Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Elevation: 17,200'

Monday, June 17, 2013 Hello everyone. We made it back to camp after a good day of climbing. Everybody is safe and sound. We're just finishing up a little dinner before turning in for a little bit. Looks like we just beat the storm. We'll move a little lower tomorrow. That's all for now. RMI Guide Jake Beren

RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in after their successful summit.

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Beren & Team Summit!

June 17, 2013

Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Josh Maggard

Elevation: 20,320'

Monday, June 17, 2013 Hello, this is Jake with RMI #5 standing on top of Denali with an awesome crew on an absolutely beautiful day. We'll give a shout when we get down but it doesn't get too much better than this. Thanks everybody for the support, and will be checking in from down low. Over and out. RMI Guide Jake Beren

RMI Guide Jake Beren calls from the Mt. McKinley summit!

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Wow!!! So totally impressive and so happy for the whole team. Congratulations on a great trip up and have a safe trip down!

Posted by: Nina Baj on 6/19/2013 at 10:14 am

We woke up on the East Coast to your most welcome audio clip from on high. How sweet the sound!

Posted by: Bill and Kathleen on 6/18/2013 at 5:30 am

Mt. McKinley: Haugen And Team Settle in At 11,000’

June 17, 2013

Posted by: Mike Haugen

Elevation: 11,200'

Monday, June 17, 2013 We are on the mountain! After walking up the glacier on our long approach, this camp feels like we are actually starting to make some headway towards the top. We will be at this 11,000' camp for a minimum of three nights, so we are dug in pretty solidly. The plan for tomorrow is to do a back carry. This means we will walk back down to our cache at 10,000', dig it up, and then bring it back up to our new camp at 11,000 ft. It shouldn't be too hard of a day, but it is very important in our acclimatization scheme. Although there are no bad views in this place, we have an amazing view from this camp. From a safe distance, we get to watch some giant ice cliffs calving off some large chunks. The heat of the nice weather days has made for some dynamic snow and ice conditions. Summit Team 6! Led by RMI Guide Mike Haugen

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Please tell Cindee she’s a bad-a$$ and that Zoot and Ruby miss her and that we don’t know the internet passcode! Hahaha. The whole team is an inspiration. Keep it up guys! Climb it like a BOSS!! Maija

Posted by: Maija Markul on 6/20/2013 at 2:21 pm

Wow, what amazing pictures and updates!

Hey Steve! We’re cheering you on and can’t wait to see you guys when you get back. Have an amazing time on the adventure. Heading up Snowmass this weekend and will take a moment for you!

Posted by: James on 6/18/2013 at 8:03 pm

Mt. Rainier: Emmons Skills Seminar at Schurman and Ready for Summit Bid

June 17, 2013

Posted by: JJ Justman

Elevation: 9,440'

The Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons has reached Camp Schurman. JJ reports that the team is doing well. The weather is currently sunny with some clouds above and below. The team is planning on making their summit attempt tonight. Wish them well! RMI Guide JJ Justman

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Very proud of you - be careful. In the meantime, I am enjoying a glass of cabernet and some doritos. Love, Generalisima

Posted by: Maria Owens on 6/17/2013 at 4:25 pm

To all ‘you fools’...can’t wait to see the go-pro pictures. Have fun, be careful.

Sam

Posted by: Sam Cribbs on 6/17/2013 at 3:20 pm

Mt. Rainier: June 17th Update

June 17, 2013

Posted by:

Elevation: 14,410'

The Five Day Summit Climb led by Robert Montague and the Four Day Summit Climb led by Jason Thompson reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Conditions on the summit were windy (40mph) and clear. The teams are currently resting at Camp Muir before beginning their descent to Paradise; they will be back in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

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Walter -

I hope it was a successful climb for you!

-Larry Seaton

Posted by: Larry Seaton on 6/17/2013 at 3:09 pm

What beautiful scenery. Congratulations and we can’t wait to hear all about it, Jason.
Mom and Dad

Posted by: Kelley on 6/17/2013 at 2:26 pm

Mt. McKinley: Jones and Team Descend to 11,000’

June 16, 2013

Posted by: Tyler Jones

Elevation: 11,200'

Sunday, June 16, 2013 We woke this morning to another unbelievable day at 17,200' camp on Mt. McKinley. The sun was shining, there was no wind blowing, and folks were comfortable in soft shell coats eating their grits and Pop Tarts. If you don't have a frame of reference for how unbelievable that kind of weather is, it's more typical for people to be wrapped in every puffy coat and pant that they brought to the high camp, while the wind threatens to blow you right off the mountain. Needless to say, we were psyched. We started walking down the buttress route soon after breakfast, and make excellent time across the knife-edge, exposed walking from camp to the top of the fixed lines. A short, technical descent down the lines had us all sweating by the time we reached the bottom, and we stripped down to base layers for the moderate descent back to our cache at 14,200'. After we grabbed all the group food and gear, we loaded heavy packs and headed down in the scorching sun towards our old stomping grounds at 11,000'. We arrived in calm, clear skies, and we quickly got up tents and got out of the sun. We're drinking a ton of water, looking forward to the group food fry of leftover cheeses, meats, and breads this evening, and getting ready for the 3am launch down the glacier tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll have the weather to fly back to showers, greasy burgers, and cold beer tomorrow. Until then, stay tuned for the latest and greatest from the team! Hasta luego, RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Garrett Stevens and the sore but happy team

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way to go james! cant wait to see all your pics and hear all your stories!

Posted by: tina on 6/17/2013 at 7:04 pm

Hello Googoo and the rest of the climbers, our prayers are with you all, we are proud of you, keep it up and come back safe, love you, Areg

Posted by: Areg Abramian on 6/17/2013 at 6:29 am

Mt. McKinley: Beren’s Team at High Camp

June 16, 2013

Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Josh Maggard

Elevation: 17,200'

Sunday, June 16th, 2013 Holy cow we made it up! Leaving early, we passed RMI 4 at the base of the fixed lines, high fiving as we continued our climb. The team did a remarkable job making it to high camp in fine time. The West Buttress proper is the most fun part of the route and earns the namesake title. We cruised up to our cache at the base of Washburn's Thumb and barely slowed down with the extra weight. Arriving at camp didn't even require a coat once we stopped. The weather is perfect now and all we need is one more day and I'm sure the team will make it to the top. We are ready to outchill weather if it comes, but hopefully we can get one more day of this fantastic weather. Send us all good weather vibes if you please and we will check in tomorrow. RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Sweet they way i read this is you summited on an absolutley gorgeous day. Way to go.

Posted by: Terry Kramer on 6/18/2013 at 1:24 pm

The KEI team is cheering you on. Can’t wait to see the pics. Barbara you are awesome and put us all to shame. We are so very proud f you.

Posted by: Terry Kramer on 6/17/2013 at 9:55 am

Mt. McKinley: Haugen’s Team Moves to 9,600’ Camp

June 16, 2013

Posted by: Mike Haugen, Mike Uchal

Elevation: 9,600'

Sunday, June 16th, 2013 Happy Father's Day to all of our dads from Summit Team 6! We bit off another chunk of the mountain this morning ascending to 9,600 feet. Only 10,600 feet to go! We arrived at our new camp around mid morning. Our team is quickly becoming McKinley camp experts, so it did not take us very long to dig in camp. We had some extra daylight (oh yeah, it is always daylight), so we decided to dig a monster posh house. A posh house is our version of a cook tent. It is like a snow cave where the cooking and seating area is dug into the snow below ground level. The roof is a big top-like tent that is held up by a pole that goes from the apex to the floor of the snow pit. Now we have room for company. The weather forecast looks stellar so we should be able to move up to 11k Camp tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Summit Team 6 P.S. Lance says thank you to his wife and girls for the Father's Day card!

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Wow!I am speechless! What a great experience! I am so proud of my friend Cindee Teer! I hope all goes well, and everyone is safe! The Turner Family

Posted by: Ingrid on 6/17/2013 at 7:01 pm

It sounds like things are going so well! Steve, we are thinking of you constantly. Tania went home today and we miss her, but we had fun this weekend talking about how WE are not on a glacier, but enjoying summer in the mountains. Just so you know, Tania did awesome this weekend.

Posted by: Lisa Mackey on 6/17/2013 at 7:01 pm

Mt. Rainier: Emmons Skills Seminar at Glacier Basin

June 16, 2013

Posted by: JJ Justman

The Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons is soaking up the sun and setting up camp in Glacier Basin. The team is doing really well and everyone is excited to be on the mountain. There are clouds building so taking advantage of the sun is the number one priority for training this afternoon. RMI Guide JJ Justman

Mt. Rainier: June 16th Update

June 16, 2013

Posted by:

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Summit Climb led by Dan Windham reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning! The team took advantage of the firm snow conditions offered by climbing in the wee morning hours and are making their way back through the clouds to sunny Camp Muir. The team will descend to Paradise and return to Ashford later today. We have a Five Day Summit Climb at Camp Muir, an Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons beginning their time on the mountain.

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Congratulations for all the team but specially to my brother Marcoos, I am so proud of him.I love you.

Posted by: Clau Bere on 6/19/2013 at 2:56 pm

I´m so proud of you my dear son Marcos. Kisses, your Mom.

Estoy muy orgullosa de ti, mi querido hijo Marcos. Besos, tu mare.

Posted by: Guadalupe Castillo on 6/18/2013 at 2:28 pm