. It was a good call because we made it all the way to Camp 2, at the base of Ski Hill (7,800'). We were in a ping pong ball most of the day -- navigating using the wands marking the route, faint traces of other parties' tracks, GPS, and a little Braille (well, maybe not Braille). Our navigation techniques worked and we cruised into camp in 5 hours flat! Tomorrow the plan is to carry and cache supplies higher on the route and then return to our current camp. This will make for lighter loads when we move camp later this week and will help our acclimatization process. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Thinking about you Alex, Tom, and team. So happy to hear you are safe and making progress, thx for the updates!

Posted by: Sarah Flynn on 5/21/2018 at 7:22 am

Nice action photo, Thank you! Glad to learn that Team Water is now underway. My best wishes to the entire team, and a special Hello to Tom M -you’re all in my thoughts.
Stay safe, stay strong & thrive.

Posted by: Jacquie on 5/21/2018 at 12:26 am

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Entries from Mt. McKinley

Alaska Seminar: Dale & Team are On the Kahiltna Glacier

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Ascend to Genet Basin Camp at 14,200’

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Arrive Kahiltna Base Camp on Second Attempt

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Rest Day at 11K Camp

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Have Another Great Day

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Making Good Progress

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Prep in Talkeenta

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Move to 11,200 Camp

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter and Team Carry Supplies to 10,200

Denali: Walter & Team Set Up Camp at the Base of Ski Hill

On The Map

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