Entries from Expedition Dispatches
May 20, 2014 - 11:57pm PT
Today was a glorious day full of sun and cooler temperatures. We left camp early this morning and headed west, down to the main flow of the
Kahiltna glacier. The team got first hand experience of how we move across such massive fields of ice and the views both up and down glacier were amazing. Felt like we were in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Our objective was a small formation called the pizza wedge and as we got closer the crevasses got bigger. So big that our desired approach was cut off by a 200' wide crack over a mile long. Despite being rewarded with great weather and cooler temps, this years snow isn't making things easy. So we trekked back to camp and resumed training for a full day tomorrow of crevasse rescue and beacon searches.
All is well and beautiful here!
RMI Guide
Leon Davis & Team
May 20, 2014 - 10:42 pm PT
Hi Everyone!
We awoke this morning to beautiful blue skies and calm winds. Our team did an excellent job at being efficient and getting ready to make our carry. We left just after 9 am, making us the first party out of camp, which proved to be a clutch move as teams behind us began to stream upwards and other parties reported waiting two hours at the base of the fixed lines to begin their ascent. The carry was a good training exercise and everyone is now more comfortable cramponing on the steep blue ice and working their ascenders on the
fixed ropes. We timed it well, and were also the first group down the lines, putting us in camp early enough to enjoy some rest and relaxation in the sunshine with the boots off!
Tomorrow we plan on resting and rehydrating in anticipation of our move to high camp and summit attempt at the end of the week!
Thanks for following along! We are looking foreword to seeing friends and family soon!!
RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter, Steve Gately, and the Team
May 20, 2014 - 8:29 pm PT
We are closing in on
Talkeetna enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, being driven by our shuttle driver Louisa. It's nice to finally be all together and underway after so much anticipation and preparation.
No lost luggage or late planes. Now all we need to accomplish is to unload our gear at the hanger, check into our wonderfully quirky hotel run by our friends Pam and Al, before heading out for a bite and a beer or two.
If first impressions mean anything, I think were going to have a good time on this expedition.
Cheers!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
May 19, 2014 - 10:20 pm PT
We had the stoves fired up bright and early this morning, preparing for an early start for our carry to above
16,000'. The skies were clear, the air was cold, and you could see snow blowing off the ridges at 17,000' and above. As we left camp this morning the winds were just starting to pick up down lower. By the time we reached 15,000' the winds were howling at 20-30 mph and it was brutally cold (ambient temperature was probably 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit). We quickly turned the ropes around and beat feet back to camp. We arrived back at camp amidst a ground blizzard and we all quickly retreated to the sanctuary of our sleeping bags to warm up.The winds continued into the afternoon before finally easing up. As I write this dispatch from our tent after dinner the winds are dead calm and the sky is clear above us.
Today was a good example of just how quickly conditions can change up here (and just how fickle the weather forecast is). Fortunately our team was prepared for mountain weather and we made the only prudent decision to return to the safety of our camp.
The weather forecast looks great for the next few days (for whatever that is worth), and we're optimistic we will be able to put in a cache up high tomorrow, as always, we'll keep you up to date with our progress.
Cheers,
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team
May 19, 2014 - 11:14 pm PT
Hi Everyone,
We had a pretty busy day here on
Kahiltna's SE fork. Consistent and gusty winds from the north had us building a fortress of sorts around our tents and kitchen. There was some time in the morning for basic skills training in groups but by early afternoon the whole team went into wall building mode. It was pretty amazing to see how well everyone cooperated and their work ethic was close to exhausting. So much so that a small news team noticed the action from below and came up to video everyone working and interview a few folks. So tune in to KTVA Alaska 11 News on their website and you might see a friend or loved one on TV!
Tomorrow we are going for a day mission across the Kahiltna toward Mt. Foraker.
Stay tuned for more good news tomorrow!
RMI Guide
Leon Davis & Team
May 19, 2014 5:34 pm
The winds started to blow last night, and the temps dropped. The winds weren't steady, but periods of calm were punctuated by gusts that slapped and rattled the tents. All morning we watched huge plumes of snow stream off the
West Buttress, indicating steadier strong winds up high. Needless to say, it wasn't a day to head around Windy Corner. We spent the morning moving and fortifying our walls, as the wind has conveniently switched directions by 180 degrees. A long siesta in the afternoon should have everyone well rested and ready to go for a carry tomorrow. We're hoping hard for the weather to improve, to continue our progress, but the day of acclimatization can only help us at this point. Until then we are well dug in and will tuck in for a cozy night here at 11,000'. We'll be in touch tomorrow!
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
May 19, 2014, 1:05 am PT
Hello all -
Our team is just crawling into their sleeping bags here at
Kahiltna Base Camp. Our pilots at K2 Aviation found a way in between a few windy spells and at 5:45 pm we touched down in sunny cool weather. By 9:30 pm we were having dinner and very happy about making it onto the Kahiltna glacier. Many of the team could barely hide their enthusiasm from the moment they boarded the plane until we crawled into our sleeping bags for bed time.
All is great!
Goodnight friends and family -
RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King and Katrina Bloemsma
On The Map
May 18, 2014 10:50 pm PT
Shortly after finishing dinner last night some light clouds sauntered into camp and began lightly snowing on us. Soon thereafter the winds kicked up and we had a moderately noisy nights rest with the wind sending our forecasted 6" of snow into outer space. This morning we awoke to clear cold skies and virtually no wind. Foraker stood to the Southwest with a few stacked lenticular clouds and the normal sprawl of Alaskan tundra was replaced by a sea of clouds. Today was another scheduled rest day for our team and we spent it reviewing fixed line and running belay techniques which we'll utilize on the upper mountain. We also took a short stroll across the glacier to check out a feature known as "The Edge of the World". This is the point at which the glacial plateau at which 14 camp resides on abruptly drops 6,000-7,000 ft to the Northeast Fork of the
Kahiltna Glacier. The team enjoyed the exposure and enormous views of Denali's "West Rib" and Mount Hunter. We also enjoyed our first sense of scale as we had a clear view down to our first camp at 7,800 ft and could finally get a sense of how far we've come. The weather stayed great for us today despite a forecasted low pressure system said to be moving through. Tomorrow we plan to tackle the fixed lines and move a cache of gear to just over 16,000 ft which puts us in great shape to wait for a weather window and ultimately our summit bid. All in all the team is doing fantastic, moral is high and folks are excited!
Best regards from Denali
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
May 18, 2014 10:57 pm PT
Today was a glorious day for a rest day. The sun was shining, and the winds stayed calm though we could tell they were blowing elsewhere. We spent the day watching clouds pour over the ridge of
Kahiltna dome, rolling down the backside and dissipating. It was beautiful to watch, and we were glad to be protected from the gusts. After a big breakfast of quesadillas, we sorted some food and gear for our carry past windy corner tomorrow. A quick review of cramponing and self arrest was as much activity as we needed this afternoon. We finished up the day with a big pasta meal and called an early night. We'll be heading uphill tomorrow to put in our 13,500' cache, which will set us up to move to 14,000' camp! The rest day was a great opportunity to recover from the last few days, and we'll be ready to go tomorrow!
All for now,
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides
Tyler Jones and
Kel Rossiter stood on top of Mt. Rainier this morning! The teams enjoyed calm and warm conditions while on the summit and are making their way back to Camp Muir. We will see them back in Ashford later today.
Congratulations!
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That looks like such an amazing experience. Have fun and stay safe, Wendy.
Posted by: Chris Bertran on 5/22/2014 at 6:49 am
Hey Dad,
I hope you’re having a great time! It sounds like you’re doing some pretty awesome and intense stuff! We hope you and your team have a great next few days and stay safe. Love you.
Love,
Linds, Ryann, and Mom
Posted by: Lindsay H on 5/22/2014 at 5:00 am
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