Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Friday, June 28, 2019 - 8:01 PM PT
The 2nd rest/weather/waiting day was even restier than the first. The team is hanging in there and we really hope to head
uphill tomorrow. Here are the individual team members best ways to spend their rest days:
Ian - eat, sleep, and be merry
Wayne - napping!
Zach - reading
Kerry - texting colleagues about weather forecast and thinking of family!
Meghan - Hosting a 14k ft charcuterie and Gummi bear party outside my tent (eat it now or have to carry it down later). Was a hit!
Ann - building a snowman, checking return dates of caches around the camp, thinking if I have enough probiotics to handle the spicy dinners
On The Map
The Four Day Climbs led by
RMI Guides Steve Gately and Nick Scott reached the summit of Mt. Rainier shortly before 9:00 AM. Steve reported 100% of the climbers reached the summit! Steve also reported perfect weather and a great climbing route. The teams will spend a little time on the summit celebrating before beginning their descent.
We look forward to seeing both teams in
Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Thursday, June 27, 2019 - 10:44 PM PT
No alarm clocks this morning. It was a
rest day at 11K. Everyone came into the dining tent with smiles around 9 AM, having enjoyed lying in. We stretched breakfast to last a couple of hours as we swilled coffee and chowed down on perfectly constructed breakfast burritos. Some followed that with the first naps of the day, others read, chatted, sorted gear or daydreamed. It was a fine day with mild temps and strong sun. Nobody was sorry to have an occasional cloud throwing shade. We rehydrated and rested. R & R Denali style. There are only about three other teams at 11,000 ft at the moment - the climbing season is tapering off - and so things were quiet and calm. The forecast calls for a few more nice days, which is usually about all one can ask for around here. We will spring back into action tomorrow with the big move to 14 Camp.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Thursday, June 27, 2019 - 9:45 PM PT
Not much to report from 14k. We woke up late, ate breakfast burritos for brunch, and relaxed.
We did stretch out our legs and walk out to an area called the
Edge of the World. As suggested, the Edge of the World is a huge drop of that overlooks the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. We all got our hero shots from this spectacular viewpoint.
We are going to spend at least one more day at 14k to see if we can let some wind clear out before we return up high to 17k. It has been so nice at 14k that we feel a bit spoiled!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team Siete
Thursday, June 27, 2019 - 10:22 AM PT
We woke up and fired up the stoves early again today, hopeful for good climbing weather. But the clouds that were lingering above us at 4:30am have descended and engulfed the
Denali, including our camp. We are currently back in our tents staying warm and dry. There is near zero visibility with light winds and precipitation and high humidity. Unless things turn around quickly, we'll chalk today up as another day to rest and acclimate. We're hoping for improving conditions the next couple of days.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 - 11:21 PM PT
Our workable weather continued today. Crisp, cool and mostly clear conditions prevailed as we set out above 11,000 camp at 7:15 this morning.
Motorcycle Hill was first up, but didn’t take us all that long, just forty five minutes of “duck foot” cramponing up a steep snow slope with a handful of well-bridged crevasses. Next up was Squirrel Hill, a little traversing and some more duck footing, which brought us up to the Polo Field at the west end of the West Buttress. By this point, we were finally out of the valleys... looking up at surrounding mountains has been fun, but now looking out and down at the world from 12 and 13,000 ft is novel and beautiful. Windy Corner wasn’t windy. We took a pleasant rest break there in the mid morning sunshine. Then we put our helmets on and climbed around the corner. A new world opened up to us as we could now see the upper West Buttress and the bulk of Denali’s South Peak up close and personal. At 13,500 ft, we’d reached our target for the day -about four hours above 11 camp. We dug a deep hole in the snow to cache food and gear out of the reach of crafty clever ravens. Enjoying the sunshine and calm conditions, we lingered for about an hour before starting our descent. The track was in fine condition, so walking/climbing down went smoothly and easily. We strolled into 11,000 near two in the afternoon, which as we’ve discovered, is a darn good time for a nap. Clouds came and went throughout the afternoon and evening, there were some light showers, but nothing of great significance from our perspective.
We’ll rest tomorrow to solidify acclimatization before making the big jump up to 14 camp.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team
Wednesday, June 27, 2019 - 9:55 PM PT
Mission successful! We cached gear up at 17k high camp. The morning started out pretty warm (for 14,000 ft in AK). We made our way up to the fixed lines. For our first time up the fixed lines, the group did exceptionally well. We made our way up to the ridge at 16,000 ft and caught some wind. We decided to keep going up since everyone was staying warm and relatively comfortable. Although we never lost the wind, we made our way all the way up to high camp. I think our climbers were too distracted by the incredible climbing along the ridge to care about a bit of a breeze.
We said hi to Mike Walter's team at 17k, cached our stuff, and then headed back down to our camp. After a 10 hour day, our climbers (and maybe guides) have earned a well deserved rest day tomorrow. We have been saving a breakfast burrito meal for such an occasion. Goodnight!
RMI Team Siete
The American Lung Association's Climb For Clean Air Team made a summit attempt of Mt. Rainier early today before low visibility and poor weather forced the team to turn. This team was led by RMI Guides Win Whittaker and JT Schmitt. Each team member commits a year to training and raising funds to support the
American Lung Association’s mission of saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. The team is currently at Camp Muir and will be heading back to Rainier Basecamp for an afternoon celebration.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 - 3:30 PM PT
We had hopes of making a summit push today, but as we were gearing up early this morning winds began to increase and a lenticular cloud cap began forming on the
summit. So we pumped the brakes to see what would materialize. As it turned out, the cloud cap continued to materialize. Eventually we pulled the plug on the waiting game. We'll use today a a rest day (although the weather is making it unable to climb, it is not too uncomfortable at camp). We're hoping for calmer winds tomorrow so we can give it a go.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Today the team explored the city of St. Petersburg, including a beautiful evening canal tour complete with dramatic sunset and hilarious narration from our tour guide. Tomorrow the team disbands, departing in the direction of our various homes or next destinations. A big thanks to everyone for coming together and bringing your A-game to this
Mt. Elbrus Ski Expedition. Till next time...
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
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Side salad and her meat platters. When is she sharing the wine!?!? Go guys, go!
Posted by: Shannon Henn on 6/30/2019 at 12:32 am
Rest while you can. Cool tent photo! Step safe
Posted by: Susan Moore on 6/29/2019 at 9:54 pm
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