Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Tuesday, June 22, 2021 - 4:45 pm PT

We "slept in" to a normal hour today; being up at 11,200' we no longer have to be on an alpine start schedule, traveling at night when the glaciers are frozen. The sky was clear above us as I fired the stoves at 6am, and clouds filled the glacial valleys below. After coffee and a Pop Tart, we headed back downhill to retrieve the cache of supplies we buried a couple of days ago. A quick jaunt downhill and forty minutes of climbing back up hill, and we were back at camp with all of ours supplies. We enjoyed a big leisurely brunch of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and, of course, more coffee. Meanwhile the clouds that had been below us earlier had risen up to our level and it began to lightly snow. That was fine by us, as the rest of the day we lounged in our tents, resting, napping, and reading.

If the weather cooperates, we plan to put in a cache up above Windy Corner tomorrow, somewhere above ~13,600'.

We'll be in touch tomorrow and let you you know how it goes.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at around 8am this morning. RMI Guide Avery Parrinello repoted a beautiful day of climb, and the route through the Kautz Ice Chute was in great shape. The Team has started their descent and will spend another day training and practicing alpine expedition skills to prepare for future climbs like Denali or Aconcagua.

Congratulations to today's team! 

Howdy all,

One of the most important traits to have in expedition style climbing is patience. Patience to wait for a window that will give you the best odds to reach your goal: to safely summit the mountain. We are currently testing our patience waiting for the best opportunity for the team to move to 17,000' Camp and go for the summit. Rest days or waiting days can get long and can be quite boring but they are necessary. The down time can be hard and your mind can drift to family and friends and your life back home, but its important to keep your head here and in the game. Lots of tent time, snacking, reading, and Netflix occupy our time. We did get to greet a RMI team who came down from 17,000' Camp after a successful summit. It was fun seeing friendly faces and hearing about the route. It makes us that more excited to get up there. In due time it will be our turn. Till then we wait.

Till tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Monday, June 21, 2021 - 6:11 pm PT

We made the move to 11 camp!

After waking up to some light snow and rain in the middle of the night, we thought we might get stuck at the base of Ski Hill for another day. Hoping for the best, we went back to sleep for an extra hour and woke to the clouds dropping and clear skies above us. We blasted the stoves, had a quick breakfast of cold cereal and coffee, tore down camp, and began our first stretch of the day. By the time we moved, weather was close to perfect and the snow made for easy walking without snow shoes. Making our way up Ski Hill, past our cache from yesterday, we pulled into 11,000' Camp a bit before noon. With warm temps, and sunny skies, we set up our camp for the next few days and crawled into our tents and out of the sun.

Thanks to our hard work yesterday - belated happy Father's Day to all the dads out there - tomorrow should be an easy day, with a quick back carry in the morning before some well deserved rest in the afternoon. We will let you know how it goes!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Monday, June 21, 2021 - 6:23 pm PT

This time the weather forecasts were off, but in our favor.  They predicted snow and showers overnight and we didn’t get them.  We were up at 1 AM and although there was a good bit of cloud around, it wasn’t low on the glacier and it wasn’t trapping the heat.  The snow at camp was still mushy, but we had high hopes that things would freeze to make for easier and safer travel conditions.  It takes a bit of work to knock down tents and get packed and moving that first time.  With a little breakfast on board, we were out of camp and walking by 3:40.  Our climb began with a downhill stretch.  We just got used to having snowshoes on and heavy sleds teathered to our packs as we trudged down the SE Fork to the main Kahiltna Glacier.  By then the first sunshine had found Mt Foraker’s northeastern hanging glaciers making for some fabulous color.  Once on the main glacier, the gentle uphill began -although very little of it felt gentle with our heavy loads.  The freeze had taken place, right on schedule, and the walking was as easy as it could be.  We moved around and across a few ugly crevasse bridges in our first hours, taking rest breaks every hour or so.   It was nice to be able to bump fists with JT Schmitt’s successful RMI team as we passed on the glacier. There were great views of Denali and the West Buttress for most of our journey but then the clouds started to roll in for real.  We pulled into our intended camp by about 9 AM and set to building tents, a kitchen/dining area and a latrine.  In other words -we did some digging in the snow.  The first snowflakes fell just as we were putting finishing touches on our new digs.  The real showers didn’t begin until we were well into nap time.  By the time we came out for dinner, the snow had quit but clouds were still obscuring our views.  We sat in our dining tent for a bit, but then turned in early, anticipating another alpine start for tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Good evening,

What a day, what a day! One step closer to the summit! Today started rather frigid. The clear skies made for a cold morning. Our toes and fingers were screaming for warmth. But as usual once the sun hit camp, everything warmed up. The classic freeze or fry. It was a productive day, that started with a refresher on fix line travel then followed by a carry to 16,200'. Getting our gear up there sets us up for a move to 17,000' Camp when the weather looks good. We are going to be patient and wait till it looks good and then go for it. Tomorrow will be a rest day. The team is pretty good at chilling which is good on expeditions. Keep your warm toes and fingers crossed for good weather for us in the coming week!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

The Five Day Climb teams led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Dan Windham reached the summit of Mt. Rainier last night.  Pete reported great route conditions and a beautiful day on the mountain.  The teams are now back to Camp Muir and will be descending to Paradise later this morning.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Sunday, June 20, 2021 - 8:23 pm PT

This afternoon around 2pm the team stood on top of Denali! After weeks of hard work we got the sweet reward of the top.

We were the first team to summit in at least four days, which made for a true Alaskan climbing experience. We broke trail for 7.5 hours to get to the top. Most of the permanent protection was buried, so we placed our own and put in the track to the top!

Starting early made it so we had the peak to ourselves and really got a true experience of a summit day on Denali!

Now we just have to descend from 17K Camp to the upper airstrip over the next couple days. Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide JT Schmitt and the RMI team

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Just like that… we woke up in Talkeetna and the clouds were gone.  We scrambled on over to the airstrip at 8 AM and started putting on the big mountain boots.  By a little after 9, we were up in the air in two glorious DeHaviland Otters… prop driven ski planes built in the 1950’s.  The Alaska Range was visible in full from the moment we cleared the Talkeetna tree tops.  Denali was spectacular and seemed bigger and steeper than in previous years.  We flew straight at the peak and then moved a little West as we crossed into the mountains.  Our K2 Aviation pilots eased the planes down on to the SE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at 7100 ft and we slid to a stop at basecamp.  A few minutes of shuffling and shuttling loads in mushy snow ensued.  We built our camp and got settled in before a day of light training and a review of glacier travel techniques.  As the day proceeded, we went from hot sunshine to cool overcast, but the clouds didn’t rob us of the magnificent views of impossibly big and steep mountainsides.  We watched a handful of ginormous avalanches drop off various surrounding mountains.  We capped the day with a burrito dinner and an early bedtime.  Our hope would be to get up in the night and climb in the cool part of the early morning tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, June 19, 2021 - 11:00 pm PT

Today was about prepping and packing.  We got out to the airplane hangar early for a fine safety briefing by a National Park Service climbing ranger.  We then conducted gear checks and set about organizing and sorting personal equipment and group gear.  This took us through mid afternoon and culminated in a weigh-in with the K2 Aviation ramp crew -the folks responsible for loading and unloading the aircraft.  We were happy to be sheltered within the hangar as it rained off and on through much of the day.  The rain mellowed by the time we got into town for dinner at the brewery.  Plenty of tourists in town enjoying the weekend, but we seemed to fit in just fine.  Tomorrow, with a little luck, we’ll get on the mountain. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn