Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The
Four Day Climb Teams for June 30 - 3 July reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by
RMI Guides Eric Frank and Jess Matthews. The teams reported windy conditions and a cloud cap. They began their descent from the crater rim around 8:15 AM. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - 9:58 PM PT
It started snowing around 4 this morning, which was contrary to predictions. The entire day ended up cloudy, snowy and windy... about the nearest thing to a genuine storm that we have had. Forecasts still call for high pressure and nice weather out there somewhere, but it hasn’t found us yet. We gathered for meals in the shelter of the dining tent, but spent most of the day in our own tents, listening to wind and passing time. We’ll chalk it up to an extra acclimatization day, which is hardly ever a bad thing. There were a couple of calm periods and a few minutes of sun here and there, but the clouds never pulled off the upper mountain. Walking around camp in the flat light was a challenge as we’d frequently stumble into old holes dug in the snow for kitchens or caches or tents. Still, it never got particularly cold and the wind never hit more than about 25 mph, so we won’t complain too much.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - 7:49 PM PT
We thought today would be our day... Until it wasn't. We woke up to blowing snow and zero visibility. It made our call easy once again. We thought that it would clear up later in the morning and give us a late try, but it has not cleared up all day. Oh well, we will wait!
The team is doing well with all of the waiting at
high camp, in spite of being in tents most of the day. The weather has not been terrible at high camp, just not good enough to climb. So, more waiting, sport eating, and good weather finger crossing for us!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Team Siete
On The Map
Hello again everyone
It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Then made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jumpstart on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1500' before we started our hike to nearly the top of a
local peak called Cheget. Normally we get to hike to the top of the peak, but being so close to the border with Georgia, the Russian military had the upper part closed to climbers. Regardless, we enjoyed the beautiful views and stretching our legs a bit.
After our hike we made back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting on us. After lunch we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats.
We wrapped up the evening with another nice home cooked meal here provided by our ever so gracious local outfitter.
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and comrades!
On The Map
Monday, July 1, 2019 - 10:34 PM PT
Last night’s snowstorm was short-lived, we got perhaps one inch of new at
14 Camp. Afterward, the bulk of the night was calm and in the morning -with some of the smoke washed out of the sky- we were treated to long distance views of the Chugach Mountains to the SE and to volcanoes 150 miles or more to the South. Reports were that it was still windy high on
Denali, but in our sheltered bowl at 14,000 ft it was a calm and easy day. We did a long and lazy breakfast of coffee and pancakes which took us pretty much up to lunch. Then it was time for napping, books, TV or movies on the phones, daydreaming, drinking and eating. An enormous cloud cap formed on the upper mountain and so it wasn’t nearly as hot today as it had been, but the mild temperatures have still made life at 14K considerably easier than usual. We are all for easy. With Mike Haugen’s team waiting up at 17,000 and looking to summit tomorrow, we’ll most likely wait another day at 14,000 so as not to crowd them. The forecast is calling for dry and stable weather, giving us the luxury of dragging feet for better acclimatization before we make the big jump up for our summit bid.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
RMI Guide Bryan Mazaika and the
Five Day Climb are approaching the crater rim of Mt. Rainier. New snow fell overnight but
Bryan reports the weather is currently nice and cold up top. The teams will spend some time on the summit before starting their descent. We look forward to seeing them back in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
With rain in the lower elevations, we were ecstatic to hear that our
Mt. Rainier summit climb team was above the weather system.
RMI Guide JM Gorum is the leader of this crew. He radioed in that the rope teams were currently cresting the crater rim.
Congratulations to today's summit team!
Monday, July 1, 2019 - 9:24 PM PT
Denali is a mountain that definitely tests a group's patience. We woke up around 6 to look at the weather and
Denali was still a bit too testy up high for us to make our move. This is to be expected when climbing big mountains and our team has accepted this challenge of waiting like a cobra to strike at our good weather window.... which will hopefully be tomorrow.
The team is in great spirits and spent the day resting up and sport eating so we have the energy to get to the summit. Although not as nice as 14k camp, 17k is treating us well. Keep your fingers crossed for us for tomorrow!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team Siete
On The Map
Summit!
A beautiful day to be on top of
Mt. Rainier! The RMI team, led by
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, reached the summit just before 7:00 a.m. They are currently enjoying the landmarks of the crater rim and Columbia Crest before they begin their descent.
Sunday, June 30, 2019 - 10:26 PM PT
Storms were forecasted for today... 90% chance of snow. But when we looked at the world at 4:30 this morning, things were just pretty, clear and calm. So we got up and ate breakfast. After breakfast it was still just fine in our neighborhood, so at 7 AM we set off to do a carry onto the
West Buttress. The track was well packed and so we made great progress in the shadows, moving up a series of gradually steepening hills until we were at the "headwall" and the ropes fixed in place up it. The start was a little sporty since there was a small vertical wall to scale in order to get past the bergschrund (a particular kind of crevasse at the top margin of a glacier). But with the aid of the rope and some sharp crampons, we each clawed our way up and over the lip to begin the merely steep and never ending slope above. But it did end as we pulled onto the ridge crest at 16,200 ft which turned out to be the perfect place for a rest break at 10 AM. Then we began climbing the ridge itself with spectacular-and still largely clear- views and the cleanest pink and white granite to clamber around and over. One more short section of fixed line took us up the steep flanks of Washburn’s Thumb at 16,800 ft and then it was relatively easy -but exciting- ridge walking with the Peters Glacier far below on the left and Genet Basin 3000 ft down on the right. By this point there were starting to be a few clouds and some wind gusts, but with the mild temperatures the wind wasn’t much of a concern. We cruised into 17,200 Camp at 12:15 and had a brief reunion with Mike Haugen’s team encamped there and waiting for the weather up top to be workable (it wasn’t today... too windy). With the idea of getting lower down before the storm moved in, we cached our supplies and skedaddled down the ridge. We were almost back in camp at 3PM when the clouds formed fantastic waves and tendrils all around the upper mountain. It began to snow heavily just after our six o’clock dinner of tortellini and soup... fulfilling the 90% prophecy. But we got our carry in. Rest is in order for tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
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YAY!! Congrats to my forever best friend for reaching one of your life long dreams!! I am a super proud wife!!
Posted by: Alina Millard on 7/3/2019 at 2:16 pm
Whoo hoo! Guess 3rd time was the charm. :) Congrats to Kyle and the whole team! Love, Diane and Sasha
PS Someone tell Kyle we are headed to Snow and Bench Lakes Trail- will be back at Paradise by 1 PM.
Posted by: Diane on 7/3/2019 at 10:27 am
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