Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Lucas Haaland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
May 20, 2017
We spent today building more snow walls for our camp, and trying to stay warm. Temps stayed cold today as our camp in Genet Basin was in the clouds and snow most of the day. The morning dawned clear though, save for another lenticular cloud on Denali's summit, a not-so-subtle hint of the strong winds above.
Our team is hanging in there, but we sure would like to see a change in this weather. We'll keep you in the loop.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jenny Konway, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
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We saw the sun on day one and haven't really seen it since. The trend of southern flow pushing moisture our way continues, and it snowed off and on all day. While climbing on bright, bluebird days is nice, it really doesn't get much better than conditions today. While we couldn't see a lot, there was very little wind on a piece of the mountain that is known for wind, the clouds and snow kept the temps pleasantly cool, and the fresh snow has set up creating great cramponing conditions. We cruised out of camp a bit after the main rush, which kept us out of traffic all day. A few smooth stretches later, we rounded Windy Corner and reached our cache site. All told, the day was really smooth and pleasant, and we're feeling really good about getting a big chunk of weight uphill. On the docket for tomorrow is done hard chilling time, nap competitions, and general self care before we look to move to 14.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jenny Konway, Jess Matthews and Team
The daily blog and pictures are FABULOUS!
Sending Joel and the team some warm Arizona sunshine.
Posted by: Susie Okun on 5/20/2017 at 1:56 pm
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
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May 19, 2017
This evening we are coming to you from Kahiltna Base Camp! The team enjoyed a relaxing morning and leisurely lunch as we waited for a break in the weather. Just when we thought we would be spending another night in town, K2 gave the signal and our two pilots Randy and Barry carried us over the clouds into the range and descended into the heart of the mountains.
Now we are enjoying some late evening sun cooking dinner and setting up camp. The team is very excited to be here, especially the ladies who cannot stop smiling.
RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team
Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Lucas Haaland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,200'
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May 19, 2017
Once again we fired up the stoves early in the bitter cold of morning in Genet Basin. Another large lenticular built over the summit and the West Buttress, this time accompanied by snow. We decided to pump the breaks once again and kept watching the weather as the sun began to crest the West Rib. But despite our best hopes, the weather never improved enough for us to break camp and move higher. Instead, we spent the day building snow walls to protect our camp against the the strong winds that are forecast in a couple of days.
Right now our plan is to sit tight through this next weather system and hope for a window of good weather early next week. With strong winds forecasted over the next few days, an bitter cold temps (lows of -38F and highs of -25 to -30), we aren't even entertaining moving to high camp tomorrow. Hopefully our time to move up will come soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
Posted by: Casey Grom, Tyler Jones
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Tyler Jones reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Tyler reported clear skies with north winds of 20 - 25 mph.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 14-19, 2017 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Chase Nelson spent the week at Camp Muir. The team spent time learning mountaineering skills, knot tying and crevasse rescue. The team experienced windy and snowy conditions for a portion of the week but were rewarded today with beautiful blue sky. They reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 7:30 and spent an hour enjoying the views and celebrating their accomplishment. Today is the last day of the program so once they return to Camp Muir they will pack their gear and continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Good Morning,
Great and Awesome. Walking along in thought and prayer.
High Fives to all!!
Mom and Dad
Scottsdale, AZ
g
Posted by: Rita Haines on 5/20/2017 at 8:41 am
Thanks to all the guides and all the team members for you help and support. What an awesome experience!!!
Posted by: Robbie Carrey on 5/20/2017 at 7:54 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
May 19, 2017
Light snow overnight made everything quiet and still this morning. Camp was sleepy, as it seems everyone took the opportunity to sleep in. We munched our way through a big brunch of hash browns and eggs, and then trotted back downhill under empty packs to grab our cache. That short trip left plenty of time for naps and some chilling time this afternoon before a quick climbing skills refresher to get ready for tomorrow. We intend to trade sleds and snowshoes for crampons tomorrow and get our cache up to Windy Corner. We'll see if the weather let's us.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
On The Map
Go Jenny!! How exciting! We miss you and hope you are loving it up there. The pictures are beautiful. Can’t wait to see more. Sending love you’re way.
Big Sis & Fam ❤️
Posted by: Jessica on 5/20/2017 at 9:10 am
The views are amazing! You guys are doing great!
Jan- Delta found your backpack! It never left JFK, they delivered it to Lucja’s apartment yesterday. We miss you! Stay safe!
Joanna
Posted by: Joanna on 5/20/2017 at 8:23 am
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 348'
Our Alaska Mountaineering Seminar May 17 - 27 team is here in Talkeetna, packed and ready to fly...but sometimes ready is not enough. A Southwest flow over the Aleutians is slowly pushing that warm moisture that brings snow and rain to the range. So we played the game of waiting and lost the luck. Nonetheless the team here is of joyous enthusiasm and energy and we shall try again tomorrow.
We will hope for clear skies in the morning.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Lucas Haaland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Well, we woke early once again with optimism that we would be moving up to our high camp today. As we bundled up and crawled out of the tent, we were greeted by big, nasty lenticular clouds (UFO-looking, disk-like clouds that are indicative of high winds aloft) over the big three peaks in the Alaska Range: Hunter, Foraker, and our objective, Denali.
We continued with our plan and fired up the stoves and made breakfast. Then we returned to our tents to stay warm as we kept an eye on the winds above. In the end, they didn't dissipate and we weren't able to move camp today.
Although we are anxious to move up and have a shot at the summit, the flip side of taking another day at 14k is that we continue to acclimate and get stronger for our eventual summit push. Hopefully we will have that opportunity soon. We'll keep you up to date with our progress.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hi Mike, David, Thom and Todd, Just have a good rest. Such a thing wouldn’t happen twice. You guys definitely know how to enjoy the time:) I will keep tracking the progress. Good luck! Lei
Posted by: Lei W on 5/19/2017 at 5:47 am
Robby…..Congrats….you’re an uncle again!!!!! Isaac Robert born Thurs 5/18. See you soon.
Posted by: Mom on 5/19/2017 at 4:45 am
"I don't think that people are so much looking for the meaning of life as they are looking for the experience of being alive"--Joseph Campbell
Climbing mountains is ultimately an absurd act, to stand on top of a pile of rocks and call it a success, laughable. In yet, it is something anyone who has ever shared the feeling knows the feeling: powerful, liberated, inspired. Wind-whipped, bodily spent, surrounded by ravaging beauty--beyond providing meaning for living, it provides the feeling of being fully alive. That feeling is only magnified when combined with the pure spirit of speed and fluidity found on a ski descent.
Early May is an excellent time for a climb and ski on Mt. Baker and I'm just back from two trips up in the northern reaches of the Cascades. Thick snows blanket the land—especially after this winter—providing a smooth carpet for cruising up to the high flanks of the mountains. That's not to say the approach is easy—for starters, as is usual, the road was blocked by snow several miles short of the actual Heliotrope Trailhead. Secondly, navigating through the dense Pacific Northwest forests requires lots of muscles that no amount of resort skiing or even gym training can fully develop. Plus, there's the prospect of needing to carry those skis on the pack. Forty pound packs quickly become fifty-five on the back. While our first trip allowed us to get to camp on skis, spring comes quickly in the Cascades and by the second trip we were shouldering the skis until treeline.
Whether approached by ski or with those skis on your back, the arrival above treeline on Baker comes abruptly and spectacularly. Unlike many an alpine ascent, where the trees gradually shrink in size to Charlie Brown Christmas trees, on Baker's Heliotrope Trail approach it goes from massive towers to wide open alpine in the time it takes to apply sunscreen. Clouds came and went throughout our trips, but when they cleared, the stunning serac falls at the terminus of the Coleman Glacier, the stately girth of Mt. Baker's volcanic cone, and the sheer ice face of Colfax Peak made it clear why we'd worked so hard to get there.
On both trips we were fortunate to have time and energy to enjoy some beautiful turns above camp on Hogsback Ridge. Skinning up, we looked at ways to improve our kick turns, balance, and tracking techniques and to practice roped travel while skiing. Viewing camp from a thousand feet above, we ripped skins, carved turns in sweet-edging snow and cruised back to camp to prep for the summit push.
The morning hour always come early, but it's a little easier with the benefit of the full moon we experienced. Rising up to boil water for coffee, our shadows mixed among the long shadows cast by the small trees around camp. Shaking out the soreness of the approach, we slurped down some oatmeal and caffeine before clicking in and gliding up. On our first climb we utilized ski crampons to leave camp with skis on, digging the teeth of the crampons in with each step to allow us a smooth ascent. On the second climb we relied instead on boot crampons to power us up past the steeper parts of Hogsback Ridge to where things leveled off enough to skin without crampons. While both can work, ski crampons definitely allow more time to enjoy the fluid uphill motion that skinning provides, and ski crampons are definitely advisable for a Mt. Baker Climb-Ski.
A mix of shaky weather, altitude, and the challenge of converting climbing fitness to skinning finesse stopped us short of the summit on the first trip, but the beauty of ski mountaineering is that even without a summit, every step upward is a success, as it increases the joy of going down. High up on the Pumice Ridge, views of the Puget Sound and British Columbia's Coastal Range slipped in and out of the clouds as we ripped skins and prepared for the descent. With the light sometimes flat and spring crevasses beginning to show, we pitched things out more conservatively on the descent, allowing time to enjoy all the hard-earned 4000' of vertical. And with each turn of descent the skiing became increasingly edgeable and enjoyable, a fresh layer atop the thick winter's snowpack. Rolling back into camp with smiles, fist bumps, and a feeling of refreshment is one of the uniquely attractive aspects ski mountaineering presents to the world of alpine climbing.
The second Mt. Baker Climb-Ski was a custom trip, so it allowed us time to both climb Baker in the optimal (if shaky) weather window and then sneak in some time afterward to focus on the pure joy of climbing to ski. Bagley Lakes, just outside of the Baker Ski Area, provided the perfect venue, as you can drive past 4000', straight into a ten-foot snowpack, and on out into enchanting alpine lakes guarded by precipitous cliff walls. South facing slopes were graced with an accumulation of wind-blown powder and perfect runs.
Climbing mountains is a process. Summits provide a goal. Skiing down them provides a purpose. Everything that we seek up high is only of value if we can convert it into a currency that enriches our lives in the valley. The 2017 Mt. Baker Climb-Ski trips brought process and purpose together and brought us all back home to the valley floor refreshed and ready to move forward fully alive. Upward, downward, forward. Alive!
--RMI Guide Kel Rossiter
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Hope you caught a break and are moving up to 17 camp today. Robby, congrats on your new nephew. Good luck all. Art Muir.
Posted by: Art Muir on 5/21/2017 at 10:57 am
From my zen calendar - Your mind is the mountain before you.
Hang in there for better weather!
Love you Papi
G
Posted by: Giulia on 5/21/2017 at 7:50 am
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