Entries from Expedition Dispatches
What a winter wonderland for May 28! Over the past week at least three feet of snow has fallen and it is still coming down. Visions of power skiing, snowman building,and marshmallow roasting dance in our heads as we spend a day resting here at 11,200 camp. The group is in good spirits and all set up to move when the mountain gives us our chance. There is quite a community building here at camp because no one has had the opportunity to move up recently. The RMI establishment is on the upper end of Main Street with 4 tents and a communal cook tent where we enjoy pancakes, hot chocolate, and tortellini. Our latrine had a nice makeover today now has three tall walls with a chicane entrance. We are all very happy about the improvements. As for the rest of Main Street there are no Starbucks but a constant view of people shoveling out their tents.
Signing off from the little city with a population of 60 people here on the side of
Denali.
RMI Guides Christina, Brent, JT & Team
Today's Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Elias reported colder and windier temperatures than expected on their ascent. The team enjoyed some time on the summit before beginning their descent to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
May 28, 2017
Today is very stormy on
Denali. Poor visibility, gusty winds and cold temps keep us in our tents today. This morning we had a great joint breakfast with the RMI #2 team's guides and climbers. Other than that, not much new to report. Camp is quiet as no one is venturing out in this weather.
There hasn't been a summit in nearly two weeks, and only a few teams have ventured up to high camp (17,200', where we cached 12 days ago), and most of those that have returned with frostbite. It has been cold and windy for a while now. It has to change, right? It's coming down to the wire for our team as our food supply dwindles. We still have hope though...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 28, 2017 1:32 am PST
Hi from
Denali!
The team got a break in the weather around noon today! Big day indeed for flying! We unloaded our gear from the planes, repacked our duffel bags, loaded our sleds and heavy packs and got on the move to our first camp at 7,800ft. The trip to the mountains is finally underway. We made great time in the light cloud cover keeping the air cool in the often blistering heat of the lower Kahiltna glacier. We set up camp had a quick dinner and are now resting our bones!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones & Team
May 27, 2017 11:51 pm PST
Denali loves to tease. We poked our heads out early this morning to frigid temps and a big, dark cap above us. It was enough to quickly convince us to bury our heads back in our sleeping bags for a bit. At our next check though, the cap was thin, the sky clear, and things looking decidedly in our favor. We jumped out, endured the -30 temps' effects on our toes, and fired stoves for breakfast. The sun broke across camp and we were making moves to get ready to carry. We watched instead however as the cap built, winds started to blow along the West Buttress, and we weren't so sure. All across camp, folks had taken down tents, were packed and ready to walk, and leaned on snow walls staring uphill, exchanging doubts with their neighbors. In short order, we pulled the plug on our carry, other teams' tents went back up, and everyone settled in for another rest day. Such is the rhythm of
Denali.
After a few rest days in a row, the tents aren't quite as inviting, the novelty having worn off. So we spent a few hours this afternoon looking at crevasse haul systems, and comparing, exchanging ideas and broadening our skills.
We're in the waiting game. We've got plenty of food and tonne, so we aren't in a rush. We're enjoying the beauty of where we are right now, sure that our chance will come soon.
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Jenny, and Team
May 27, 2017 10:15 pm PST
During our break on the
Polo Field at 12,800',someone asked if we could keep our big down parkas on. Good question. It was pretty darned cold and the wind was directly into our face. I'd never had to climb in my parka at that elevator before, but it sure sounded like a good idea to me. Our attempt yesterday really set us up for success today. The team learned how to keep their faces protected while not fogging up their glasses or goggles. And that allowed us to travel in some chilly conditions today. A great skill to have before we get to the higher, colder parts of the mountain. Our time thus far has been particularly cold and unsettled. I'm just glad we haven't been hanging up at 14,200' this whole time like our other two groups. With luck, we'll get there just as this predicted high pressure system comes through, hopefully with the expected rise in temperatures too. We wore those parkas all the way around Windy Corner to our cache site at 13,500', where we were finally sheltered from the wind and could bask in some sunny, warm weather. Amazingly, we all opted to keep those big coats on all the way back to camp. With the wind at our backs and nothing much in our packs, we could gloat just a bit as we passed by the madding crowds on the uphill slog into the cold wind. Our hard work was done, and we were headed back to camp. There's something to be said about being up early and back early even at the cost of breaking trail each morning.
If we get another break with the weather tomorrow, we might just make the move to 14,200' camp. That would be fantastic, especially how everyone is doing so well.
That's it from 11,200'. It's been a big day.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team
The
Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Chase Nelson reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Casey reported that the team is enjoying clear, calm and peaceful skies. The team was leaving the Crater Rim at 6:50 am and are now en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
May 27, 2017
A well deserved sleep and sluggish morning let the team regain our feet. Yet, we managed to make the most of it. Our jaunt out of the
Condoriri group wasn't quite complete until half the group had jumped into a snow fed reservoir and scrambled back to dry land as fast as our frozen limbs could manage. For all of us, 14,500ft was the highest we had ever swam.
A brief stint of skipping stones on clear glassy ponds, and passing the time with our new matted canine friend had the group back into the van and on our way to the city. Today happens to be mothers day down here in Bolivia, (Hi Mom!) and we were greeted with street parties, colorful attire, traffic zebras and a box of empanadas once we passed within city limits. To close out the night, we celebrated our first summit success with a feast of unrealistically large and delicious slabs of meat. And now we go to bed early amid the 'thick' 12,000ft city air, ready to skip right back into the mountains come sunrise.
Posted above are a few teaser photos from our ascent of pequeno Alpamayo.
RMI Guides Caleb Ladue, Eric Frank and Team Bolivia
Groundhog day again. We woke to better weather but there was still enough weather in Talkeetna to keep the plane grounded. Some of us were in the tent sleeping when we got the word that K2 planes were inbound. The team rallied quickly and moved gear to the runway and by early afternoon we were back in town. Typical Alaska weather for us but a great introduction to the team. What a great group of people to share time with in the Alaska range. One of a kind collection of personalities and memories to carry with us forever. Thanks for following!
RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King and Jessie Poquerusse
May 27th, 2017
We woke to another day of bitterly cold temps and strong winds above. The weather forecast looks promising for the next few days, so we are optimistic that we will
finally get our shot. We're hanging in there and trying to be patient with this long wait. Hopefully it will pay off.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
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Hey Bill, I would have turned around at the first word of “no Starbucks” at basecamp. The team here is rooting for you! Good luck. -M
Posted by: Mike Wood on 5/30/2017 at 9:27 am
So fun being on the other end this year and reading these updates!(of course I’d rather be there with you!) I’m remembering that igloo at 11k camp…I hope no one had to use it if it’s still there! Steve and Lindsay, I’m so happy to hear you are doing great! I had no doubt you would be rockstars! Brent and Christina I’m remembering all the hard work you put in and how amazing you guys are! Thanks for the updates! Rooting for you guys and for a stretch of good (enough) weather!
Posted by: Dawn Golding on 5/29/2017 at 10:44 am
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