Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
The weather was even worse today on Elbrus. The team spent the day back down in Cheget. We took a beautiful hike to a giant waterfall and then enjoyed lunch at a great spot with fresh trout. Tomorrow we head to St Petersburg!
RMI Guide JJ Justman and Team
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the Four Summit Climb team were unable to summit this morning. They encountered avalanche hazard that forced them to turn at 12,500.’ They began their decent at 7:05 this morning and should be back at Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Saturday, July 9, 2016 - 8:46 p.m. PDT
As planned, today was something of a forced rest day at 11,000 ft. By virtue of our having slept through the night here -which we certainly needed- the next option would have been to travel the lower glacier in the heat of the day... Or to rest up and aim for going out tonight when it gets cold and the glacial surface is frozen and safer for travel. We are all about option two.
So the team woke late and folks talked about having gotten a real night's sleep for the first time in weeks. We ate long slow breakfasts and then went back to sleep. It is possible that this will be our last full day in the park, so many took longer looks than usual at the ice and rock cliffs surrounding and towering over us. At first the sky looked threatening, as if it might get to snowing again, but by dinner things had changed back to calm, sunny, blue skies... making us all optimistic about smooth travel out the glacier and the chance for prompt flying from the mountain tomorrow morning.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi everyone. Today was a tough day. The team departed camp just before 3AM with moderate winds. As we climbed along the traverse above 17,000 feet the wind was getting dangerously strong. As the the team stopped to clip into climbing ropes for safety, another climber NOT on our team slipped, fell and slid down the mountain nearly a thousand feet. I was relieved to see the climber get to their feet but I am still not sure of their condition. I believe and hope they are ok. Her local guide climbed down and assisted and again, I believe all is fine.
I was extremely thankful our team did not get sideswiped as the climber fell. Needless to say, there were a few team members with very shocked expressions. Being roped up for safety we continued to climb higher. As we were approaching the long traverse into the saddle, four hours from the summit at our pace I witnessed another climber get knocked off his feet by the wind. Luckily he slid a hundred feet and stopped.
It was at that point that I needed to quit thinking and just trust my gut. Our team turned at 17,700 feet and we focused on getting back down safely. And we did.
We are all back at camp and we are now making the decision if we give the summit another shot. The forecast is not in our favor. Either way, up or down, we are focused on safety and I am sure a little fun is in store for us one way or another.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Safety first! What a harrowing experience the summit attempt must have been. I glad everyone on the team is safe.
Posted by: Shirley Tharp on 7/9/2016 at 2:11 pm
Posted by: Brent Okita, Mike Uchal
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,800'
Due to avalanche hazard, the summit climb teams, led by Brent Okita and Mike Uchal, were unable to summit Mt. Rainier this morning. Both teams topped out at 12,800,’ and are headed back down to Camp Muir.
We look forward to seeing the teams back in Ashford this afternoon.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Saturday, July 9, 2016 - 2:23 a.m. PDT
Yesterday was an unlikely summit day. There were clouds everywhere and breezes blowing... But we'd begun to think we wouldn't get anything better. So we went for it, leaving high camp at about 10 AM. Right out of camp though, we were breaking trail... And it went that way all day. Slow going and strenuous climbing. But it mostly went our way. The winds died just before we reached Denali Pass. It was a cold day - by July standards- but our team dealt well with the challenge. Sadly, we never got much in the way of views due to the clouds, but when we topped out at 7:15 PM, no one seemed overly concerned with the things they might have seen on a better day. We made it back to high camp at midnight and had a late late dinner. Breakfast this morning was a rolling thing, with folks wandering through the kitchen one by one as they woke. It was a stunningly nice day... Clear and sunny the way it never seems to be anymore. But we could not have known such a fine day was coming... The forecasts didn't hint at it. In any case it was good for descending. We dropped down the crest of the West Buttress, the fixed lines and the snowy hills above 14 camp. It took time to reorganize there and then we set out for 11,000ft. The route was barely recognizable as there'd been huge snow and plenty of avalanches. We were sinking in deeply and engaging in a great sled rodeo on the steep side hills, but we kept on trudging and finally reached our old home at 11,000ft. We look forward to some deep sleep and recuperation here -6,000 ft below our last home.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Wow! Impressively strong work! Tremendous congratulations to all for summiting…and, for surviving a side-hill-sled-rodeo.
Posted by: Julia on 7/9/2016 at 7:47 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Katrina Bloemsma, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Katrina Bloemsma was unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Due to overnight rain the team was unable to leave Camp Muir for their summit attempt. The weather improved enough this morning for the team to climb up to Ingraham Flats at 11,200' to climb a bit and experience the upper slopes of Mt. Rainier. The team left Camp Muir at 10:45 a.m. to make their descent back to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford early this afternoon.
The Mt. Rainier Expedition Skills Seminar has spent the last six days training along the Paradise Glacier and moved to Camp Muir yesterday. The team, led by RMI Guide Billy Nugent, went to bed hoping for a break in the precipitation. The guides checked the weather through the early morning hours with no such luck of weather cooperation. Although a summit did not come to fruition, the team walked up to Ingraham Flats and will descend from the mountain later this afternoon.
Our successful Ecuador Volcanoes trip has sadly come to an end; but the good times didn’t end with mountain climbing, as this adventurous team decided to sample the classic Ecuadorian specialty dish, cuy, on our way back to the Quito yesterday. Cuy, Quichua (pre-Incan language) for guinea pig, is a traditional food reserved for special occasions; our special occasion was celebrating summitting two challenging Ecuadorian volcanoes (and turning around a few hundred feet shy of the summit on a third), enjoying the people and culture of Ecuador, and enjoying the comradery and companionship of our climbing team.
Once back in Quito and checked into our hotel, we had a few hours to roam the streets and explore the shops of the city before meeting back up for a celebratory dinner with our local guides. The past week and a half has been a whirlwind of adventure. Now, as we go our separate ways back home, we’ll always share our Ecuador Volcanoes memories, and hopefully we’ll climb together again someday.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Well...if there ever was a day to have a rest day, it would be today. As I laid in my sleeping bag last night watching Caddyshack for the 74th time I could hear the snow falling on the tin roof of the hut. Upon waking it appeared several inches of snow fell and it continued through most of the day.
The team spent the day relaxing and I even gave a mini slideshow on Mount Everest. We are putting the final preparations on packing our summit packs. The forecast is for this weather to push off and clear skies are on the horizon. Knock on wood. If all goes well the team will be on the summit soon!!
Stay tuned.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Can’t wait to hear how the summit goes- shout out to Jen and Mark Becker and the rest of your crew!
Posted by: Mel Emanuel on 7/8/2016 at 2:34 pm
Following the updates…Hoping for a successful summit! Go team!!
Posted by: Shirley Tharp on 7/8/2016 at 12:39 pm
What is the outlook for Tues and Wed? No summits the past 3 days.
Posted by: Jamie Adams on 7/10/2016 at 11:49 am
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