Entries from Expedition Dispatches
We have two rest days in our legs and a good weather window predicted for the next few days so we are going for it! Our plan, with safety at the forefront of our minds, is to move to high camp (17,000') tomorrow and make our summit attempt the following day. This is why we have worked so hard to get to this point. We are physically and mentally ready!
Clouds everywhere was the order of the day. We had basically cast any hope for flying out today right out the door. The forecast was bad. Through a sat phone call to Joe Horiskey, our boss at the office, I learned that the Talkeetna web cam showed nothing but dark masses of rain clouds backed up to the mountains. And, it was crappy up on the airstrip.
Come about noon I did notice the sun barely visible above the dense clouds, and wagered we would be flying out that day. But it was a wager to boost flagging spirits as much as anything. We all took to some serious tent time to talk, read, listen or play cards.
Then...the familiar drone of a plane comes into earshot. Maile looks at me but we figure it's just a tourist overflight high above us. We look out the window and can't believe it's coming in! No warning from Lisa the Basecamp manager or anything this time.
And then...all hell breaks loose as everyone scrambles to get tents down and gear packed.
By the time K2 gets in we're ready. Flying out, the brief weather window closes and I'm afraid we'll be turning back. Maile's knuckles are turning white with the trepidation we all feel as the visibility drops. It's snowing again. We fly out the long way out to avoid the more direct, but higher passes. But Chuck, our pilot, apparently had no desire to spend the night on the glacier, and we all make it out. Just in time. No other flights get back in that day!
I'm finishing this final dispatch the next morning after devouring a huge steak dinner and drinking way too much of anything but water at the local watering hole, the Fairview Inn.
We're on our way to Anchorage now where the team will part ways to reunite with loved ones. Leon, Maile and I have other plans. We're going fishing!
See ya next year,
RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Maile
Everything is well, we all made it onto the glacier on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna. We’re finally all back together. Everyone is super excited to reunite after 30 hours of being separated with some of us still in Talkeetna and others on the Kahiltna glacier and trying to figure out what was going to happen next. But things are going well here, we had some dinner, we’re hanging out in our camp, and are getting ready to take off. Our plan, if the weather allows, will be to leave from camp late in the evening tonight/ early morning and walk up to our first camp at 7,800’ on the main Kahiltna. Hope all is well there, everything is great here.
Everyone is super excited to be here. It looks like we have a forecast in the future to be really nice for us. Talk to you guys soon.
Cheers!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Today the Four Day Summit Climb June 2 -5 and the Five Day Summit Climb June 1 - 5 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. The teams reported great climbing conditions and a beautiful day. Congratulations!
Hey there, this is Adam and Andres checking in with the "Family style West Rib team". We are camped at 14,000’ on Mt. McKinley.
Today we enjoyed another wonderful rest day. The weather on the upper mountain is still unsettled with some high winds and light precipitation so we opted to go ice climbing on a small serac at 15,000’, halfway up the notch camp on the Upper West rib. Then we came down and had a great lunch and have many visitors stopping by for some nice conversation. We anticipate a heated Blackjack tournament tomorrow with our neighbors here in camp. We will have another full rest day tomorrow and we will update you on the losses our team will incur during the card game.
Until then all is well here, everyone is doing great and feeling healthy while waiting for a potential window to open on Monday. That is the news for now, we will talk to you tomorrow.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
On The Map
We finally got some Alaska mountain weather today. We made our final preparation for moving higher today by putting in a cache in at the top of the fixed lines and we got into a little wind and blowing snow in the process. When we set off this morning at 9am it was clear and cold with some obvious, but not outrageous wind on the ridge. Everything went smooth on the way up and only on the descent did we get some 20-25 mph wind and blowing snow. Just enough weather to make things fun.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
P.S. Steve would like to wish Denise a happy birthday.
RMI Guides Kel Rossiter & Seth Waterfall checked in as their teams were about to begin thier descent from the crater rim. They had a great summit day, clear weather, light easterly wind and a great view of Mt. Jefferson. They will make their way back to Camp Muir and spend a little time there packing and re-hydrating before departing for Paradise.
Congratulations on reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier! .
The first plane got out over an hour ago with Leon, Clay, Steve, Hao and Sergey. Two other planes came in to take two other groups out then returned minutes later, unable to safely get out because of clouds that came in to obscure visibility out of the mountains. As I began this we were still hopeful that planes would fly, but since then we have put up tents as it has now started to snow. Could this be the front forecasted to come in?
In many ways this has been the most difficult part of the trip for some. The dashed hopes, uncertainty, and expectanct waiting. People may get angry with pilots' decisions, or even guide services' decisions on what flight company to do business. But all that seems so trite and inconsequential when the realities of the situation are understood. These pilots work under such pressures to get people in and out under sometimes very adverse conditions, and i'd rather they be just a little conservative with my life, as well as those of my clients. Hearing stories of 'other' pilots ducking into and out of holes does not inspire me to any great degree.
Besides, getting 'stuck' here on the Kahiltna Glacier, one of the most beautiful places in the world, with Mt Hunter towering over us just 10 minutes away, and Foraker just across the way, 10,000' above us, seems to me OK.
Since composing the above we've spent a restful day in the tent. Some 'quality tent time.' A thing we've not had in abundance on this trip. And tonight we've joined with the half of Tyler Jones' group that got flown in for a fun and entertaining dinner in the Posh tent. Would I rather be in Talkeetna right now? Perhaps. But times like this evening remind why I love my job. Getting to know new folks, laughing at ourselves, and sharing with others.
I guess I'm OK with being 'stuck on the mountain.'
RMI Guides Brent and Maile
Hi, this is Andres from the West Rib Expedition. We are having a rest day at 14,000’
Yesterday, we carried to 16,200’ to make a cache. So we now have some groceries and luggage up there, now we are having a rest day back at 14,000’. Everybody is doing great, in good spirits. Good weather here right now and we look forward to climbing again in a couple days. Everything is well here and we are having a great time and looking forward to the climb.
RMI Guide Andres Marin
In climbing, like the rest of life, patience and flexibility will pay off in the long run. And yesterday both our patience and flexibility were tested as the weather toyed with our emotions. We were at the hangar and ready to go by 8 am, and only needed a break in the clouds to get onto the glacier. So we waited... and waited... and waited. By 11:30, hunger had set in and we ordered some pizzas, which of course was the step we needed to take to get our chance to fly. Half the team powered down a couple of slices and changed clothes, and hustled over to the Otter to try our luck. Within minutes 6 of us were airborne,
heading up the Kahiltna under low clouds. Unfortunately, due to low clouds and no visibility on the glacier, we were turned back about 20 minutes out of Talkeetna. So back to the hangar for more group bonding and ping-pong.
By 7pm, we had exhausted our entertainment at the hangar and headed out to the river to enjoy the rest of the evening. That's when the phone rang; the K2 team thought there was a shot and wanted us to mobilize ASAP! So we sprinted back to the hangar and had half the team suited up and ready in even less time than before, and were airborne again for the last try of the day. But the clouds hadn't cleared across the passes or up the Kahiltna glacier, and the plane turned around shortly after takeoff.
Today will be more waiting to fly, but we'll be spending our timeworking on our climbing anchor and crevasse rescue skills. We're hopeful to get on the glacier, but prepared to wait until it's just right. Cheers for now from soggy Talkeetna!
RMI Guide Garrett Stevens
Previous Page
Next Page
-640x480.jpg)
Happy to hear, that everything is going well and I wish you all the very best to get to the summit safely!
Love to my son Andy!
Posted by: Ingrid on 6/7/2011 at 11:11 am
Hope things went well on your summit attempt from golf team .
Posted by: Todd Peters on 6/7/2011 at 7:22 am
View All Comments