The Five Day Summit Climb led by Mark Falender along with the Four Day Summit Climb led by Chad Peele were forced to turn around at the top of Disappointment Cleaver (approx. 12,300') due to high winds and poor visibility. The teams returned safely to Camp Muir and will begin their descent to Paradise around 9 a.m. PT.
RMI Guide Jake Beren and team of climbers have decided to return to Talkeetna. The group was at 11,000' this morning and making their way to the Kahiltna Glacier where they hope to be flown off the mountain later today.
Congratulations on a wise and prudent, if difficult decision. Wishing you all the best in future climbs—on Denali and elsewhere. Andrew, call me. Gary Towne
Posted by: Gary Towne (Andrew's Dad) on 6/28/2011 at 10:20 am
We began the day well before the direct sun was in 14,000' Camp, which made for a chilly start. After a delicious Cinnamon Toast Crunch and coffee breakfast we made our way uphill. The weather was not perfect, but Elias and I were sure that the morning sun would burn off some of the clouds and the winds were going to subside. We made our way kicking steps through deep snow up to the fixed lines that take us to the top of the West Buttress. Our goal was to keep going up to 17,000' Camp to cache some food and gear, but the deep snow and icy conditions on the fixed lines made travel a bit slower than was expected. We were very happy to cache below a beautiful, giant piece of granite called Washburn's Thumb at 16,770'. It will be very easy to pick up our cache from there on our move to 17,000' Camp. We made it back to camp in good style right about dinner time. Elias and I continue to be impressed by the climbers on this expedition.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Hi Dad! Glad the weather improved a bit and your team is eating well :) Meera and Rina have been giving me updates from your calls. Things are going well here in the Hague, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Qaddafi yesterday. Good luck with the move to 17,000. I miss you!
Love,
Maya
Posted by: Maya on 6/29/2011 at 2:09 am
DAD HERE NOW. THINGS GOING GREAT. LEAVING THURSDAY. AVAILABLE ANYTIME. GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
The clouds cleared last night after dinner and for an hour or so we sat in the evening light at 11 Camp, watching the cloud bank below us race through Kahiltna Pass and over Kahiltna Dome, a peak across the valley from 11 Camp. Unfortunately the improved conditions did not persist and when we woke up this morning we were back in the clouds with a light snow falling. After a quick breakfast we grabbed our nearly empty packs, pulled on our gore-tex shells and goggles, and headed back to our previous camp. As is typical near Kahiltna Pass, where the weather funnels through the low gap in the mountains, the conditions deteriorated with the wind whipping snow by us. But we pushed through it, reaching our old camp at 9200' before long.
We dug up our food bags and supplies we left cached there yesterday and loaded everything into our packs before setting off back uphill. The knowledge that our warm tents awaited us was good motivation for the team and we motored back to 11 Camp through the wind and blowing snow. When we got back to camp we found our tents starting to sink beneath the accumulating snow so we pulled out the shovels and cleared out camp from the drifted snow. Before long everything looked as it had when we left this morning. We've spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the tents. The skies have cleared a bit and the sun is managing to poke through every now and again.
We are hoping to carry a cache of supplies to 13,600' tomorrow but the conditions are looking questionable. There are a few teams here that have been waiting for a few days to do the same thing but haven't because of the weather. Unfortunately the forecast for tomorrow looks like more of the same, but we're keeping our fingers crossed anyways.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
The Four Day Summit Climb June 24 - 27 led by Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team reported cloudy conditions with winds approximately 20 mph. They spent a short amount of time on the summit and were beginning their descent to Camp Muir shortly after 7 a.m. Once at Camp Muir the group will take a short break to re-pack their gear and then begin the remaining descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb!
After a night of howling wind and snow, we woke up to a morning of howling wind and snow. We spent the morning digging out camp and continuing to reinforce walls. About the time we got everything squared away, the winds died down and it became pleasantly warm! The whole crew is happy and healthy.
All of us want to thank our family and friends for their love and support. We love you and miss you too! I love you Amber and the P's!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Time is winding down quickly for us. Glad to see you are all safe and sound with such a strong team. Crossing my fingers for good weather. Talk to you soon.
Posted by: BCK on 6/27/2011 at 5:38 pm
Hey, team. Glad to know that everyone is happy and healthy. Elias, you would be happy to know that I did 3 14ers over the past 2 days, and the training for Shisha Pangma is going even better than expected.
Hope the howling winds are showing some mercy today. Can’t wait to hear from you again,
Bridget
Posted by: Bridget Schletty on 6/27/2011 at 6:52 am
Our hopes of the clouds lifting overnight were of no avail and we woke to snow, light to moderate winds, and visibility dropping to less than a 100 yards at times. Despite the snow it was warm enough that we could be out in the elements comfortably and we felt confident navigating the route so we broke camp and prepared to move. The team continues to impress Kel and me as they packed up in great time - not an easy feat when the snow is blowing sideways - and were again ready to go before the two of us. Its an irritating thing for a guide to have the climbers waiting for us to get our act together and today was the second day they have managed to beat us out of camp. Its a trend I'm determined to put an end to, Kel and I are considering hiding snowshoes from them to give us a better shot...
Once we finally joined everyone on the ropes we set off up the Kahiltna, instantly plunging ourselves into a world of white. It was slow going as we broke trail through the 6 - 8 " of new snow and route finding was difficult when the visibility dropped to dozens of yards. Yet despite the obstacles we made good time, reaching the base of Kahiltna Pass by midmorning and turning to the east into a shallow valley that ascends the final 1,000' into camp. We were more protected from the wind here but the snow was also much deeper and it was difficult going to climb the final steep pitch into camp. After what felt like ages we saw the tops of tents at 11,200' camp poke above the crest of the hill and we rolled into camp just after noon.
Sitting on a bench in a protected spot at 11,200', "11 Camp" saw a lot of snowfall in the past few days and we spent the rest of the afternoon shoveling out tent sites and building our snow kitchen. The team rallied to the cause and constructed another great looking camp. We will be comfortable here over the next few days.
The sun finally poked through the clouds just before dinner and we've been enjoying the views for a few minutes. Tomorrow we will descend back to our last camp at 9,200' to retrieve a small cache of food and supplies we left there this morning and we'll haul the remainder of our gear back to 11 Camp. The team continues to do well and sends their best to everyone back home.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
At trail magic, the 2 time thru hiker now climbing Mt. Mc was a big hit. Your wife told lots of stories about your adventure and they were all suitably impressed with your latest. Stay ahead of the guides, Will. Maybe they will invite you back.
Posted by: Chris on 6/27/2011 at 7:25 pm
You guys must feel like you are living in one of those “snow globes”... Sending warm thoughts to all of you!
Posted by: laurie colaneri on 6/27/2011 at 5:43 am
Hey it’s Mike Walter checking in on Sunday night from the RMI Ecuador's Volcanoes Climb. We are here at the Cayambe climbers hut. We arrived here last night. Today we did some training and review of climbing techniques: cramponing, ice axe arrest and roped travel.
It's been pretty windy and off and on snow and rain. We're hoping for better weather and good climbing conditions tomorrow. There's a lot of snow on the route so we will hopefully be able to climb tomorrow. Maybe some deep trail breaking but we'll give you a shout tomorrow hopefully from the summit and if not, then we’ll check in once we get back down.
RMI Guide Mike Walter checks in from the climbers hut on Cayambe.
Hello from 17,000’. The increasing wind and snow have made the decision to go up or down an easy one, conditions dictate that we sit here and bide our time until the weather clears up. Nearly 2 feet of snow has fallen and drifted around camp and we take periodic forays into the weather to shovel out camp, clear off tents and do weather dances.
We are safely ensconced behind solid walls with enough food and fuel to weather some time up here. Cross your fingers and we'll keep you posted as things hopefully progress. Our spirits remain high and every few hours we will pile into one tent to swap stories and shoot the breeze.
For now a little forced R & R, is the best way to deal with the mountain. So, we'll sit it out until new options present themselves. That's all from 17. This is Jake, Mike and the crew hanging tough on Mt. McKinley.
Listen to Jake and Mike's "Tent Bound Things Considered" Commentary below...
Tent Bound Things Considered by Jake Beren & Mike Uchal
WHOOHOO!! Go Team! So great to hear you have reached 17’000… bring on the summit! I can’t even imagine how you are all feeling at this point but know that we are thinking of you every day and praying that the weather will co-operate. Barry we love you brother. Say a prayer for us too. It’s raining 24/7 here in Vang Vieng, Laos, South East Asia so we might not get to go “tubing”, everybody AWWWW (joking!). Obviously you have a lot more to be thinking about :) God bless you all and may you have the most incredible experience on reaching that summit. Irish love and hugs XXX
Posted by: Kathryn & Pearse Mc Kiernan on 6/28/2011 at 5:27 am
Gilbert are you there…...we have heard from Jake and Mike….where are you? Hope the wind calms down soon and you all can move to the top!
The Four Day Summit Climbs led by Casey Grom and J.J. Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning shortly before 7 am PT. The teams reported nice climbing conditions, light winds and beautiful views this morning. The teams spent an hour on the summit crossing the crater and taking photos before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. After a short rest at Camp Muir to re-pack they will continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb!
Congratulations on a wise and prudent, if difficult decision. Wishing you all the best in future climbs—on Denali and elsewhere. Andrew, call me. Gary Towne
Posted by: Gary Towne (Andrew's Dad) on 6/28/2011 at 10:20 am
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