Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Mt. McKinley: Jake Beren & Team - Expedition Ends

June 24, 2012

Posted by: Jake Beren, Elias de Andres Martos

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 348'

A few hours ago we were sitting on the glacier, Heartbreak Hill already a fading memory. Now we are back in Talkeetna, showered and fed and reconnecting with life off of the mountain. Our final day's walk was truly magnificent, with the light of the solstice in full effect as we marched downhill into thicker and thicker air, gaining strength as we went despite the accumulation of many days of work and little sleep. Waiting a few hours for a flight in the warm sun in the stillness of the Southeast Fork took the title as my best airport experience ever. Once again we are all happy and healthy, glad to return to everyone back home safely and with an excellent time with friends on The Great One. RMI Guide Jake Beren

Mt. Rainier: June 24th Update

June 24, 2012

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,500'

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Jason Thompson was forced to turn around this morning due to deteriorating weather conditions. The teams reached a height of 10,500’ before making the decision to turn back. The team is expected to arrive back at Ashford Base Camp by early afternoon for hot coffee and a slide show presentation about RMI’s Alaska Seminar. There is an open invitation for the slide show if you happen to be in town!

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Cache Above the Fixed Lines

June 24, 2012

Posted by: Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

We're all in our sleeping bags after a good day of climbing. We carried a cache of supplies to 16,800', just below Washburn's Thumb. Everyone did well on their first foray up the fixed lines, and then further climbing up the ridge of the West Buttress. We will be taking a rest day tomorrow, and hopefully be heading up to high camp soon thereafter. A weak weather system looks to be approaching for the next few days, which is fine with us; we'll be resting, acclimating, and getting strong for the (hopefully) good weather to follow. We are in position now, and ready to head up to higher ground whenever the weather allows. We will be in touch again tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Lee - So excited to hear news of your trek. Keep your socks dry. Looking forward to hearing about it all when you return. Cant wait to see the pictures. You are remembering to take pictures right? Mary Lee & C

Posted by: Mary Lee on 6/25/2012 at 8:21 pm

Lee, In support of your efforts I will go climb Dike East this week.

Posted by: Kelly on 6/25/2012 at 10:41 am

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McKinley Expedition: Knoff & Team Carry to 11,000’

June 23, 2012

Posted by: Adam Knoff

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,800'

It is apparent the two previous days of hauling full loads weighing more than a small horse has already made our team stronger. Yesterday we all felt a bit nackered but ten solid hours of sleep was most revitalizing. This morning the alarm went off at 6:00 am and we woke to clear skies and cold temps. The ever constant roar of our stoves means coffee is close providing the needed impetus to crawl out of warm bags and into cold boots. We then made a smooth carry to 11,000 feet, the sight of our next camp. With a full afternoon to rest, the team is now learning the invaluable skill of killing time. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Nelson, Kyle and Jacob are at 14,200. Wishing you and your team every success. See you on the way down!! NOLS WADDINGTON 2011.

Posted by: Glenn on 6/25/2012 at 8:10 pm

NELS!!! Miss you.. You better be writing down everything. Stay safe!
EB
PS You win this one.

Posted by: Erica on 6/25/2012 at 5:36 pm

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Mt. Rainier: June 23rd Update

June 23, 2012

Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Paul Maier

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 12,500'

The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides Paul Maier and Geoff Schellens were forced to turn around this morning due to deteriorating weather conditions. The teams reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver at 12,500' before making the decision to turn back. We look forward to seeing them back at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Visit the Edge of the World

June 23, 2012

Posted by: Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

Hello again from 14,200' on Denali! The weather was beautiful today, and we enjoyed it by taking a nice short hike out to the Edge of The World, a spectacular viewpoint near our camp. Then we reviewed and practiced fixed line travel with our ascenders. The rest of the day was spent lounging around, eating, napping, listening to music, and telling lies. We enjoyed a hearty dinner of black bean and chicken quesadillas, and now we're all getting horizontal and settling in for the night. We are planning to carry some supplies up high tomorrow, in preparation for moving up to high camp later in the week for our summit bid. Everyone is doing quite well adjusting to the 14,200' altitude of our camp, and I expect that we will all do well climbing higher tomorrow. Of course we have the luxury of returning to our comfortable camp at 14k tomorrow night for a good night's sleep. That's all for now. We'll be in touch again tomorrow night after our carry. Thanks for all the great comments on the blog. Keep them coming! RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hey everyone, hope your still killing it up there and telling some good jokes (hopefully not canadian related). You guys are the best and I can’t wait to hear about the trip, I miss you all alot!

O, before I forget… lee here is an intro to the north-dakota jokes i’ve come across.. many more to come.

Q: Why did North Dakota raise the minimum drinking age to 25?
A: They wanted to keep alcohol out of the high schools!

Q: How do you know the toothbrush was invented in North Dakota?
A: If it was invented anywhere else, it would have been called a teethbrush.

Take tons of pictures for me on the summit!
Lots of love from Calgary,
Sasha

Posted by: sasha selby on 6/23/2012 at 11:57 pm

Great post and update! Good job everyone….Guides included. We would not get very far without our awesome mountain guides! I am not paid to say that by the way. :)

Posted by: Mark on 6/23/2012 at 10:15 pm

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Ecuador: Billy Nugent & Team Acclimate in Ecuador

June 22, 2012

Posted by: Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 14,000'

Another casual morning... We ate some breakfast, checked out of the Mercure (our hotel) around 8 am or so, loaded up the van and Jaime's truck, then hit the road. Heading north on the PanAmerican Highway, we left Quito and passed through the town of Otavalo, famous for it's large open air market. Eventually we turned off the highway and headed up into the countryside on our approach to Cerro Fuya Fuya. After many kilometers of driving on a cobblestone road up into the mountains we reached Laguna Mojanda and the base of Fuya Fuya. The lake is actually a giant caldera filled with water (think Crater Lake in OR) and made for a great backdrop to our second training hike. A couple hours of hiking and scrambling brought us to the summit at well over 14,000'. We enjoyed clear and sweeping views from la cumbre of the two valleys below in addition to the big Laguna. After a quick break on top we beat feet for the cars to try and out pace some menacing clouds. Everyone was feeling great. After another short trip in the van we arrived at the beautiful Hosteria San Luis. Talk about traveling in style, there are beautiful gardens, stables, classic colonial architecture, a pool, and a pond. The gang is settling in and enjoying the last bit of luxury before heading up to the climber's refugio on Cayambe. I'll call and check in tomorrow night from the refugio, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Mt. McKinley: Knoff & Team March Up Ski Hill

June 22, 2012

Posted by: Adam Knoff, Mike Uchal, Zeb Blais

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,800'

Hello to all from the June 19 Denali expedition. If the saying "make hay while the sun shines" applies to mountaineering, this team could feed a lot of cows. I am thrilled with our team dynamic and progress. Yesterday we ate breakfast, got ready and were blessed with clear conditions at base camp. K2 Aviation worked hard to get us all on the glacier which allowed us to pack up and move out. We arrived at the base of Ski Hill by dinner. Today we woke to perfect weather and the team again showed great enthusiasm to get moving. By 6:45 a.m. we were marching up Ski Hill with full loads. We arrived at 9,800 feet by 11:30 and are now enjoying a steamy afternoon sun bathing. Stay tuned for tomorrow's next episode. This is Adam Knoff signing off.

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Tim you are half way there. I am sure you are thinking this is no problemo. Keep the calories up to keep the fire burning. Skip

Posted by: Skip on 6/24/2012 at 10:57 am

You’re a long way from Oklahoma buddy! Diane and all the turkeys miss you. Ate one last night!

Posted by: Fanta on 6/23/2012 at 3:02 pm

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Mt. Rainier: June 22nd Summit!

June 22, 2012

Posted by: Brent Okita, Tyler Reid

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: Summit

RMI Guides Brent Okita, Tyler Reid and our Four Day Summit Climb team reached the top of Mt. Rainier today. The teams climbed in the clouds and have started there descent back to Camp Muir. Congratulations!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Sally…congratulations on an incredible achievement! We love you! (Still waiting for the Skype call from the summit…next time, right? Haha!)

Posted by: The Schroeders on 6/24/2012 at 7:50 am

Sally, you made it! God has blessed you so much, He had to bless you this time too. You and your team are an inspiration to us all. Love, your Brother Dan

Posted by: Dan on 6/23/2012 at 12:32 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Beren & Team on Descent

June 22, 2012

Posted by: Jake Beren, Elias de Andres Martos

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

Hello everybody this is Jake and crew at the start of the Kahiltna Glacier at 11,000’. Today we descended from 17,000’ down to 11,000’ where we are making a camp for a few hours before trying to walk on the lower Kahiltna while it’s still frozen in the early morning. With any luck we will be at the runway in time to catch a flight back to Talkeetna. We hope everyone is doing very well there and trust that we are doing well here. With what may be our last night on the mountain. Hopefully, I didn’t jinx us and that we will be heading home soon. So see you all then. RMI Guide Jake Beren

RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from 11,000 ft on their descent.

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hi Ross, I spoke with Dave and Loretta - they say congratulations on the summit. Next stop Nepal?

Posted by: Carla Bustos on 6/22/2012 at 12:55 pm

Fingers still crossed…
Crispi, alles Liebe auf den letzten Metern, Küsschen, Tropf

Posted by: Susann on 6/22/2012 at 12:44 pm

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Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Mt. McKinley: Jake Beren & Team - Expedition Ends

Mt. Rainier: June 24th Update

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Cache Above the Fixed Lines

On The Map

McKinley Expedition: Knoff & Team Carry to 11,000’

Mt. Rainier: June 23rd Update

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Visit the Edge of the World

On The Map

Ecuador: Billy Nugent & Team Acclimate in Ecuador

Mt. McKinley: Knoff & Team March Up Ski Hill

On The Map

Mt. Rainier: June 22nd Summit!

Mt. McKinley: Beren & Team on Descent

On The Map

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