June 4, 2017
Excitement, nervousness and apprehension are some of the emotions running through the group right now as we try to relax and get some sleep before going for the summit in the morning.
The sky is clear, winds are light and it's warm right now as the sun is still shining at 9:30pm. The morning will be quite different though. Sub zero temps will make getting out of these tents hard at best.
No need for an alpine start here on Denali. We'll rise around 7:00-7:30am since we really don't need to stop get back to camp early like on normal alpine climbs.
The crew is ready, and so are we!
Wish us luck.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT
I just wanted to touch base with everyone that has followed our expedition. We flew off of the mountain yesterday, June 3rd, and we're working our way back to our normal lives.
We reached the summit on June 1, the first guide service of the season to step on top of Denali! The weather could not have been better, and we took advantage of it by spending nearly an hour on top of the highest point in North America.
We endured lots of weather during our trip, but we endured and got it done. It was a super rewarding summit with dedicated climbers.
We're already planning our next trip!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
June 4, 2017
Today was our hardest day yet! The team did another outstanding job on our climb up to High Camp at 17,200 ft. The crew also managed to return the favor to Brent's climb by bumping the last of their equipment and food from 16,600' as well as prep their arrival to high camp un-burying their caches from a few days ago. We had perfect weather and amazing views of the whole south side of the Alaska range. The descent was a bit of a traffic jam but all went well and the snow has begun as we arrived back to our tents in 14,000' Camp. Our plan for now is to rest and recover tomorrow. Then we will just wait for our summit opportunity! Fingers crossed for nice weather Tuesday and beyond!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
June 4, 2017
Anticipating a long hard day we woke the team and fired stoves at 5AM. After a hearty breakfast of toasted bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers the team quickly assembled for the climb. Skies were clear when we left camp and the temps quite cool, great for climbing! The plan for the day was to carry a cache of gear to 14k Camp to both lessen the burden of weight when we eventually move and to acclimate to a new altitude. We climb through several iconic features on the way including Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, The Polo Fields and finally Windy Corner. The team did great and were psyched to leave the sleds and snowshoes behind for crampons and an ice axe! Clouds started billowing in just as we reached 14k camp so we dug our cache spent a few moments to refuel, re-hydrate and breathe the new air at 14,000'.
The team is all now back at camp and doing great. Tomorrows agenda is unknown, a lot depends on the weather forecast. We may take a rest day or we may move camp up to 14k. You'll just have to tune in tomorrow to find out!
Thanks for following along everybody.
RMI Guide Steve Gately & Team
June 3, 2017
Today was yet again another sunny day. We woke up with the sun warming our tents. A rest day and sleeping in, not bad for a Saturday morning. Bagels and cream cheese with bacon filled us up for a round of napping, organizing our high camp equipment, and snacking of course. The mid afternoon heat was kept at bay with a bit of fog allowing us to train more technical skills that we will use to climb the fixed ropes on the headwall for our cache tomorrow. We had a nice evening and are bedding down before another big day ahead.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones & Team
Tym, Tyler, and Team (Otherwise know as the 3 T’s)
It is fun and exciting to read about your progress and plans, daily. The pictures are wonderful. Food sounds good. What an amazing adventure! Good luck as you move onward and ever upward. All my best as you have bigger days ahead. And Tym, Satoshi says: $2562.00.
Love Mom
Posted by: Kristi Kennelly on 6/4/2017 at 7:13 pm
Amir, Tyler, and Team,
We’re all thinking of you guys and the wonderful adventure you’re all having !
A day of rest was slated for today after our big day yesterday, and we took full advantage of it. Feasting on another breakfast of smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese, we chose to stretch the legs with a short walk to the "Edge of the World", where you can look down into the NE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier some 6000' below, and also see our first camp at 7800'. That seems so long ago that we were there, maybe because it was.
It's been two weeks now that we've been climbing this mountain. And although it's time to 'get 'er done', spirits are pretty high. We're all excited to get into position at high camp, even though we know this means a much less comfortable existence that our digs here at 14,200' provide.
The forecast calls for an end to the high pressure we've been enjoying after tomorrow, but no real significant bad weather coming in either. I've certainly summited when the forecasts have been like this, but it would be nice to have a couple days like the past two. What I do know is that everyone is rested, strong and ready for what comes.
Wish us luck! We'll take all we can get. Talk to you from 17,200' camp.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team
June 3, 2017
Waking early yet again, our team of intrepid mountaineers had a quick breakfast and fired downhill to our cache at 10,000 ft. Once packs and sleds were sufficiently filled we returned back to camp as the rest of the 11,000' Camp inhabitants were poking their heads out of tents. After a big lunch of rosti and stories, the team reviewed some climbing techniques and packed up for our next carry towards 14,000' Camp. If the weather cooperates we will bump supplies uphill tomorrow to set ourselves up to move locations. We have heard that 14,200 feet above the sea is a nice neighborhood and we aim to get in while prices are still reasonable. Location, location, location as they say.
The team is still doing great and we are ready for the next step.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
June 2, 2017
This is Pete Van Deventer calling from Denali. It's been a long day, we have been on the move for a while. We left 17,000' Camp at about 10:50 this morning and have been on the move ever since. We went down through from the thin air up there to 14,000' Camp and saw Brent Okita and Tyler Jones there and then through 11,000' Camp and saw Jake Beren there. Now we are down in the thick, warm air of 9,600 feet the Base of Ski Hill. So we're going to stop here for the evening and eat some dinner and throw the tents up for a little bit and sleep for a few hours. Then we'll get back on the trail and get back to Base Camp for what we hope to be early morning flight 8 or 9 o'clock Saturday morning. With any luck will be back in Talkeetna before we know it. Everybody's been hanging in there really well, it's a lot of walking but the further we go down the better we all feel as they air gets thicker and temps warmer. The cold on the way in feels pretty balmy at this point after sitting what we have sat through and being as high as we have been. We're looking up at the sunshine on the summit of Denali and still lighting up the Orient Express and the Messnar Couloir some of the classic faces of the upper mountain above 14,000' and really couldn't imagine a more perfect setting than where we are right now. So, we will enjoy one more night on the Kahiltna Glacier and look forward to being in town soon.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer checks in from 9,600 ft on their descent.
June 2, 2017
Hello, The team had an amazing day moving up to 14,200 ft Camp today. This team is doing some really great work with smooth climbing and great camp setup skills. We departed our 11,200 ft camp just after 8am and we able to use the morning shade and sun to our advantage, keeping us cool while climbing and warming us during our breaks. We arrived at 14 camp just after noon and enjoyed a sunny afternoon to build our camp. The views are amazing up here and we can see some of the challenges ahead, including the fixed lines. For dinner this evening, the team enjoyed another round of Chef Tyler's chicken quesadilla's served up with some spicy guacamole and Sriracha, who knew you could eat so well on an expedition! Tomorrow we will spend the day in camp resting, reinforcing camp and practicing some skills we will need for the days ahead.
RMI Guides Tyler Jones, JM Gorum and Bryan Mazaika
Amazing pictures…quite the view you have up there. One foot after the other, hang in there and best wishes as you move up the mountain. Be safe!! And Tym, Satoshi says, $2,550.00
Love, Mom
Posted by: Kristi Kennelly on 6/3/2017 at 11:15 am
June 2, 2017
As cold as it is at 6:30am here at 14,200', we knew that an early start to our day would be for the best. The crew was up and at 'em even before hots were quite ready. We all knew this was a big day, and it was.
The sun hadn't hit our part of the mountain yet, so we were bundled up. This is my usual plan, and surprisingly, we were the first group out of camp. This always bodes well in terms of being one of the first on the fixed lines - that part of the mountain which is quite steep where passage up it is protected by fixed ropes that we can secure ourselves to while climbing slopes up to 50 degrees in steepness.
The team really crushed it, then climbed well again on the West Buttress itself. This really is the most spectacular and challenging part of the route. A few of us cached our loads at our standard location at 16,600'. But two of our rope teams climbed all the way to high camp at 17,200' and cached there! Great work by everyone.
Later, upon return to camp, we heard that a group that left an hour after us had to wait for two hours due to the congestion in the fixed roped. We were all pretty psyched that we didn't have that issue. Instead, we had one of the most perfect days climbing the Butttress I've seen. Windless and warm.
The weather forecast is, of course, on everybody's minds, with this window of nice weather perhaps coming to an end in a couple of days. Some guides are even accelerating their timelines to head up to 17,200' a day or so earlier. I've toyed with this idea too, to forego our rest day tomorrow and try to get a summit in while we can. But, my gut tells me to practice the patience I always preach, so we'll enjoy our rest day tomorrow and take it one day at a time. I know we'll all be the stronger for it, and after our big day we're all a little tired right now.
So, good night from 14,200'.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina an JT
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Wishing the team good weather for
The summit.
Stunning pictures
Love to Tommy and Alex and Italian feast waiting for you.
Aunt Elisa and Uncle Garrick
Posted by: Elisa and Garrick on 6/5/2017 at 4:24 pm
Wishing you all a successful, safe and amazing journey.
Nearly there!!!!
Xxxxx
Posted by: Sheryl Hawkins on 6/5/2017 at 11:05 am
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