Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Sunday, July 1, 2018 - 11:14 PM PT
This was the day we were looking for. Even so, it looked a little gusty up high at first, so we dragged our feet a little and lingered over breakfast. The sun hit at 9:30 and we got walking at 10:30. Our goal, of course, was to carry food and supplies up onto the
West Buttress and to establish a cache that will help us when we commit to moving up to 17,000 ft. But our goal was also to get familiar with the steep part of this climb -the fixed ropes- and to build on our acclimatization by getting a good workout in at altitude. We did all of that today. Things were slightly on the crowded side, but that didn’t give us much trouble in the end. It is close to the end of the Denali climbing season, now that we are in July, but the last 100 or so climbers all flew on at once due to the five day storm that preceded our arrival. And we’ve mostly been on the same travel schedules since those 100 folks are all in various guided parties. But we know and like many of the people so it hasn’t -to this point- seemed so crowded. But all those folks needing to get on the same ropes to reach the crest of the West Buttress means that some patience will be required. We turned out to be patient today, waiting our turn, but it wasn’t so hard to be that way in sunny, pleasant weather and with fantastic scenery all around. The upside for us was that the teams ahead of us kicked a perfect staircase in the snow up the steep headwall. We topped out at 16,200 in surprisingly fine conditions -the exposed ridge crest can often be cold and windy. As it was 3 PM we declared victory and established a cache -burying it all to keep our supplies from the ravens. Our descent was smooth and easy since we now had the whole place to ourselves. We were back down to camp by 5 PM and relaxing over dinner a couple of hours later. Rest day tomorrow and then up for good.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Greetings all!
Your
Peru Expedition Skills Team has arrived in the beautiful mountain city of Huaraz, Peru! What a nice introduction to Peru we’ve had thus far; breakfast in the bustling city of Lima, a drive along the Pacific Coast, and altitude gain up and over the mountain pass (13,500’) into the Rio Santo Valley. The views of the Cordillera Blanca (White Mountains) and the Cordillera Huayhuash were ‘out of this world’. We made a stop to admire the first of many ice capped peaks, Pastoruri (see photo). After a fantastic dinner here at Hotel Andino, our team is doing our best to rest and recover from long days of travel. Alpaca steaks, Inka Kolas, and apple fritters were popular choices for many of us as we dove in head first to some exotic Peruvian fare. Tomorrow, acclimatization hiking above Huaraz and body nourishment are the name of the game as we prep for our climbs later this week. Until then, thanks for following!
RMI Guides Robby Young,
Alan Davis, and your Peru 2018 Team
Sunday, July 1, 2018 - 6:57 PM PT
Greetings from
Alpamayo Base Camp. We descended today and arrived to our tents and good meals from our cook. We're bummed we couldn't climb, but it was the right decision. We're headed to bed soon in hopes of hiking out tomorrow. We'll check in when we're in Huaraz.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
We had a full value experience on Mt. Baker this weekend. With positive enthusiasm, 12 women met early in the morning in Sedro-Wolley with coffee and gear to hit the trail. We carpooled up to the Park Butte Trail Head on the
Easton Glacier of Baker and started up the trail. The heavy packs didn't phase anyone and soon the trail conversations were running full speed ahead. After a five-hour hike into Sandy Camp at the toe of the glacier we set up camp in the rain. On the flanks of Mount Baker without any view of anything more than six feet away we had a nice dinner and early to bed to stay dry. Unfortunately, we woke to the pitter-patter of rain in the morning but managed a nice cup of coffee and some training in the rain on the snow slopes around us. Sunday morning was our anticipated summit bid but the mountain had other plans for our team. With a deluge of rain and strong winds, we decided the summit wasn't in the cards for us this time. We had the opportunity to be in a storm! Nothing beats this group of climbers. Even after naming the lakes forming in the bottom of the tents, everyone kept smiling. Never a complaint about the sopping wet boots just a choice to put our feet in plastic bags then in our boots. To the best storm fairing team ever, your guides
Jessie,
Lydia, and
Christina thank you for making the trip a great experience.
RMI Guide Christina Dale
This morning
RMI Guide Chris Ebeling led his
Five-Day Summit Climb team to the Mt. Rainier summit. They began their descent at 8:00 a.m. and will be staying at Camp Muir for an additional night before descending tomorrow.
The
Mt. Rainier Four Day Summit Climb team, led by
Brent Okita, reached the summit in some windy conditions. The team spent some time on the summit and began their descent at 8:00 a.m. We look forward to congratulating them at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
Saturday, June 30th - 10:30 pm PT
The snow quit abruptly last night at around 11 PM after about a foot of new. Forecasts called for more snow today -about a 70 percent chance of it. So we were on our guard. But this day dawned crisp cold and clear above us (with a sea of cloud below). For various reasons we opted not to pull the trigger on our carry today... there were traffic jams and a lot of new snow to wallow through. For exercise and a thrill, we roped up and ventured over to the “edge of the world” a rock outcrop at the edge of
Genet Basin. From that edge, the world drops vertically for four thousand feet to a branch of the NE Kahiltna Glacier. We stepped out to the apex of rock overhanging the drop and mugged for photos while the clouds swirled in and out mysteriously.
The afternoon ended up restful and pleasant... and not so snowy. We’ll be ready to climb tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Saturday, June 30, 2018 - 8:25 pm PT
The weather clearing did not happen until late last night, so we could not make a break to Basecamp. The clear weather did make for a great rest day at
11,000' camp. We slept in and enjoyed the sunshine while we gathered our strength for one long and final push to the the snowy airstrip.
The team is in great spirits and ready to get back to summer and away from days filled with snow!
Keep your fingers crossed for clear, flying kind of weather for us tomorrow!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Super Crew 6
On The Map
Good evening from
Alpamayo High Camp. We are sad to report that the SW face is not in safe condition to be climbed, and we're not going to aim any higher. Everyone did a great job today and pushed through the upper glacier that is steep as usual, but we will descend tomorrow to Base Camp.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Tyler Jones reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Casey reported increasing winds, and a cap forming as they climbed. The teams are on their descent and will be celebrating back at Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
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Glad your climb is going good! Hannah, looking forward to talking to you and seeing your pictures!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 7/3/2018 at 11:28 am
I’m SO excited for you guys! How fabulous the weather is helping!! Keep pushing…not long now
Posted by: Sue Mamer on 7/2/2018 at 9:08 pm
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