Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Thursday, June 4, 2015 6:45pm PST
The snow is still falling and the winds continue to blow here at 11k camp. This morning, the
Upper West Rib team woke to another six inches of accumulation and drifts ranging from mid-calf to mid-thigh. We quickly shoveled our camp back into shape, then lingered over breakfast bagels for several hours while we discussed potential future schedules.
Overall the team is doing an excellent job of staying busy and motivated while utilizing these imposed rest days. Between bouts of shoveling, we are able to sneak in hours of reading, naps and movie watching. Once the weather improves we will be strong and ready to cruise uphill.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
June 4, 2015 3:05pm PST
One of the most famous books of
Mt. McKinley lore is of the first winter ascent and it's title is Minus 148. Yes this refers to the calculated wind chill factor the climbers experienced while stuck in a storm at 18,000' feet in the middle of February. While we sit here waiting out this storm which we have been racing for six days, the cold accompanying the snow is bone chilling. Last night after the sun went behind the ridge, we all guessed the evening temp here in camp at 14,000' feet was a balmy minus 15 degrees. Add in the 15 mph breeze and the wind chill here was a cool minus 35! Up at high camp where we just came from, where teams still sit waiting for a summit chance, the air temp was a frigid minus 25 with 40 mph winds. This means the wind chill was roughly minus 50. At these temps skin freezes in seconds and the body can hardly consume enough calories to stay warm without shelter. The morale of the team is really high knowing the high altitude work is done. As I write this on June 4th, the description of June 3rd is identical. Drink coffee, eat lots of food, take a nap, eat more food, have dinner and go to bed. The need to hang outside in the freezing temps is not what anyone needs.
As the storm moves through, we are hoping to get this show on the road and move to base camp where planes can pick us up as soon as the weather breaks. Cross your fingers for an opening by Sunday. We will touch base tomorrow.
RMI Guide
Adam Knoff & Team
June 4, 2015 3:04pm PST
Sitting in a storm at 11
Living in a snow heaven
Building walls and eating snacks
Preparing for the next snowy attack
Spirits are highway we wait for blue sky
Tentalanches occur in the night
But tucked away in our tent, we have no fright.
We gather in the posh for cards and meals.
As we listen to the wind squeal.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring less snow, But we will keep you posted as to how it all goes.
RMI Guide
Tyler Jones & Team
The group has made it to charming
Talkeetna for burgers, beers, and packing. We spent the day yesterday dialing in our 100 liter packs and duffels with sleds. The food for 22 days is packed and our spirits are high. Now that we are all ready the weather needs to cooperate. We were scheduled to fly this morning but are in a waiting pattern at the moment, well, I guess it's back to the coffee shop.
All is well!
RMI Guide
Jake Beren & Team
The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir led by RMI Guides
Seth Waterfall and
Mike King reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier around 7 am PDT. Seth reported crystal clear skies and light wind. From the summit the teams can see down to 6,000’ where the cloud deck begins. The teams will spend a little time on the summit before beginning their descent back to
Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford tomorrow afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
June 3, 2015 - 5:08 pm PT
Last night shortly after dinner a light snow began falling as we got in our tents. This morning we awoke to 8" of new snow and it has continued falling all day. It is always nice when weather forces a
rest day right on schedule.
We drew out the breakfast process making hash browns, eggs, bacon, and uncountable cups of coffee. The early afternoon was spent napping an watching movies in our tents and shoveling out camp. Hopefully tomorrow is nice and we can get a cache in at 13,600' before returning to 11 camp. The teams is in good spirits and enjoying a day off their feet.
That's all for now, thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Geoff Schellens & Eric Frank
On The Map
June 3, 2015 - 3:48 pm PT
Pitter, patter, pitter, patter!
Snow day at 11,200'. Well, as we mentioned the snow started last night and throughout today we have received more that a foot of light dry fairy dust. This a has been the first session of shoveling out the tent every other hour and almost surely not the last. With a day to sleep in and recover and hide from the pesky weather. This morning we had some excellent grilled breakfast burritos packed with cheese, eggs, salsa, and of course bacon. This afternoon will work on some more skills will need higher on the mountain and spend some time building our walls higher as the storm continues to swirl. With fingers crossed will try to move our bright orange homes up to 14 camp as soon as we get a break in the weather.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
June 3, 2015 - 10:10 am PT
Yesterday proved to be a bit bitter sweet for all of us. Despite having the almost euphoric sense of accomplishment for summiting
Mt. McKinley, the work left to be done is astounding. Many people may think that when the top is reached it is all downhill from there. In a literal sense that is true, in the big picture that is like saying once you plant a garden food will just appear on your plate.
Nothing is easy at 17,000', especially motivating to pack up the entire camp after only getting six hours of restless sleep coming on the heels of what most of the team considered the hardest summit day they have ever experienced. But as always they impressed me with there drive, attitude and willingness to do what needed to be done. That fact right there is why they all succeeded in this climb.
So after camp was broken, the long tricky climb back down Washburn's ridge began. After those obstacles were over we then needed to descend the fixed lines, stomp down the remaining slopes to camp, dig up the cache and then rebuild a new camp. All while being sleep deprived, hungry, thirsty and utterly exhausted. On top of all that, it is supposed to snow two feet by tomorrow. Ahh, the true colors of this mountain are being revealed.
We will keep you posted on our progress.
Liam, daddy is on his way home soon. I can't wait to see you!
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
June 2, 2015 - 10:40 pm PT (Both updates received)
New heights achieved! Today we rose early to no wind and blue skies with a satellite lenticular cloud slowly inching closer, cluing us into the fact that the weather may change in the next few days. We loaded our food, fuel and other equipment making for a smooth and relatively quick trip up to our
next camp at 14,000'. We dug a large pit in the snow in the center of the Genet basin and filled it with many of the supplies that we will need for the next stages of the climb.
With the weather still holding we passed the infamous Windy Corner in breathless air. The crew flowed down hill flawlessly making a short stop at the rarely visited lunch rock bump view point. Taking in the full panorama of the enormous Father and Son wall, the upper Peters Glacier, NW Buttress and the Washburn Wall! Spectacular!
The short nap was well deserved this afternoon and the days timing was impeccable. The snow and a brisk breeze blew in shortly after our arrival. Which was followed by one of the best Ramen meals ever consumed on the slopes of Denali. Now as we crawl into our tents a light snow continues and we wait to see what tomorrow brings. Good evening all.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
June 1, 2015 Blog
Today was another great weather day! We had bagels salmon and cream cheese. Not bad for mountain food! Yet we decided after four days of hard work we took a real full rest day in order to regain our strength and further our acclimatization.
The day progressed with some tent time laying around like mushrooms on a pizza. As the afternoon rolled in we spent time training our walking skills and prepping our kits for carrying our load to
14,000 Camp. We're hoping for good weather tomorrow. Send us good vibes. As the sun crests the horizon to the north in this latitude we stare at purple sky's to the south in the shade of the mountain.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
June 2, 2015 - 6:56 pm PT
The last few days of a trip always fly by. The summit, descent, and celebration in town all came together over the course of three days. Our
summit day was spectacular, with blue, sunny skies, little wind, and balmy (0 degrees F) temps. We got up with the sun the next morning, which felt considerably colder, and packed our bags to descend. We originally planned to go as far as 11,200' Camp, picking up our cache at 14,000' along the way, but when we walked into 11k at 4.30 in the afternoon, and with plenty of energy to spare, we decided to keep the momentum rolling, rig sleds, and head to 7,600’ camp. The few hours of fighting with our sleds downhill proved well worth it. We got to camp at 8:30, where RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Eric Frank with their Upper West Rib team were super nice and had stoves boiling for us already. We set a hasty camp since we were only going to be there for a few hours, and went to bed. We had our only real alpine start of the trip, waking at 2.30 am. The walk out the lower Kahiltna was one of the highlights of the trip. High thin clouds reflected the light of a not yet risen sun, and the alpenglow on the surrounding peaks burned a brilliant red. A wind at our backs pushed us towards Base Camp. The scene kept our eyes drifting to the sky, and it was impossible not to enjoy the walk despite the heavy packs and sleds. By 7:30 we were at the airstrip, ready for the first flights of the day to Talkeetna. In no time the incredible pilots from K2 descended in two Otters, we loaded the planes, and we were in town, taking in the scents of grass, flowers, and trees for the first time in weeks. We showered off the smell of 18 days on the mountain, and set about filling our bellies with something that we hadn’t carried on our backs. We spent the afternoon drying gear and packing bags for our inevitable separation, and then had a final celebration dinner at the West Rib, a restaurant that is synonymous with Mt. McKinley climbers. Now, we are beginning to part ways. Some of our climbers have left for Anchorage and flights home, while others are staying in Alaska for a bit longer, albeit as tourists. Jet boat adventures, bicycle tours, and road trips to the North side of the park all lie in the future. The guides will amuse ourselves tomorrow with some time on a boat, dropping lines for Halibut, before we also head South to the Mt. Rainier climbing season. The group did a spectacular job on the mountain, climbing smoothly and safely, and we were rewarded with a truly fine summit and 100% of our group on the summit. The guides thank the whole team for their efforts, laughs, and incredible chemistry; it was a really memorable trip for us as well! Thanks to everyone for following along. Now its off to a boat, where someone else baits the hook for us and the fish can’t help but bite!
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and Team.
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Hi Kim - Re: the “hours of reading, naps and movie watching?!” Seems I’ve been “training” for this trip my whole life without even knowing it. I’m signing up for the next one!
-michael
Posted by: Michael on 6/5/2015 at 4:27 pm
We are in Atlanta. Hope you guys get to start moving soon! Sophia’s haircut is great. Love momma
Posted by: Jane on 6/5/2015 at 10:44 am
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