Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Since our last update a lot has happened. As we speak the last of the group is filtering back to our respective starting points or wrapping up they're time in Bolivia with a bit of personal exploration! But before we get ahead of ourselves, there's great news to be shared.
The entire team stuck it out for a 6 and a 1/2 hr
ascent of Illimani! We were greeted with cold, clear climbing in perfect conditions up past 20,000 ft. Much of the climbing route faces west, so the morning sun was always tantalizingly close as we neared the glowing summit ridge. Our sunrise came as we finally broke off the west side and crested the ridge into the welcoming sun. With one last hour of breaking trail up the beautiful summit ridge the team could taste our hard work paying off. Before we knew it all three rope teams plopped down on the summit of Illimani to take a much needed food and water break and basque in our success.
The top of Illimani is a breathtaking ridge crest amongst the greater expanse of the Illimani Massif. From that point, the highest in the Cordierra Real, we could see all the way past La Paz and track our entire trip from the glimmering Lake Titicaca to the jagged peaks of the Condoriri and the huge perfect flanks of Huayna Potosi. Our team had a brief moment to relive the wonderful past couple weeks before the tight wind was nipping at our heels as we pushed off to begin our 8,000 ft decent back to Base Camp.
Our team's tired legs mustered one last push into camp and there we were! Happy, tired and feeling accomplished. I couldn't have asked for a better summit day and a better team to do it with!
At last we've got to give a big thanks to everyone who made this trip so successful. Thank you, thank you to everyone who helped us along the way and a special thanks to our amazing climbers who made this trip so special! Until next time over and out!!
RMI Guides
Eric Frank &
Caleb Ladue
We last gave a shout from 7,600’ at the base of Ski Hill on our descent. It was a long day, beginning with the sun hitting
17 Camp, where we packed up all of our belongings, and headed back down the West Buttress. Conditions couldn’t have been better, and before long we were shedding layers as quickly as we could as we walked into the heat of 14 Camp. An hour of repacking and grabbing more of our gear that we had cached there as well as visiting with
RMI Guide Tyler Jones’ team had us ready to move out again. By 11, the air felt thick and the temps were even warmer. RMI Guide Jake Beren and team had been nice enough to dig up our cache, so once more we repacked, adjusted our sleds, traded crampons for snowshoes, and kept beat footing our way down the mountain. We rolled into 7,600 at 10 pm, and though there was a lot of discussion of just continuing on to Base Camp, we decided to throw up the tents for a few hours. We were rewarded with spectacular light as the sun dipped behind the surrounding peaks, and it was a special last night on the glacier. By 4 am we were up and walking again. The few hours of sleep had added some spring to everyones’ step and we flew down glacier, reaching Base Camp in 2.5 hours. We parked next to the runway just as the sun hit. At 9 am on the dot, our good friends from K2 Aviation showed up in three Otters to pick up ourselves and Mike Walter’s team, and by 10 we were in flip-flops back in Talkeetna. Everyone enjoyed the ensuing leisurely day of sorting gear, showers, ice cream, coffee, a celebratory dinner, and a few hours in the classic Fairview Inn. Everyone has split now, finishing plane journey’s back home to loved ones.
Thanks so much to our team. They climbed in great style, were equal to the task when things got difficult, put up with a lot of tent time and waiting, and ultimately were able to power through a move to 17 and a summit day without having carried there. We summited an hour or so after Mike Walter’s group (the first guide service summit of the year), on the first viable summit day that had presented itself during our entire stint on the mountain. We were rewarded with incredibly clear views, warm temps, and an overall fantastic day. The views on the way out were pretty stunning as well. Thanks also to all of you for following along. Sore feet and legs are fading away but folks are already talking of their next climbs to come. We look forward to it!
Best,
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, and Jenny.
June 4, 2017
Excitement, nervousness and apprehension are some of the emotions running through the group right now as we try to relax and get some sleep before going for the summit in the morning.
The sky is clear, winds are light and it's warm right now as the sun is still shining at 9:30pm. The morning will be quite different though. Sub zero temps will make getting out of these tents hard at best.
No need for an alpine start here on
Denali. We'll rise around 7:00-7:30am since we really don't need to stop get back to camp early like on normal alpine climbs.
The crew is ready, and so are we!
Wish us luck.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT
On The Map
I just wanted to touch base with everyone that has followed our expedition. We flew off of the mountain yesterday, June 3rd, and we're working our way back to our normal lives.
We reached the summit on June 1, the first guide service of the season to step on
top of Denali! The weather could not have been better, and we took advantage of it by spending nearly an hour on top of the highest point in North America.
We endured lots of weather during our trip, but we endured and got it done. It was a super rewarding summit with dedicated climbers.
We're already planning our next trip!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The
Four Day Summit Climb June 2-5, 2017 led by
RMI Guides Ben Liken & Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team enjoyed pleasant temperatures and great views from the summit for over an hour. They began their descent from the crater rim around 7:40 am en route to Camp Muir. They will descend to Paradise this afternoon and we look forward to seeing them back at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
June 4, 2017
Today was our hardest day yet! The team did another outstanding job on our climb up to
High Camp at 17,200 ft. The crew also managed to return the favor to Brent's climb by bumping the last of their equipment and food from 16,600' as well as prep their arrival to high camp un-burying their caches from a few days ago. We had perfect weather and amazing views of the whole south side of the Alaska range. The descent was a bit of a traffic jam but all went well and the snow has begun as we arrived back to our tents in 14,000' Camp. Our plan for now is to rest and recover tomorrow. Then we will just wait for our summit opportunity! Fingers crossed for nice weather Tuesday and beyond!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
June 4, 2017
Anticipating a long hard day we woke the team and fired stoves at 5AM. After a hearty breakfast of toasted bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers the team quickly assembled for the climb. Skies were clear when we left camp and the temps quite cool, great for climbing! The plan for the day was to carry a cache of gear to 14k Camp to both lessen the burden of weight when we eventually move and to acclimate to a new altitude. We climb through several iconic features on the way including Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, The Polo Fields and finally Windy Corner. The team did great and were psyched to leave the sleds and snowshoes behind for crampons and an ice axe! Clouds started billowing in just as we reached 14k camp so we dug our cache spent a few moments to refuel, re-hydrate and breathe the new air at
14,000'.
The team is all now back at camp and doing great. Tomorrows agenda is unknown, a lot depends on the weather forecast. We may take a rest day or we may move camp up to 14k. You'll just have to tune in tomorrow to find out!
Thanks for following along everybody.
RMI Guide Steve Gately & Team
June 3, 2017
Today was yet again another sunny day. We woke up with the sun warming our tents. A rest day and sleeping in, not bad for a Saturday morning. Bagels and cream cheese with bacon filled us up for a round of napping, organizing our high camp equipment, and snacking of course. The mid afternoon heat was kept at bay with a bit of fog allowing us to train more technical skills that we will use to climb the fixed ropes on the
headwall for our cache tomorrow. We had a nice evening and are bedding down before another big day ahead.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones & Team
A day of rest was slated for today after our big day yesterday, and we took full advantage of it. Feasting on another breakfast of smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese, we chose to stretch the legs with a short walk to the
"Edge of the World", where you can look down into the NE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier some 6000' below, and also see our first camp at 7800'. That seems so long ago that we were there, maybe because it was.
It's been two weeks now that we've been climbing this mountain. And although it's time to 'get 'er done', spirits are pretty high. We're all excited to get into position at high camp, even though we know this means a much less comfortable existence that our digs here at 14,200' provide.
The forecast calls for an end to the high pressure we've been enjoying after tomorrow, but no real significant bad weather coming in either. I've certainly summited when the forecasts have been like this, but it would be nice to have a couple days like the past two. What I do know is that everyone is rested, strong and ready for what comes.
Wish us luck! We'll take all we can get. Talk to you from 17,200' camp.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides ElÃas de Andrés Martos and Solveig Waterfall topped out on Mt. Rainier early this morning with winds around 50-60 mph. As of 7:18AM, they were at 13,600’ on their descent. It was a very cold, windy climb for them.
Congratulations to today's team!
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Congrats for making it to the summit Rachel ! :) Pallavi.
Posted by: Pallavi Chahal on 6/8/2017 at 12:46 am
Congratulations Rachel Calvert, Pete and team! Have been following the blog and was so pleased to hear all made the summit safely and saw the beautiful Alaska range on a clear sunny day.
Rachel - will have to catch up with you and see your photos when you are back in Australia.
Renee Duvoisin (2015 summit team)
Posted by: Renee Duvoisin on 6/6/2017 at 4:18 pm
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