Entries from Expedition Dispatches
We are at high camp...17,000'! No more caches, carries, or moves. We are in position to go for the summit when the time is right. People finally started summitting yesterday after the weather no bueno that we had a few days ago. We are going to watch the weather and see what are gut tells us to do. We could go for it tomorrow if the weather is perfect AND we feel like it. We won't know until Elias and I wake up in the morning and rock, paper, scissors to see who has to stick our head out of the tent first. It tends to be a bit cold in the morning at 17,000' in Alaska.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
Hello, this is Dave Hahn checking in from 7,200' on Mt. McKinley.
Sure enough, we lucked out yesterday morning and flew onto the mountain first thing. By 10 AM, our K2 Aviation pilots, Randy and Tony, had the team unloading the big red ski-equipped Otters at 7200 ft on the Kahiltna Glacier. There was plenty to do for the duration of the day in establishing a camp and reviewing glacier travel techniques. We did take breaks from our labors in order to gaze up at the gargantuan flanks of the surrounding mountains. Denali itself even made a few appearances, shaking off low clouds from time to time and attempting to give us the big stare-down from long distance.
Our intention was to get to sleep early and to wake at 1 AM in the hopes of traveling through the heavily crevassed sections of the Kahiltna while the snow surface was frozen up solid. But due to low clouds rolling in, the surface never came close to freezing. In fact, throughout the night there were persistent rain and wet snow showers that convinced us to postpone our travel plans for a day. So today we are resting and casually sorting gear at basecamp. There is only one other team in base today, camped a few hundred feet away and presumably sharing our hopes for better weather tonight. We've got a mountain to climb.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Stay safe and warm. That mountain has no problem making you a permanent resident. Seem to be making good time though, I been in that area my self. Stunning!
Posted by: Chip Jackson on 6/30/2011 at 3:36 pm
The Four Day Summit Climb June 27th - 30th reached the summit of Mt. Rainer today. The teams were greeted with clear skies above 9500' and strong winds. RMI Guides Dan Windham and Tyler Jones and teams began their descent from the crater rim at 9:20am in route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams.
Hi, this is Mike Walter it’s 8 a.m. and we are standing on the top of Cotopaxi!
Beautiful day light breeze, great views of Antesana, Cayambe, Chimborazo, the Illinizas and all the mountains in Ecuador.
It's a beautiful day and I’ll give you a shout when we get back down.
See ya!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
RMI Guide Mike Walter checks in from the summit of Cotopaxi!
Way to go team ecuador! Shout out to Brian and Ian. Did Ian have to carry Brian’s pack again for him?
Posted by: dan on 6/30/2011 at 7:39 pm
Hello from Mt. McKinley.
We woke up early this morning to clear skies and no wind at 14k Camp. Elias and I got all dressed, left the tent, and took a look at the ridge at 17,000'. There were huge cloud plumes flowing over the ridge and spiraling into the sky; an obvious indicator of weather no bueno. Given the recent snows up high and the high winds, we decided to sit it out a day and give it a go tomorrow if weather cooperates. The forecast calls for improving weather trends, so we should be in position when it gets "nice". The weather did actually turn out to be pretty nice today, so no need to send Joe Horiskey any harassing emails!
We will check in again soon.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Thanks for all the blogs. Keep up the good work!! What a way to celebrate the 4th. Stay safe.
Posted by: Hickey family on 7/2/2011 at 2:38 pm
Elias, I was so sad to miss your call yesterday. Had the phone off for the Bravo concert. Hope you can try again before the plane leaves for Spain on Friday morning. Suerte con todo. Te echo de menos.
Posted by: Bridget on 6/30/2011 at 8:38 pm
Hello, this is Linden Mallory checking in from 11,000' on Mt. McKinley.
After five consecutive days of moving camps and loads up the mountain a break was very much in order and we decided to use today as a rest day here at 11 Camp. We savored sleeping in this morning, not emerging until the first rays of sun hit the tents. Much to our surprise after hearing more about a possible low pressure system in last night's forecast, today has been beautiful. The low hanging clouds of yesterday are nowhere to be found and just a few faint whisps can be seen hanging near mountain tops. We sat around the kitchen this morning exchanging war stories and washing down our breakfast burritos with steaming cups of coffee and tea.
We then took advantage of the nice weather to cover some more training and climbing techniques now that we are moving off of the lower glacier and onto the upper mountain - spending a few hours working with ropes and ice axes. It was a scorcher of a day (at least by Alaskan standards) with the sun beating mercilessly off of the fresh snow. Temperatures were well over 80F in the tents - nothing compared to Tuscon's 114F but very hot compared to the wind and snow we had previously. The rest of the afternoon was passed relaxing, napping in the tents, reading, and sorting gear in anticipation of our move to 14,200' camp ("14 Camp") tomorrow.
Kel and I used today to pull together a little surprise cheesecake for dessert tonight, celebrating not only the rest day but also Paul's birthday from a few days ago as well as Madhu's which is today. We had the chance to read all of the blog comments last night, thanks to everyone for their encouragement and support - the team enjoyed hearing from all of you back home. Everyone is doing well, spirits are high and we've all benefited from some down time today. We're hoping that this weather holds and are eager to move up to 14 Camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hey Willie, I was just going through some things and I realized I forgot to lend you the dutch oven. How did you make the cheesecake without it? Oh, well, I hope you find something else to carry your rocks. :)
Your climb sounds incredible. Best of luck to your whole team and keep the fantastic updates coming!
Posted by: Matt on 7/1/2011 at 7:35 am
Congratulations on 11,000 feet how awesome! I am learning so much reading your reports and they also give me much peace knowing you are all safe. As you celebrate your birthdays on the mountain we celebrate Erin’s 30th here at home and think about you Will.
Posted by: Toni Jones on 6/30/2011 at 5:26 pm
Hello, this is Mike Walter calling from the Cotopaxi hut on Wednesday afternoon. Everything is awesome up here. We are enjoying some soup this afternoon up here in the hut. The weather looks good, some clouds have rolled in this afternoon but the past few days have been beautiful and we are enjoying beautiful views.
We are getting set for an early dinner and we’ll go to bed early in preparation for our alpine start. So, we will plan to touch base with you tomorrow and will hopefully be calling you from the summit of Cotopaxi if all goes well.
Everyone is doing well and we’ll talk to you soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The Mt. McKinley Custom Expedition led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Geoff Schellens, Lindsay Mann and Zeb Blais were loading the planes at K2 Aviation en route to the Kahiltna Glacier at 9 a.m. Alaska time.
We wish the team a safe and successful expedition on Mt. McKinley!
Spencer, I take it by your grin your having a blast!! Stay safe Warrior. Respect the mountain. Enjoying the blogs.
Posted by: Wesley Smithee on 6/30/2011 at 4:06 pm
What a wonderfully happy group. I am so excited for all of you. Praying for your safety, great weather and kindness from the mountain. Always in my heart Wayne, love Dinah
Posted by: Dinah Rogers on 6/29/2011 at 2:12 pm
The Four Day Summit Climb June 26 - 29th led by Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported clear skies and 25 mph winds on the summit.
Gabriel Barral and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons also made the summit of Mt. Rainier today. They will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Our climb has had a flawless beginning thus far. True, we haven't actually hoisted a pack, walked uphill or even set foot on a glacier yet, but that will all come soon enough.
First things first... yesterday the climbing team came together down in Anchorage and shuttled on up to Talkeetna. Today was actually jam-packed with orienting provisioning and preparing for our climb. If all goes well, we hope that K2 Aviation will be able to fly us on to the Kahiltna Glacier tomorrow morning. It seems the weather has been a little sloppy of late, although it did break long enough today for planes to get in and out of Kahiltna Basecamp a few times, retrieving the RMI team led by Jake Beren. It was great to chat with his guides and climbers as to current conditions on the hill. Combined with the briefing we received from the National Park Service this morning and what we've gathered from other acquaintances in the streets and eateries of Talkeetna throughout the day, we are feeling quite knowledgeable as to what we may find. Next step is to go and see for ourselves. We had a fine dinner at the busy West Rib Pub before retiring -with fingers crossed for easy flying conditions- to our comfy beds in the Talkeetna Motel.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Good luck, Elias! See you on Rainier soon!
Rob and Matthew
Posted by: Rob Gilbert on 7/6/2011 at 1:47 pm
We made it ti your house, Mike. All is well. Good luck on the summit. Love, Dad
Posted by: Papa John on 7/2/2011 at 7:50 am
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