This morning we awoke to mostly clear skies, calm winds,and great climbing temps. Bagels and bacon filled our tanks for an early breakfast. We loaded our packs with our camp and started the 3,000 foot climb back to our cache at 14,000'. The team climbed in better style than ever, cutting 15 minutes off our previous time to the 14,000' Advanced Base Camp (ABC). The guides have some very tasty food in store for the next few meals as we rest, rehydrate, acclimate, and create tighter bonds with our new climbing partners.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Good breakfast good team and good guide, and your faith is an importand tool to get higher safely.
We are proud of you, go team go.
Thank you for the reports Tyler.God bless.
Posted by: voula likourgiotis on 6/7/2012 at 3:19 pm
Greetings from Talkeetna AK!
Our team made it in last night/early this morning with all gear accounted for and we enjoyed a good night's rest in Talkeetna. This morning it was business as usual, big breakfasts at the Roadhouse, a NPS orientation and a lot of sorting gear in the K2 hangar. Now we are checking tents, stoves and group gear before a big feast tonight. With any luck we will fly out tomorrow morning.
Til then,
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Ciao Eric, Thinking of you and praying for good weather and a safe trip. We are very proud of you and all the hard work it took to get you where you are today. Can’t wait to see you to share stories. Amore from Mom and Dad
Posted by: Tom and Kathy Schafer on 6/16/2012 at 11:15 pm
Wow- thats impressive progress. Also - potluck? I thought this was supposed to be hard! You should be relaying stories of extreme hardship and grit!
You guys are awesome.
All the best.
K - Uma came back Malaysia and we had a hurricane at home…till the home was in order and to her spec. :-)
No. I'm afraid there were no royal celebrations of summit success for us today as we began the morning getting up with guarded optimism that the clouds and wind above us would dissipate just enough to allow us to get in a summit bid. But that did not happen, and instead we retreated back to our tents after prolonging our time over breakfast in the Posh.
Unfortunately the clouds descended and eventually we were enveloped in wind and snow that just took some of the energy and motivation we needed to work on camp. So, instead we spent a restful morning in our tents, snug and warm from the elements just beyond the thin nylon fabric we rely so vitally on for our comfort and survival.
What do we actually do during these times while waiting for the weather to improve? Of course, reading, listening to music, playing games all come to mind, but simply catching up on sleep is huge. With winds buffeting our tents during the night, coupled with the excitement and anxiety that affects us all before a possible summit day, we can all use the downtime. In fact, it's the climber that deals with this forced inactivity well that tends to be the better climber. A capacity for patience is a hallmark of good expedition climbers.
But, I never thought that spending an entire day in the old fart sack helped you out much in terms of adjusting to the altitude, so when we got a nice break in the weather we went out and built the nicest bathroom on the mountain, walled and roofed, and ready for whatever the mountain throws at us. At least we'll take comfort knowing that, when that inevitable time comes, we'll be able to answer that call without sheets of wind blown snow covering our clothes and all too vulnerably exposed parts of our anatomy.
As for tomorrow, though the forecast calls for high winds what I'm seeing right now makes me think we have a chance. The winds have calmed and it's sunny and beautiful, with simply gorgeous views of the Alaska Range from our perch here just below the summit of the tallest peak in North America.
And now, some closing words from the poet laureate of the arctic, our own Lindsay Mann:
At 17 we stay
Wishing the wind away
Cutting blocks and sawing snow
People see out camp and say wow!
A ceiling for our bathroom was done
To give us privacy from everyone
Stories over dinner we share
cause team morale is still there
Hoping to get the summit
As soon as these winds plummet
But for now we sit tight
And wish for a beautiful night
Good night from Brent Okita, Leon and Lindsay
Please ensure this marvelous structure remains intact for the next two weeks. I hope to get the chance to witness such a fine piece of engineering with my own eyes.
Today we experienced superb climbing conditions as we bumped equipment and food to our cache at 14,000' camp.
We began with a steep climb out of 11,000' camp, up "Motorcycle Hill" and "Squirrel Hill" then enjoyed a mellow walk across a part of the route called the "Polo Field." We stopped just shy of the infamous "Windy Corner" at 13,200'. Guides and clients prepared to battle the harsh winds by dawning wind layers and face protection. We even made sure to have goggles readily accessible. When we rounded the corner however, we were greeted with only a light breeze. As a team we are constantly preparing for the worst and hoping for the best; the wind today turned out to be the best.
With our cache stocked, we headed downhill back to our camp. Despite some clouds, we were still greeted with a view of the Peters Glacier, the Direct West Buttress and Father and Son Wall. We were reminded how truly huge this place is, and satisfied to see that we are making steady progress. The entire crew had their strongest day yet.
We are currently back in camp hold up in our tents. It seems that in this place we are either working our tails off, or comatose and resting. Now we are the latter.
We look forward to seeing what kind of weather greets us tomorrow. We hope to move up to 14,000' at some point in the next few days if the group feels strong and weather permits. Well keep you posted. For now, it's back to food and rest.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Today we started the day off with an ascent of Muir Peak while practicing proper cramponing. We concluded with some safety skills with self and team arrest. The team is enjoying the views in the sunshine and it is slowly warming up. Next on the agenda is teaching rope travel and glacial travel principles.
JJ, Dan and Team
may the snow winds blow you safely home!!! we white light you all with huge love and kisses from your family in Belgium…..jasper wants you to kiss the moon for him!
Posted by: arielle croonenberghs on 6/7/2012 at 10:24 am
We are all praying for your summit and that the weather holds out for you..great photo op! love, The Patton’s
The June 3rd Expedition Skills Seminar Team safely reached Camp Muir yesterday afternoon. Here is a video from their ascent to Camp Muir. The team will spend the today training at Camp Muir.
We fared well on our first night at 17,200'. Any little headaches of the day before vanished come morning and everyone was in good spirits by the time I 'woke' them up at 10:30. Needless to say we didn't go for the summit this morning. It was somewhat windy and cloudy all day with snow falling occasionally. Just another day at 17,200' camp.
After rather prolonged brunch we got after building some respectable walls for our tents and Posh House. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to build a nice boudoir to house our CMC (clean mountain can). But, there's always tomorrow should we not get a chance for the summit.
The weather forecast is not promising for the next couple of days, but considering that they are as often wrong as right up here, that doesn't bother me. I'll be getting up in the cold morning hours regardless to see for myself.
Everyone is feeling good and doing well up here in this rather inhospitable world of cold and high elevation. And when it came time to crank out the block cutting and wall building this team went after it. That said, we all sure appreciated getting out of the gusty winds and snow when the time came to finish for the day. Lunch in the Posh and some horizontal time in the tents never felt better.
Finally, we all want to shout out a big Happy Birthday to Phil. Phil. we miss you dearly and wish you were up here with us, cutting blocks and eating dehydrated meals. Now tell me, can you beat that down there? I didn't think so.
Let's hope for a change in the weather. It doesn't seem quite so windy right now, so ...
Goodnight from 17,200'
RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Lindsay
Hey there, it's, Billy calling just wanted to give you guys an update and let you know where the crew is. After our summit day we descended from 17 down to the 14 camp and ended up spending the night there. Then got an early this morning and made the march all the way to base camp. Right now, everybody is sitting pretty at Kahiltna base. We have set up the tents. It is kind of socked in and cloudy so we are just hoping for planes at some point tomorrow morning. Forecast is kind of iffy so,we’ll see. We may be sitting here for a couple of days. But everyone is down safe and sound. So, will call and check in again one more time when we get back to town and off the mountain.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent checks in from Kahiltna Base Camp.
Gibert:
I want to congratulate you and your team on successfully summitting Mount McKinley. No matter what hemisphere you are adventuring ... you seem to make it all the way to the top. Congratulations! What’s next?!
Fred Klingbeil
Aconcaqua (January 2012)
Posted by: Fred Klingbeil on 6/6/2012 at 11:22 am
Hi- Bran and team..
U must have had been so thrilled when u reach the summit!! I know I was so thrilled and so was Dad, I think I txted and called everyone.. Now it time for u and the team to celebrate!!! Thanks Bill Nugent, u r a awesome Guide..
Love Mom & Dad
There is no better way to start a day than sleeping in. After some long days of climbing, we have earned it. This morning we slept late, had breakfast burritos and started the work day at a leisurely 11am. While 23.5 hours of sunlight a day is a bit disorienting at first, hard work has been a great sleeping aid for the team.
Our crew is getting stronger every day. After our leisurely morning, we completed a back carry from 10,000' with no problems. We now sit at our 11,000' home, hiding from the beating radiation and gorging ourselves on goodie bags of food we recovered from our cache this morning. This afternoon we plan to meticulously re-pack the kit for a cache at 14,000' camp. We look forward to caching and moving up in the next few days, if weather allows.
Thank you to all for your comments and words of encouragement.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Way to go everyone! Michael, I’m sure you are having the time of your life! Enjoy it and stay full! I will go run around my neighborhood while you climb!
Posted by: Scott on 6/6/2012 at 4:36 am
Thinking of you all. Team Snyder loves and misses you Rolf!
RMI Guide Andres Marin radioed from Camp Muir this morning. The Four Day Summit Climb teams were tucked safely in the bunks at Camp Muir after a windy night. The cold temperatures, new snow and wind prevented the groups from making a summit attempt this morning. At 8:30 a.m. they began their descent from Camp Muir to Paradise. They will return to Ashford in the early afternoon.
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“Go daddy go”, says Team Snyder back in Texas!
Posted by: Julie Snyder on 6/7/2012 at 6:04 pm
Good breakfast good team and good guide, and your faith is an importand tool to get higher safely.
We are proud of you, go team go.
Thank you for the reports Tyler.God bless.
Posted by: voula likourgiotis on 6/7/2012 at 3:19 pm
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