Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The RMI Four Day Summit Climbs June 13 - 16 led by Win Whittaker and Nate Disser reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. At 7:25 a.m. PT the teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim. They reported cold temperatures and high winds. They were enjoying clear skies with a cloud deck below them around 7,000'.
The Expedition Skill Seminar - Emmons led by Jason Thompson also reached the summit this morning via the Emmons Glacier. Their team arrived at the top of the crater around 8:25 a.m. PT and were enjoying some warm sunshine after a cold and windy ascent. The team will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain and some additional training.
Congratulations to the teams!
Hello from Talkeetna, Alaska,
Our McKinley Expedition June 14th team met in Anchorage on Tuesday, June 14th, since then we have spent time shopping, packing food, gear, and other necessities, and meeting with the National Park Service. Our gear is organized and packed and we are all set to fly tomorrow (Thursday, June 16th). The weather has not been clear for several days so there are many teams waiting to fly to/from the Kahiltna Glacier. The weather has not begun to clear and planes are flying.
Our chances look good to fly onto the mountain tomorrow. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Climbing a mountain like Denali is different than smaller peaks. On shorter trips to lower altitudes, climbers can push to their physical and mental limits, with slightly less potential consequences. Here, though, it's imperative that climbers be at their peak strength, and that they are mentally prepared for the challenges of the cold, the altitude, and the difficulty of the route. With those considerations as well as a less than ideal weather forecast, we decided to take a rest day at 14,200' today. While the team performed well on yesterday's carry, we all could benefit from some more chilling and sport eating.
So we started our day late, with a bodacious breakfast of egg, bacon, and cheese burritos with salsa and hot sauce. Hot coffee rounded out our top-flight mountain café experience. The team is currently resting in the tents and working through excess lunch food, playing cards and reading. So we sit and wait in a state of relaxed anticipation, ready to spring into action as soon as we have ideal weather. Send us your vibes for more sunny, calm days!
Until tomorrow,
Tyler Jones, Garett Stevens, Erik Endert & the crew
RMI's Four Day Summit Climb June 12 - 15 led by Casey Grom and Five Day Summit Climb June 11 - 15 led by J.J. Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They encountered high winds, cold temperatures and light snow. The teams were starting their descent from the crater rim at 7:45 a.m. PT.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and his team on the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz are completing their program today. They had a great week of training on Mt. Rainier and were able to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier yesterday via the Kautz Glacier route. This morning the team will break camp and hike a few hours down to Paradise.
Congratulations to the RMI Teams!
Armed with last night's forecast, we woke early this morning for our planned carry from camp here at 14,200' to the top of the fixed lines. By 7:15, we were underway, and within 2 hours we were climbing the most technical terrain so far. Using our ascenders and solid climbing techniques, we gained ground quickly and without incident to 16,200ft, where we stashed some of our luggage for the upcoming push to high camp.
Even though the weather today hasn't been as nice as previous days, it was still a good day for moving on the mountain. Light winds, light snow, and high clouds kept the temps fairly low, but everyone's hands and feet stayed warm and toasty as we made our way up and back to camp.
The crew continues to impress with the strength and motivation they display, and we're all fully stoked to be in position to launch for the upper mountain as soon as we have the ideal weather window. For the remainder of the day today, though, it's resting and recovery after the morning's climb.
Thinking warm thoughts from 14,000ft...
RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Erik Endert, Garrett Stevens and the team
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall with the Four Day Summit Climb June 11 - 14 called early this morning from Camp Muir. The team was forced to abort their summit bid due to high winds today. The team will be descending from Camp Muir to Paradise this morning.
Today we slept until the sun crested the West Rib of Denali, quickly warming the zero degree nip of the night. Another great bacon, bagel and coffee breakfast with stories around the posh house quickly lead to the post noon hour. The team had a few hours to rest and hydrate. The afternoon brought training for the fixed lines and running belays we'll encounter on our final carry tomorrow. The crew is very excited to be in the final preparations leading to our summit bid, hopefully a few days from now.
The weather continues to be absolutely wonderful. Keep the positive vibrations coming our way and we'll be in touch soon.
RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Garrett Stevens, & Erik Endert
Hello, this is RMI Guide Jake Beren checking in from 11,000' on Mt. McKinley. Today we re-traced our steps and went below camp to retrieve our cache. With all of our gear now at 11,000' we are re-organizing and re-packing. Our plan is to move a load of gear tomorrow towards our next camp at 14,000' and place a cache. We are hoping to make our move to 14,000' camp in the next few days if the weather cooperates.
All's well here. Our team is strong and doing great, so we'll be checking in from higher up the mountain.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
The Four Day Summit Climb June 10 - 13 and Five Day Summit Climb June 9 - 13 made their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier early this morning but were forced to turn around at approximately 11,200' due to high winds. The teams returned to Camp Muir safely and will be making their way down to Paradise later this morning.
Even though this mountain has a reputation for fierce weather, we have been enjoying gorgeous days during the last week. The team had another sunny, windless day on our move to 14k today. We arrived, after four plus hours of walking, to a deserted camp sight fixed with 4 great tent platforms and a nice mountain business station. While we'll have a little bit of buffing out to do to bring camp to our 5 star standards, it's still nice to just walk right into ready-made platforms.
The team climbed strong today, and is currently resting after getting settled in to the tents. Tomorrow will be dedicated to the art of mountain chilling, and hopefully the small snow squall that just recently moved over camp will clear out and give us the up close and personal views of Denali's west face. The group seems to be acclimating well and should be set for the upcoming carry and move to 17k camp in the next few days. Have a great rest of the weekend!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
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Thanks for blogging. Looking forward to following your progress. Have fun. See you soon!
Posted by: The Koch Family on 6/18/2011 at 4:30 am
Go Patrick! Denali waits for no man.
Posted by: Austin on 6/17/2011 at 10:01 am
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