Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The
Mt. Rainier Four Day Summit Climb, led by
Casey Grom and
Christina Dale, turned at 12,800’ due to route conditions. The weather was mixed snow showers this morning and they received 14-18" of new snow overnight. The team is currently on their way back to Camp Muir.
May 13, 2017 - 10:43 pm PT
Our team had another productive day today. After a well deserved rest this morning, we headed back downhill to our cache near
Windy Corner. Fifteen minutes after leaving camp we found ourselves back at our cache. Upon digging up our supplies, we loaded up our packs and headed back to our camp in Genet Basin. In less than an hour we were back at camp.
We also spent some time today reviewing and practicing fixed line travel using ascenders. We will tackle the fixed lines on our next active day as we plan to make a carry of supplies up near high camp. We will likely take a rest day tomorrow and try to make a cache up high on Monday.
We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
May 13, 2017 - 8:21 pm PT
We woke up this morning when the cold bites the hardest and wasted little time making hot water for cereal and tea. Today we went to venture up the
Kahiltna Dome ridge with good weather on our side. The work we did yesterday breaking trail was worth it as we made quick work of the steep slope. Once atop the ridge the sun made its appearance coming from behind the west buttress and warming our bones. We began walking the ridge crest in deep snow and quickly found the maze of cracks shooting across. Progress was slow climbing with an axe in one hand and a probe in the other. The deep snow and one too many crevasse falls stopped us and so we headed down to camp but not before enjoying the sunrise from our 11,000' perch. Now the snow has started and we plan to make the long walk to base camp in the early Alaska twilight.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by RMI Guides Ben Liken and Paul Rachele, turned just above Ingraham Flats this morning. A storm during the night dropped one to two feet of snow at Ingraham Flats, which also caused a high avalanche danger on the upper mountain.
The teams are safely off the mountain and enjoying some time here at Rainier Basecamp with their teammates.
May 12, 2017 - 10:49 pm PT
We rose early this morning to bitter cold temperatures and clear skies, with just a light breeze blowing through camp. Reluctantly we left the comfort of our sleeping bags and fired up the stoves. After a few hours we were fed, hydrated, and had camp broken down, and we were off climbing up
Motorcycle Hill. We were the first group out of camp by a long shot, so we had the mountain to ourselves.
After cresting Motorcycle Hill, we tackled our next challenge, Squirrel Hill. After Squirrel Hill, we had a little reprieve on the relatively flat Polo Fields. We climbed up and around Windy Corner, passed our cache site from yesterday, and continued into Genet Basin, the 14,200' camp.
It was a hard day with heavy packs, but everyone climbed hard. We arrived in camp with plenty of time to build camp in the sunshine and get some rest before dinner.
Tomorrow's plan will involve sleeping in before breakfast to let the sun warm our chilly tents. Then we will head back downhill to Windy Corner to retrieve our cache.
We'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 12, 2017 - 9:13 pm PT
Nice day here at 10,000' on the upper Kahiltna Glacier. The team slept in a bit after the hard day yesterday. We kitted up and waddled through a few feet of snow to the base of the ridge for some fixed line travel and snow science. A few of us kept our snow shoes on and put in a track up the ridge of
Kahiltna Dome for an eventual attempt early tomorrow if the weather holds. All is well here in Alaska. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
All good on the
Alaska Mountaineering Seminar front! A cold and clear wake up had us briskly packing up camp and beginning the sun-baked hike up to the base of Kahiltna Pass at about 9,800', where we established our next camp. The way was smooth but hot, and we are rewarded with sweeping views of Mount Capps, Kahiltna Dome and the entire Kahiltna glacier. Some snow is faintly swirling through the air adding to the grandeur of our setting as we prep dinner. Tomorrow we look forward to an active rest day with a whole set of new mountain travel skills to take in.
RMI Guide Jessie Poquerusse & the team
The
Five Day Summit Climb May 8 - 12, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Chase Nelson led a small group of climbers to the summit via the Ingraham Direct route. Elias reported strong winds with clear skies with improving conditions and a nice day. After a windy first night at Camp Muir and poor weather yesterday, we are glad this team was able to make a summit attempt.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
May 11, 2017 - 11:07 pm PT
The weather was perfect and we took advantage of it by carrying heavy backpacks loaded with supplies to our cache at 13,700', on the far side of
Windy Corner. Climbing conditions were great and everyone did well. After burying our cache, we returned back to our camp at 11,200'. Hopefully tomorrow's weather will cooperate and we can bump camp up to 14,200'. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 10, 2017 - 9:12 pm PT
The forecast threatened an 80% chance of more snow but we woke to clear skies. This morning was busy with packing, digging and more packing for our
move to Camp 1. We hauled our sleds out onto the main Kahiltna under a hard sun and played leapfrog with a German team. By 5 pm we were cooking dinner outside in great weather. The team suffered under the hot globe with grace and we are going to do it again tomorrow to Camp 2.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
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So glad to hear all signs point to a summit later this week. Back on the home front, I had to call a plumber to replace our leaking water heater and running toilet, Pat D. to fix the pump in the pond, and I haven’t figured out who I could call to put in the air conditioners as we are looking at 90 degrees this weekend and house guests for two nights. Please summit soon!
Wishing all were quiet on the home front…Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Hines on 5/17/2017 at 6:01 am
You are actually going to do it ... I’m a little jealous!! Well done guys and keep pushing hard. Wishing you calm winds, warm sunshine, good company, a fabulous experience and - soon - some cold beers at base camp. Be safe.
Posted by: Adelle on 5/17/2017 at 1:32 am
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