Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Saturday, July 7, 2018 2:37 AM PST
Some days you eat the bear...
We’re down at 11,000 ft. We had lofty ambitions this morning but
Denali played hard to get. There was a mean wind blowing through much of the night and sadly right through the morning. We waited it out as long as we could but called it at mid day. Tough as it was to let go of the summit, it was pretty obvious that it was out of reach under the circumstances. We broke camp at 17 and got moving down -as did every last climber on the mountain. A storm is moving in, according to the forecasters. For that though, today was spectacular once we were on the move. There is a bunch of forest fire smoke creating a haze, but we still got great views down to the Kahiltna Glacier as we carefully walked the ridge crest, dropped down the fixed lines, dug out our sleds at 14k and pushed on around windy corner with heavy loads. We piled on down the squirrel hills and motorcycle, and came into 11,000 at 9:30 PM. Our tents went up fast and dinner wasn’t far behind. The air down here is chock full of oxygen and it isn’t nearly so cold as we’ve gotten used to. We’ll get some low altitude sleep and plot our final escape to the airstrip soon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Christina Dale reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver today at 12,300' before route conditions and strong winds forced the team to turn. The team checked from Ingraham Flats as they were on their descent and en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
Hello all!
Another day here in the beautiful Ishinca Valley! However, unlike yesterday’s rain and snow, today was splitter and bluebird! We took advantage of the sunshine and made our way up to the toe of the Ishinca Glacier for some on-snow training. The views of the massive Ranrapalca as well tomorrow’s objective,
Ishinca, were second to none. We all got some much needed rest this afternoon, and are tucked into the tents already this evening, in anticipation of a 2am breakfast and an attempt on 18,143’ Nevada Ishinca tomorrow. Wish us luck!
RMI Guides
Robby Young,
Alan Davis and Peru Team ‘Con Gas’
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Chris Ebeling reached 13,400' before high winds and a cloud cap forced the team to turn. The team is on their descent and will be returning to Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
Thursday, July 5, 2018 10:25 PM PST
Today was better weather than we expected -after a snowy and blowy night- it was crystal clear and calm at camp when the sun hit, there was a sea of clouds below. But the winds were blowing up on
Denali Pass and the South Peak until early afternoon which discouraged us from giving it a go. We’ve got reason to believe that tomorrow -Friday- will be our day. We chalked up another 17,000' rest day and hope that the extra time up high has made us more ready for success. We’re definitely feeling a little more like our old selves now compared to when we first rolled into 17k.
A short walk from camp to the big drop off and we can look down on the empty camp at 14,000'. The last groups of the season are here now and looking to take their shot tomorrow too.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Thursday, July 5, 2018 - 6:12 PM PT
Hello!
Your favorite
Expedition Skills - Perú team here, getting into sleeping bags after a beautiful day here at Ishinca Base Camp. We slept in this morning, and enjoyed omelettes and strong Peruvian coffee before we set out to review and learn some important knots and hitches for our upcoming climbs. The afternoon brought some cloud cover, but we had a chance to get out and stretch the legs for an hour on a hike above our camp. Pretty soon, the unthinkable happened here in the dry season in the Cordillera Blanca; it snowed! Luckily, our plan was to rest tent-side all afternoon anyway, and the sound of snow and rain lulled us to sleep for a well deserved siesta. After a delectable caramelized onion, chicken and rice dish, we are back in the tents, resting up for our big day up to the Ishinca Glacier for some on-snow skills tomorrow. We’ll hit yet another high point at 16,200’ if all goes according to plan. Wish us luck!
Best,
RMI Guides Robby, Alan, William, and crew
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz, led by
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, just radioed from the Mt. Rainier summit. It is a clear day with some winds gusting to around 30 mph. The team will descend to their high camp and then continue down the mountain tomorrow to celebrate here at Rainier Basecamp.
Congratulations to the Kautz Seminar crew!
The
Four Day Summit Climb July 2 - 5, 2018 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning just before 6:30 AM PT led by
RMI Guides Brent Okita and
Chase Nelson. The teams reported steady winds of 25-30 mph throughout their ascent. They were able to spend some time on the summit enjoying the blue skies and sunshine this morning and began their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 AM PT. They will continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Wednesday, July 4, 2018 - 11:09 PM PT
The sun hit at seven. There were high clouds and some of the signs of the storm forecast to move in at the end of the day. We hoped to get lucky by sneaking the summit in before that storm. With that in mind we breakfasted and geared up... but not too quickly as we were still watching the weather. At 10:15 we made the move and left camp... at precisely the moment that three other guided teams left their own camps. The resulting traffic jam as the teams hit the steep and tricky first pitches of the “autobahn” combined with rapidly deteriorating weather had us turning back to camp before noon. We set to building walls around the tents and catching up on rest and hydration. The storm did hit... there were a few nervy hours in the evening trying to account for the teams that had gone onward and upward. All turned out ok in the end and we are secure in our fortress at
17,000' Camp. We’ll climb when the weather improves.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Greetings from the Ishinca Valley!
And so it begins! After three days of prepping our bodies and our bags in the hustle and bustle of Huaraz City, we’ve finally made our move to the mountains. We made our way by bus to the small village of Pashpa, where we met our donkey drivers and their crew of willing steeds. We loaded up our animals, affectionately thanked them in advance for their work, and began our hike up the Ishinca Valley with light loads and high hopes. After a little over three hours of moving, we arrived at
Ishinca Base Camp, nestled in a steep valley here at 14,400’. We made quick work of camp setup in the grassy meadows and before we knew it, we were feasting on chicken soup and fresh lake trout! Fresh fish at 14,000’...oh boy, what a treat! That’s how we roll down here in the Cordillera Blanca. Tomorrow, acclimatization continues. We’ll start working on some technical rope skills, and likely eat like royalty once again. We’ll let you know how it goes! Until then, hasta manana!
RMI Guide Robby Young and the well-fed ESS-Peru team
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What an awesome team. The best part of mountain climbing is being on the mountain and experiencing nature first hand. We are really proud of you all.
Posted by: Randy Salo on 7/7/2018 at 9:47 pm
Hey gang. Congrats on a great effort. It sounds like Mother Nature was tuff today. I’m glad you’re all well and safely at 11k camp. Enjoy the good air and a safe trip to the airstrip. It was a treat sharing time in the mountains with all of you. Jon
Posted by: Jon on 7/7/2018 at 7:40 pm
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