Entries from Expedition Dispatches
May 26, 2017
Welcome to our team's first dispatch!
We had two unsuccessful attempts to fly into Kahiltna Base Camp yesterday. The current weather on the mountain has only left us with short windows to make a landing. With our returned attempts it allowed us to do some more dry land training and re packing to give us a head start when we do land on the glacier. The team is excited and prepared to start our expedition. Our extra night in Talkeetna provided us with another evening of good food, company and playoff hockey!
As we speak the hanger crew is telling us to get our boots on and load up the planes again. We hope the third time will be the one!
Thanks for following our team and we'll keep you posted along the way!
RMI Guides Tyler, JM and Bryan
May 25, 2017
The
Denali Expedition May 23, 2017 led by
RMI Guides Tyler Jones, JM Gorum and Bryan Mazaika has met their team in Alaska. The group transferred from Anchorage to Talkeetna and spent time arranging their gear, meeting with the National Park Service and enjoying some restaurant meals and showers. The team is prepped and ready to fly but the weather has not yet cooperated with them. At one point they loaded the Twin Otter plans and headed out toward the Alaska Range but the weather deteriorated and they were forced to return to Talkeetna. The group is on standby and will jump when the pilots call and tell them to meet at K2 Aviation. We are hoping the weather clears and they can fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier soon.
Best of luck!
May 25, 2017
We had the sun this morning, but a large cloud
cap over the summit convinced us to wait another day to carry. It was a great day to let the tents bake, dry wet items, and people watch around camp. We capped it with a dinner of quinoa, lentils, kale, and squash in a red wine, bouillon, and Dijon reduction. It was a nice to have some fresher tasting food after 12 days on the mountain. Hopefully we wake to clear skies tomorrow and get our cache on above!
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Jenny and team
On The Map
Clear skies were a very welcome sight as I peeked out the vestibule on this frigid, frosty morning. Definitely our coldest morning yet! But, we had a cache to put in so the wheels were set in motion for our climb.
Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated to the point where we pulled the plug and took a well deserved rest day instead.
What a treat. Lounging about in the tents, eating, listening to tunes, reading, sleeping, eating some more. Our bodies sucked in the energy from the calories eaten and the warmth provided by the radiation getting through the clouds and snow showers. Tents and sleeping bags dried as our bodies got the recharge we all needed.
The smell of fried onions, red peppers, chicken and chilies greeted us when the dinner bell rang, and no doubt made the rest of camp salivate with envy. Chefs JT and Christina put on yet another fine spread.
It's these simple pleasures that we tend to value so much in the mountains.
After our dress rehearsal this morning and rest day I think we'll be ready to rock tomorrow. The forecast hasn't changed any, but the winds aren't bad. It's just a bit irritating to climb in the occasional snow showers and cloudy weather. But, I guess we've been doing it all week. This team has demonstrated the capacity to climb well, so hopefully we'll get our cache established at 13,500' and be primed to move to
14,200' camp when we can.
Not that I'm a great believer in the weather forecasts around here, but they say high pressure is coming our way by Monday. We're due!
Good night from 11,200', where I'm in our tent at the very reasonable hour of 9:00p after camp chores, and not freezing my fingers in the frigid cold of these Alaskan nights.
Oh, and by the way, your loved ones are all happy and doing exceptionally well. The guides included. If you all have any messages for the team, our office staff will send them our way sometime. Hopefully coinciding with our next rest day where I'll have time to share them with everyone. Just don't get carried away with the heartfelt mushy stuff. I hate choking up in front of the group.
Your messengers of news from above,
RMI Guides Brent Okita, Christina Dale and JT Schmitt
On The Map
This mornings skies were a welcome sight after a few days of white. Clear skies also brought colder temps for us at
Kahiltna Base Camp. It was not long before the clouds rolled back in but that did not stop the team from having some fun. We ventured to a crevasse field and gave folks a chance to see the inside of a the icy maw and climb out. Lots of laughs and pictures today around those cracks. Later in the afternoon we received word from K2 that they were launching the fleet to drop a team off and that we should be ready within the hour. That was a frantic hour indeed but the team got it done in short order. As soon as the dust settled we found out that the planes turned back so we set up a new camp downtown on the airstrip. Forecast is calling for more snow the next few days so we will see what the future holds.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
We awoke to our first real look at the
Condoriri Group and it was absolutely spectacular. Crystal clear skies highlighted a couple climbing groups heading up a rolling glacier on the way toward Pequeno Alpamayo. For our group that path waits for tomorrow, so after a languorous breakfast, the team headed up to 16k to continue our acclimatization and practice the skills for the upcoming day. We managed to refresh everyone's prior knowledge and even add a technique or two to the group's toolbox. Our schooling came to a swift close as the afternoon clouds rolled in and forced us back to camp to lounge away the late afternoon and rest up for the long day ahead. Now the team is wrapped up in our tents watching the night sky clear above us!
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Last night's winds abated in camp, but up high that was not the case. A large, menacing lenticular cloud covered the upper portion of the mountain and wind could be seen blowing plumes of snow off of the
West Buttress. But, the storm seems to be on its way out. We are hoping to move to high camp tomorrow or the next day and have a go at the summit. We'll see what the weather has in store, but at least it is improving.
From Robbie:
Happy birthday Vanessa!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 21 - 26, 2017 led by
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Steve Gately have spent the week training at Camp Muir. Today they made an alpine start for their summit attempt. The team reached the summit around 8 am and was able to enjoy the views. Dave Hahn reported a light cloud cap on the summit and otherwise good conditions. The team will return to Camp Muir today for their final night on the mountain. They will complete their program tomorrow and wrap up with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's team!
May 24, 2017
Well, the weather has changed, and not for the best. Wind and snow intensified this morning, so much so that we postponed our departure to retrieve our cache from 10,000' for a bit to make sure a big storm didn't move in.
But the weather held off enough for us to bring our cache back to camp. Now we're set.
This continually amazes me. When we got back I thought we all deserved a break, figuring an hour or two of tent time to rest up would be most welcome, 20-30 minutes later I hear most everyone out cutting blocks to beef up the walls we already had. Impressive!
We're sitting pretty now, ready for anything. Should tomorrow's weather preclude a
carry to cache at 13,500', that would be just fine. Everyone has been working so hard and so well that some tent time is probably in order. Even, I am looking forward to a rest day soon.
And we're all looking forward to some better weather. Our peek at the mountains surrounding us last night just made us want more.
Oh, and in case you were wondering what was on the menu today. Scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon for breakfast. An assortment of Indian food, served on a bed of rice and chicken, followed by a nice pudding for dessert. Mmm.
That's it from 11,200' camp. Good night.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT
On The Map
May 24, 2017
Well, the
Denali storm has arrived (we are calling it the Horiskey storm). We woke to snow this morning, and as the day had progressed, the winds have strengthened. Lots of snow is moving around camp, and being out of a tent is really unpleasant. So we've stayed in the tents. Our cook tent is nice and tight, and our individual tents were occupied with napping, music, and reading. The storm is supposed to peak tomorrow, so probably more of the same in store. Our walls are strong, our sleeping bags warm, and our bellies full, so all in all, life is good.
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Jenny and team
On The Map
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Good luck up there! Have a great time and stay warm :-)
Posted by: Mitra M on 5/31/2017 at 10:33 pm
Good Luck up there! Hugs and kisses to John from all the Gunn Girls!
Posted by: Amanda Gunn on 5/27/2017 at 5:59 pm
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