Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Our team is still at the 11k Camp, as winds picked up around midnight last night and continued through this morning. We decided that the winds were too high for our liking, and we took another rest day here at 11k. The winds abated this afternoon and we're optimistic we'll be able to move to the
14k Camp tomorrow. In the mean time, we enjoyed a relaxing day around camp. Extra rest days like these are beneficial for acclimatization and getting strong for the hard work ahead of us.
Everyone is doing well, and we're all looking forward to moving camp up higher. We'll keep you posted as always.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Camp Muir reported that RMI Guides
Brent Okita,
Tyler Jones and the
Five Day Summit Climb Team reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier at about 7am this morning. The team reported clear skies and absolutely beautiful climb weather. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir. We expect them back to RMI Base Camp this afternoon.
This is the First Summit of the our 2014 summer season! Congratulations Teams!
Today we saw the first real clouds of the trip, accompanied by a dusting of snow. The clouds cleared out in the afternoon and it turned into a beautiful, but breezy evening.
We weren't terribly concerned with what the weather did today, as we took a complete rest day in order to have more time to acclimate to the altitude and recover from the past five days of hard work in the mountains.
Everyone is doing well and, if the weather lets us, we'll move up to the
14,200' Camp in Genet Basin tomorrow. The weather forecast for tomorrow is calling for clear skies and moderate winds, so we'll just have to see how things play out.
We'll keep you posted with our progress.
Caio for now,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Today was another beautiful day. The crew climbed the first leg of the route in preparation for our climb tonight.
A couple of us kicked in the route today which goes up the
Disappointment Cleaver.
The route is in great shape and were all looking forward to the climb.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
Greetings from Talkeetna!
So we made it off the glacier just in time! This morning we woke at 3:30 am to start the 5.5-mile walk back to basecamp. The forecasted storm was slowly creeping in from the southwest and as we walked down glacier in the twilight, clouds came spilling over Mt. Foraker, threatening to shut down visibility. At 11:30 we could hear the mosquito hum of K2's Otter as Randy flew in just below the cloud ceiling and set the plane down on the runway. Forty-five minutes later we were in sandals and t-shirts in downtown Talkeetna enjoying the warm air and flowering fauna. It has been an excellent experience for our folks. As we dry our gear on the lawn, everyone is quietly reflecting on the last six days spent in the
Alaska range.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Today we awoke yet again to a beautiful morning, but tomorrow that changes. With a brief disturbance blowing in from the Bering Sea tomorrow we took advantage of the good weather to make a carry to 13,500ft. There we cached gear and food that we will later retrieve and haul to
14,000ft Camp. Everyone was excited to finally strap the spikes on and go climbing and the team did fantastic navigating the new terrain and altitude. With the sun out and clear skies we enjoyed warm temperatures and fantastic views of the
West Buttress proper and major features such as the Messner and Japanese couloirs. Tomorrow the team will enjoy their first rest day of the trip as we wait out the weather. All the best from Denali!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
Hi everyone!
Well today we went for Kahiltna Dome and we got higher than any other
RMI seminar in recent history. Soft snow and punchy crevasse bridges put a halt on our upward progress close to 11,000 feet. Despite the early start, temperatures never allowed the snow to freeze solid enough to prevent us from dropping into the many cracks that guard the ridge. The guides put the question to our
seminar participants about whether it was safe to continue and the entire team made some very rational common sense arguments on the decision to turn back. We do believe these folks are starting to understand their limits while making good decisions, as we hoped this seminar would help impart!
We are safe and happy back at 8700' camp hoping to fly off tomorrow if the forecasted snow does not interfere.
Good night and see you all soon!
RMI Guides
Leon Davis and
Eric Frank
RMI Guides
Brent Okita and
Tyler Jones are leading our first 2014
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb! The team is doing great and had beautiful weather on their ascent to Camp Muir today. Tomorrow the team will go on an acclimatization hike and get ready for their summit bid on Wednesday.
Good evening friends & family,
The team is here at 8,800' camp on the Kahiltna, 5.5 miles from base camp. Today we walked with a few days of food and fuel up glacier under clear skies and later a blazing sun. It seems to be unseasonably warm here for early May, but we can hardly complain about great weather!
Early tomorrow morning we will leave camp and make an attempt on
Kahiltna Dome and we are all excited to see what the mighty Kahiltna looks like from 12,200'!
Until tomorrow, good night from us all.
RMI Guides
Leon Davis and
Eric Frank
Once again the weather has been nothing less than spectacular for us up here on
Denali. After a breakfast of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and bagels to start the day, we headed back downhill to retrieve our cache of gear at 9,500'. We arrived back at the 11k camp a few minutes after 2pm, with plenty of time to rest in the afternoon. As well as resting, eating, and drinking, we had a couple of chores to accomplish, namely building snow walls to fortify our camp and sorting our gear to cache up higher, which we anticipate doing tomorrow. The weather forecast looks good for tomorrow, so if it verifies we'll take advantage and get a cache in up high, likely at Windy Corner, around 13,500'.
All of us on the first
RMI Denali expedition would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in our lives.
Thanks for keeping track of our progress. We'll keep you posted with updates as we continue this awesome adventure.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
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Steve and team,
I’m sure the wind chills must make for some challenges. Hope the wind abates as expected as waiting around is never fun, especially on a long climb.
Unfortunately the Bruins were eliminated in game 7 against the Habs last night (3-1) so you won’t be missing any Bruins playoff action.
Hike well and be safe.
Dad
Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/15/2014 at 4:15 am
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