Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Monday, July 5, 2021 - 9:50 pm PT

Score one for the weathermen.  They weren’t kidding about this storm.  It is real.  Came in during the night and by morning it was snowing and blowing and we couldn’t see much.  There wasn’t any question of moving camp up to 17,000 ft.  In fact, we retreated somewhat.  Just after breakfast, RMI Guides Dominic and Matt geared up for the toughest of missions.  They trudged out into the teeth of the storm to climb up to retrieve our food cache on the West Buttress.  Yes, we were proud to have just placed it there two days ago, but now we can’t afford to be separated from those supplies should avalanche conditions set up in the coming days… which seems likely.  The guys had hard going, breaking trail in rapidly accumulating snow.  At the 16,000 ft ridge crest they were dealing with winds easily in the 50 mph range, the kind that sound like jet engines even from way down here at 14k.  We had plenty strong winds in camp, but of course we were in shelter and comfy, warm and dry.  Dom and Matt grabbed the cache and bolted safely back to camp in a total of four very difficult hours.  But their work significantly eased our ability to meet our new primary goal: riding out the storm. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, July 5, 2021 - 1:05 pm PT

We're still hanging at 14,000' Camp, amid snow, wind, and very limited visibility. We're hoping for a little break in the weather so that we can pack up camp and head down around Windy Corner and start our descent. The weather isn't having any of that, though. At this point we're comfy and safe at camp and there's no reason to force a descent into terrible weather. As eager as we are to get to Kahiltna Base Camp, it is not a pressing matter because planes cannot fly (much less land on the glacier) in this weather.

We'll keep you posted on our predicament.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

The Four Day Climb July 2 - 5, 2021 reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier at 5:30 am today with blue skies above and good route conditions under foot.  The teams, led by RMI Guides JM Gorum and Joe Hoch, enjoyed some time in the crater and spent time taking in the views.  The route remains in good condition with a nice boot pack trail.  Back at Camp Muir the teams will get a short break to repack gear and re-hydrate before descending the final 4,500' to Paradise.

Congratulations to the Four Day Climb team!

Sunday, July 4, 2021 - 10:09 pm PT

The weather has not been cooperating with us lately, and the forecast doesn't look good either. Today was the best day in the forecast period and there were still strong winds up high and a huge lenticular cloud on the summit all day. We took advantage of the "best day" to climb up to 16,400' and retrieve our cache; there's a good chance that we would not be able to retrieve it over the next few days. Tomorrow is day 19 of our trip, and our time is running out. With no potential summit day in the foreseeable future we will likely start our descent tomorrow morning. The weather will determine our descent strategy and timing.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Sunday, July 4, 2021 - 9:47 pm PT

Our team took a holiday today!  We slept in and breakfasted slowly as the sun washed over camp at 9:30AM.  As predicted, conditions at 14,000 were calm today while winds appeared to work over the summit. We enjoyed our rest but it was a bit of a tough day for morale. A number of the remaining teams on the mountain are in the process of quitting and going down without the summit. The forecasts are calling for a progression of storms to roll through in the coming week.  We’re hoping the forecasts are wrong… but clouds are building up again this evening.  It was already going to be tough to see the fireworks with twentyfour hour daylight.

Happy Independence Day from the highest mountain in the land. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, July 3, 2021 - 9:15 pm PT

There was still a big cloud cap on Denali this morning, but at 6AM the winds didn’t seem too bad.  There were clouds in every other direction as well, but we were mostly looking up at the West Buttress as we ate breakfast and pondered a carry.  It seemed worth a shot.  We pulled the trigger and left camp just after 8 AM.  It was colder this morning than it had been… not extremely cold, but colder than we’ve yet experienced on the trip.  Our tracks -and anyone else’s- from yesterday were gone, so we had the added challenge of trail breaking in a few inches of new snow.  Even so, we made steady progress upward.  But the cloud cap made steady progress downward, so we were bound to come together.  We were in murk and light but cold winds by the base of the fixed ropes.  Which all made for a cold intro to climbing the steep, icy rope section.  Thankfully, the winds were blowing from behind us and so we stepped into much needed calm at our destination, which was just perfectly in the lee and sheltered by the crest of the West Buttress.  It was wonderful to hit our 16,200 ft target, but the clouds hid the grand views.  We quickly cached supplies and geared up for a descent facing into the cool wind.  A careful descent got us to 14,200 ft camp just as the sun came out there at 2:30 PM.  The afternoon and evening were calm and easy with occasional snow showers. The storm is definitely easing, but of course they are predicting that another will follow.  We’ll rest tomorrow in any case. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, July 3, 2021 - 1:04 pm PT

We are stationary once again, waiting for any sign in the weather forecast that would indicate a potential good-weather window to move up to high camp and get in place for a summit bid. Today is overcast above us with light wind in camp, but we can still hear the wind up high. It's hard to complain about R & R time, but we're certainly ready for some weather that's more conducive for climbing.

We will check in again soon.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

The storm that moved in so deliberately yesterday evening seemed to pause this morning.  At 6AM it was calm at 14k although we could hear big winds up on the crest of the West Buttress.  Cloud was all around us, but it wasn’t doing a lot.  We ate a slow breakfast and watched the weather.  Having no other appointments or engagements, we decided to walk uphill to attempt our carry of supplies.  The goal would be 16,200 ft, the top of the fixed lines.  We were underway by 9 AM, by which time it was snowing lightly.  Since we had two hours of straightforward uphill trudging before the start of the more complicated climbing, we figured we would give the weather a chance to improve.  It did not.  We turned around at 15,300 ft with the winds seemingly on the increase up above and snow beginning to fall heavily.  It only took thirty minutes to reach camp again. 

Winds began to hammer our camp by early afternoon and so we built big walls of snow-bricks to protect tents.  Thankfully, the fury was short lived and not all that furious.  We got a break by late afternoon, which certainly made dinner a bit easier to enjoy in the cook tent. The storm is still with us at 9 PM, ripping the upper reaches of Denali, but sparing 14 Camp for the time being. 

We’ll give our carry another try tomorrow should we get the chance.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

The Four Day Climb of Mt. Rainier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 5:30 am this morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom reported a great route and a beautiful morning of climbing.  The team is on the descent en route to Camp Muir.

Congratulations to today's team!

Friday, July 2, 2021 - 1:16 pm PT

Just as forecasted, a storm has settled in on Denali. At 14K Camp it is snowing with some moderate gusts of wind and very little visibility. Up above us on the mountain we can hear the winds crashing over the West Buttress like waves in the ocean.

We're protected and safe, though, with a well-built camp. After a hash brown, egg, and cheese scramble for breakfast, we're just relaxing in our tents or in the cook tent, reading, napping, and sharing conversations, a thin piece of nylon the difference between comfort and suffering.

This storm is forecasted to last into tomorrow, and we're in no hurry to stick our noses in it. Hopefully we'll get some nicer weather in its wake.

RMI Guide Mike Walter