Tuesday, July 2, 2013
There was some reason for optimism at 6 this morning when snow stopped falling and we were granted a view of some blue sky and the upper mountain. The guides got up and out to brew a cup of coffee and to watch the skies. It was considerably colder at 11,000 ft this morning, down to about what should be "normal" for this place. We watched clouds build up again and eventually we found ourselves in another snowstorm before we could even call the gang to breakfast. Mike King taught a well-attended seminar on knots and hitches in the main dining tent for a good chunk of the morning. Some lounged the day away in the POSH while others returned to their own tents to clear the snow and read/sleep/zone-out. Our afternoon was brightened when our good friends Tyler Jones and Laura Rogers, of RMI and Whittaker Mountaineering respectively came skiing down out of the storm. They are up to play and were just successful a few days back in climbing Denali's North Peak. They regaled us with all of the news of the other teams around the mountain and a pretty comprehensive wrap up of the entire season in the range. Eventually, they moved down into the clouds to get a little closer to Basecamp and we moved back into our POSH tent for dinner and a final round of stimulating conversation before bed. We remain optimistic that the snow will quit and the clouds will flee.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
We had a little bit of a false start here this morning. We woke at 5.30 to clear conditions, and lower winds up above. Altogether, it was a great looking scene, albeit cold; the coldest temps we have seen all trip. We ate a hasty breakfast, and packed camp to move to 17,000'. As we started to walk, clouds began to build, and the winds on the Buttress were rising too. At the base of the fixed lines, we decided that today wasn't the day to make our move, and we retreated back to 14,200' to reset camp. A day like today is tough, but we made the right decision, and everyone is in good spirits. We're hoping that tomorrow morning provides a better opportunity!
Until then, best from Alaska.
RMI Guides Pete, Geoff, Robby, and team
Guapo;
sorry to hear you didn’t get to 17,000 today, but it makes me comfortable knowing that your team guides care about your welfare and safety,and won’t take unnecessary risks.
Best of luck tomorrow,rest well
Guapa
Posted by: marion and maya on 7/3/2013 at 10:22 pm
Hey Gail good to hear you guys are getting some exercise up there…I was beginning to worry you were getting lazy. Ha…kidding of course! Sounds like yesterday was a long one, but great to hear everyone is doing well and best of luck for a break in the weather. Happy early 4th of July, stay safe, have fun!! -Becky
July 1, 2013
We are still here. And by here, I mean McKinley Basecamp airstrip in a snowstorm. I am usually an optimist in these types of situations, but the forecast is for days of the muck.
In order to improve international relations, we have adopted two Russian climbers that reached the summit the same day we did and are stuck with us. Andre and Igor pretend to like our jokes and our cooking so we will keep them awhile!
I told the group we were making them Vietnamese Pho for dinner. Really it was Ramen with some dehydrated vegetables. Although they knew what it was, they put some Sriracha hot sauce in it and humored me!
RMI Summit Team 6
P.S. Cindee says Happy Birthday Roger!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Our storm got real in the night, with cannon-like broadsides of wind and ice particles assaulting the tents. It was serious enough that the guides were out stumbling around from midnight to 2 AM, cutting snow blocks and building walls, but not serious enough that the whole team needed to be in on the fun. It snowed and blew for much of the night, with the wind changing direction every now and then in order to keep things interesting. Although the alarm had been set early for climbing, it was obvious as the morning progressed that we'd simply have to hunker down and ride out the storm. Around mid-morning we rallied the whole crew to eat breakfast, dig out tents and build more walls. Then it was back into the tents for a few hours. We finished the day with some avalanche transceiver training by Zeb Blais, a fine dinner by Erik Nelson and Mike King, and some tall tales by yours truly.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hope the weather improves so that you guys don’t have to stay cooped up in tents on the side of the mountain. Hopefully the avalanche transceiver training will be for naught, but glad that you have it.
Hello from Moscow,
Today our Mt. Elbrus June 30th team enjoyed a fantastic tour of the Kremlin. There is a lot to see and we want to give you a glimpse into this historically and culturally rich place. We hope you enjoy the video.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide Brent Okita radioed from the summit of Mt. Rainier, Columbia Crest, at 7 am PT with the Four Day Summit Climb. He reported winds around 30 mph, clear skies and not super cold, it’s a “pretty nice day”. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by Solveig Waterfall has also reached the summit.
The teams will enjoy some time on top today before starting their descent. The Four Day Summit Climb will return to Camp Muir, repack and continue down to Paradise. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons will return to their high camp for a final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's teams!
RMI Guide Win Whittaker is ascending with his team to Camp Muir today. It was a bluebird day on their hike to Camp Muir. See the team's photo below.
One can call it a rest day, or weather day depending on perspective, but we took the opportunity of winds up high and snow, to rest up our legs for another day at 14,000' on Mt. McKinley. It hasn't been too bad here, with sporadic gusts of wind, some snow falling from the sky, and most snow just blowing around the ground. Our walls are doing their job, and nobody was complaining about a day of sport eating in the tents, getting our reserves up for the big push. We'd love to see this weather move out and give us our chance, as we are all ready, but with no control over that, we're going to patiently watch and wait. We'll let you know what happens tomorrow: we may still be sitting here, or we may be up at 17, getting ready for a summit bid! Send positive weather vibes our way! Best from the mountain,
RMI Guides Pete, Geoff, Robby, and team
Sending much aloha and sunshiny vibes from Maui! Sport eating doesn’t sound too bad, especially as you get ready for the big push. Go, Gail, goooooooo!
Jen Fordyce
Posted by: Jen Fordyce on 7/2/2013 at 2:34 pm
Good morning, Tommy! I hope you rested well last night and you woke to clear skies. I am praying for a great weather day to move up to High Camp. I miss you! Have an awesome day! Love always!
Rhonda
We experienced some thin air on our first acclimatization hike today, as we climbed Rucu Pichincha, a volcano that sits just to the west of Quito. At 15,413', it was certainly a new altitude record for some climbers on our team. Everyone did well on the climb. Tomorrow we will leave Quito and head south for our next acclimatization hike going up to the climbers' hut on the Illiniza mountains. We'll be in touch with our progress...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The gang is all here in beautiful Moscow. It is a long, tiring flight to get here but we made it and it's nice just to relax in our comfortable hotel near Red Square. A good night's sleep is needed before we partake in our first objective...a city tour of this giant world city.
Stay tuned for a great video dispatch tomorrow to see what we explore!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hey JJ- heard you have extra company from Richmond- Hi to all. Good intro to Russia with the flight delay. I know you all will have fun on what might be parallel climbs!! best-
Our Cotopaxi Express trip is under way! Today was the first official day of the trip, and we started it off with an introductory team meeting over breakfast. We spent the rest of the day enjoying an informative and educational City Tour of colonial Quito, visiting various churches and parks, the Presidential Palace and the Virgin of Quito (a large statue situated on a hill above Quito). Our local tour guide, Jorge, is very well versed in the history and culture of Ecuador, and we had great time seeing the city.
We also visited an ethnographic museum located on the equator, where we learned about the different indigenous cultures of Ecuador. We also got a photo of our team straddling the equator, some of us in the northern hemisphere and some of us in the southern hemisphere!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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Guapo;
sorry to hear you didn’t get to 17,000 today, but it makes me comfortable knowing that your team guides care about your welfare and safety,and won’t take unnecessary risks.
Best of luck tomorrow,rest well
Guapa
Posted by: marion and maya on 7/3/2013 at 10:22 pm
Hey Gail good to hear you guys are getting some exercise up there…I was beginning to worry you were getting lazy. Ha…kidding of course! Sounds like yesterday was a long one, but great to hear everyone is doing well and best of luck for a break in the weather. Happy early 4th of July, stay safe, have fun!! -Becky
Posted by: Becky on 7/3/2013 at 2:06 pm
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