Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, June 11, 2024 - 10:17 pm PT
Our climbing team came together today. After years of planning and anticipation and training… twelve of us got together in the Anchorage airport and got started on RMI’s final Denali Expedition for 2024. We made it with all of our gear and without flight cancellations… it all worked out. We boarded the Denali Overland van for the big drive up to Talkeetna. The windshield wipers were on for much of the journey and the spectacular mountain vistas were… shrouded, for the most part. We broke up the trip with a stop at the last big supermarkets -in Wasilla- where we rounded out the trip menu with some fresh food for down low on the mountain. We got back in the van then and made it up to Talkeetna by 5:30 PM. Having settled our gear in the airplane hangar, we checked in to the comfortable Swiss Alaska Inn and then made the short hike over the railroad tracks and into downtown Talkeetna. The rain seemed to be keeping the tourists in check so we had a quiet dinner at the brewery and then walked down to the mighty Susitna River to gaze at the water and the clouds (where there might normally be mountains). The team then walked past a few perfectly good bars and watering holes to turn in early and be ready for what promises to be a big day of packing and prepping for the climb tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 11, 2024
Tuesday, June 11, 2024 - 11:29 pm PT
Good evening readers!
Today we woke to squirrely clouds, moving in and out. Snow would start and stop. We dragged our feet and when the weather looked right we made our move. It was a long, heavy, tiring move to 14,000' Camp. It snowed for parts of it, we were in the clouds for most of it, and had a few moments of blasts of heat. The team did well and is excited to be one step closer. We ate a late dinner of mac and cheese and are now snuggled in our sleeping bags. Everyone has earned a good night's rest. Tomorrow we will back carry and then relax the rest of the afternoon. Thanks for the good weather vibes. Keep them coming!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 2, 2024
Woooo!! 14K!!! Keep it up! So proud of you Shane!!
The Nutts
Posted by: Allie Lewis on 6/12/2024 at 2:46 pm
Keep trekking’ Darg!
Posted by: Audrey Ferrara on 6/12/2024 at 12:37 pm
The team has arrived in Talkeetna with all of our bags!
Yesterday, we spent the day doing the hard work of packing for a three week expedition. It's hard to visualize how much you'll actually need and hard to come to terms with the sheer weight of the equipment needed for a Denali Expedition.
There are no porters here. We have to carry everything we need on our own backs, but that is what makes Denali special. You can't pay your way to the top.
We’re currently loading up the planes and trying to fly to Basecamp. Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Nicole DePetris and team
PC: Dominic Cifelli
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 9, 2024
Doc,
Enjoy that fresh air and pure snow.
See ya when you come down the mountain.
Jason
Posted by: Jason R. on 6/21/2024 at 11:01 am
Go Rock Star Rossi! I will be pulling for you and the team all the way up the mountain.
Posted by: Dylan on 6/12/2024 at 4:13 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, June 10, 2024
Good evening all,
Today was a good day. Today we made our carry to 13,500'. The skies were mostly clear with no breeze. We were the first team out of camp. We didn't see another team until we headed back down. The route was in great condition which made for smooth walking. We are getting closer and closer to our goal but we still have many days ahead of us. Many hard days ahead of us. We made it back to camp just as it started to snow. The snow hasn't stopped since. We aren't sure what tomorrow will bring. If the weather is good, we will move. If the weather isn't good we will rest up for when it is good. Keep sending those good weather vibes!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 2, 2024
Go get em Shane. Your neighbors in are pulling for you.
Posted by: Dennis R.A. McNulty on 6/12/2024 at 4:27 am
Shane, since this is the info you’re needing while out there, I figured I’d send an update. We had ramen night tonight at home - amazing! It’s going to be a weekly thing for sure! Excited for another update from your end tomorrow, we’re sending all the good weather vibes to you all!!
Posted by: Tara Kallembach on 6/11/2024 at 7:29 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Hello again,
Today we decided to take our rest day. All night the wind battered our tents and send snow swirling between the rain fly and tent body. The gusts kept up until the morning but later subsided and turned into a calm, bright, hot day. The team enjoyed the warm weather. They occupied themselves with a chess tournament. They are currently playing for seeding. Tomorrow we are looking to make our carry to 13,600' and Tuesday move to 14,000' Camp. Weather looks to be in our favor, so keep sending those good weather vibes our way the next couple days. Now we must catch some sleep for our day tomorrow.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 2, 2024
I’m just here for some quality Patrick comments.
Posted by: Will on 6/13/2024 at 11:04 pm
Helloooo Tommy from Sunriver!
Keep up the good work. Love you miss you!
Chess? You have this hands down. I’m sure you’re in the finals, if I had to place a bet.
Posted by: Linda Barrow on 6/11/2024 at 8:51 am
Posted by: James Bealer, Jess Wedel, Ben Thorneycroft, George Hedreen, Hannah Billings, Claire Pennell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb June 6 - 9 led by RMI Guides James Bealer & Jess Wedel reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. At 7 am, they were starting their descent from the crater rim.
Congratulations climbers!
Congratulations Team and a shout out to Cary idler! Have a safe trip coming down!
Posted by: Tammi idler on 6/25/2024 at 8:46 pm
Congratulations! It’s an amazing accomplishment and team work!
Posted by: Tammi Idler on 6/20/2024 at 7:49 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Saturday, June 8, 2024 - 8:55 pm PT
Greetings readers!
Today we had a casual morning eating breakfast burritos and sipping coffee. By 9:50am we were packed and roped uo for our back carry to our 9300' cache. A light wind kept the temps down and the team made fast work getting to the cache. After a bit of digging we retrieved all our things, packed it all up and headed back uphill. Up, down, up, down, sleep, eat, and repeat is the the name of the game out here. If you ain't walking you are sleeping or eating. After a bit of rest in the afternoon we reviewed walking in our crampons and packed for our carry to 13,600'. If the winds don't turn up which they are forecasted to, we will carry our gear and get in position to move to 14,000' Camp. The team is very eager to get up there. But we have to take our time and properly allow our bodies to compensate to the decrease in oxygen molecules up here. As I write the winds are picking up but maybe they will get it out of its system during the night. So goodnight all and send those good weather vibes.
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 2, 2024
Hey Hannah and Team! All the best wishes for calm winds and sunny skies for your move up hill!! Climb high! Climb Strong!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/10/2024 at 3:32 am
Sending you good weather vibes!
Posted by: Shannon R Smith on 6/9/2024 at 3:37 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Drew O’Brien, Mike Bennett, Charlie Harrison, Jackson Breen, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Drew O’Brien reached Ingraham Flats on Mt. Rainier this morning. New snow from recent storms, avalanches, and route concerns kept the team from continuing up hill.
The team enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and started their descent from Camp Muir.
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
-640x480.jpg)
Friday, June 8, 2024 8:43 pm PDT
Good evening readers!
We are writing to you from 11k Camp. Our day started early with an alpine start thinking it was going to be the wee hours of the morning when the weather would clear. That turned out to be incorrect. We woke to white all around us. We were in a cloud. You could barely see the tents up glacier. We dragged our feet and took a nap. After a few hours the clouds started to lift so we packed up our camp.
The walking was tough today. The trail Had been blown in with lots of snow. The trail breaking was slow and exhausting but we made hung in there and rolled into 11k Camp. Feels good to be higher on the mountain. Just one step closer to our goal. At dinner we filled our bellies with Annie's Mac and Cheese and now we are all ready for a much-deserved sleep. We are all looking forward to uninterrupted sleep tonight. Tomorrow we will head back downhill to our cache to be reunited with our gear.
Goodnight, all!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 2, 2024
Nothing to it but to do it. Onward and upwards
Posted by: PCash on 6/9/2024 at 6:28 am
Nice, guys! What a beautiful picture! Shane, hopefully that dried broccoli went right in the mac nom nom. Excited for the next update!
Posted by: Tara Kallembach on 6/8/2024 at 9:33 am
Posted by: Andy Bond
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
.jpg)
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team trained all week to hone the mountaineering skills needed to qualify for a Denali, Aconcagua, and other big mountain expeditions. The team learned crevasse rescue, fixed line travel, route finding, and avalanche forecasting. Poor weather and high avalanche danger prevented the team from making a summit attempt via the Katuz Glacier, but the time spend training and learning the advanced mountain skills will benefit all team members on their next mountain adventure.
Congratulations Team!
SOOOOO exciting!!!!! thinking of you all on the way up, and can not wait to see the summit pictures! love you KATIE!!!! mom
Posted by: barbara theiss on 6/13/2024 at 8:39 am
Step by step, all the way to the top! You’ve got this Tony!!
Posted by: Brenda on 6/13/2024 at 8:20 am
View All Comments