Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climbs, led by Mike Walter and Walter Hailes, turned around at 12,000 feet due to high winds, low visibility, and snow. The teams began their descent from Camp Muir at 8:45 a.m. We look forward to greeting them in Ashford this afternoon.
June 23, 2016 - 10:07 P.M. PDT
At 3 A.M. Mount Foraker was bathed in streaks of pink light and not a breath of wind moved through 11 Camp as we packed our packs to move up the mountain. We climbed efficiently up Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill, around a not so Windy Corner, and pulled into
14 Camp just as the heat of the day began. We found an empty fortress of expertly chopped snow blocks and after a few hours of renovation, moved into our new home. Our whole team
ate and hydrated like champions. In high spirits we're snuggling up for the night under benign skies. Tomorrow will be a rest day - haircuts, Game of Thrones, Uno, and lots of sunscreen await us.
Love from El Siete
On The Map
June 23, 2016 - 9:39 P.M. PDT
First day in our new home...The Alaska Range. We enjoyed a final night in Talkeetna and another great breakfast at the Roadhouse, but then we hustled out to the airstrip. There was no "hurry up and wait" today, more like just plain hurry up. The weather was good and the pilots were ready to go. Stan and Randy each piloted a big and beautiful Otter on skis into the
Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and spit us and our gear out onto the snow...all before 10 A.M. We spent a calm day building camp and reviewing glacier travel techniques. We'd take breaks from time to time to sip water and stare at the giant mountain walls surrounding us. Cloud cover moved in to obscure those walls by our early bedtime. Our intention is to be up at midnight for an alpine start. During the flight in, we could see that the rumors have been spot on. The lower glacier is in excellent condition with very few open crevasses. Even so, we'll go at it early when the surface has the best chance for being frozen solid.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
June 22, 2016 - 2:33 pm PT
Hey gang,
Here's a soggy hello from just south of the Canadian border.
Caleb and I are sitting in a coffeeshop in Bellingham pouring over radar maps and weather forecasts, while our boots dry in the parking lot.
Yesterday we were suppose to have climbed
Mt. Buckner, but both the weather and route conditions shut that down. On Monday we made it to one of our potential camp locations after eight hours of climbing only to find that it was buried in snow. We had to dig for 20 minutes to make snow platforms for our tents. It started raining later in the night and by the time we woke up at 3am to launch, everything was rimed over with several inches of ice. Because the first hour of the climb requires scrambling on six-inch rock ledges and the use of bare hands, we knew it wasn't an option.
After checking the weather every 20-30 minutes until 8am, we gave up and went back to bed. The wind continued to blow and spit light precip. Around 10am, there was a clearing and we decided to capitalize on the opportunity by making a quick trip to the summit of nearby
Sahale. From the top, we had incredible views of our camp and the surrounding peaks before the clouds obscured them again.
In the early afternoon we packed up camp and started the trek downhill. As a group we decided to focus our efforts of the next objective,
Mt. Shuksan, and take a full rest day in Bellingham to dry our gear and prepare.
Wish us luck and a drier next few days.
RMI Guides
Eric Frank and
Caleb Ladue
June 22, 2016 - 9:29 pm PT
We took advantage of beautiful weather and moved some supplies up to the camp at 14,000 feet. We left camp around 4:30 a.m. so we could take advantage of firm snow and cool traveling conditions. Although we are on a cold mountain, the solar radiation can be stifling later in the day. Our 3,000-foot climb up to 14k took us up several big hills with names like
Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, and Windy Corner. Once we got to 14k, we dug a giant hole and then buried our super cold weather gear, food, and some fuel under 1.5 meters of snow. The team did an amazing job all day and we were back in camp in around nine hours round-trip.
The plan for tomorrow is to take advantage of the good forecast and move our camp up to 14k where we will be knocking on the door of the upper mountain.
That's all for now! We'll be in touch from 14 camp.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
Our timing with the weather was perfect today - as I write this, there's a high intensity hail storm making a lot of clatter on the metal roof of our hut. This morning was beautiful. We ascended up to 15,500', a little beyond Pastukhova Rocks, building on our acclimatization. We were treated to some very nice turns on our 3,000' descent back to the huts, and we got a few jealous looks from climbers walking down on foot. Another great day on
Mt. Elbrus. Tomorrow is focused on rest, and the next day we'll see if we can ski from the top!
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
The Mt. Rainier
Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by
RMI Guide JJ Justman was unable to make a summit attempt this morning. The team remained at Camp Schurman due to wet weather (rain and snow mix) and low visibility. When JJ called to check-in with the RMI Office this morning the weather had improved a little and the team was going to spend the day training around Camp Schurman. The team will spend tonight on the mountain before descending and returning to Ashford tomorrow.
The American Lung Association's Climb for Clean Air led by RMI Guide
Win Whittaker and the Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide
Mike Uchal were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams decided to call 12,500 ft. their high point today due to high winds and low visibility. The teams descended back to Camp Muir for some extra rest. Later this morning the teams will pack up and make their descent back to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them back in Ashford later today.
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team has arrived at Camp Schurman. We are going to get settled in, get hydrated and prepare for summit day tomorrow!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Greetings from
Mt. Elbrus!
We're nicely settled into our rustic huts here at around 12,600'. This morning we did the gondola shuffle - loading all of our duffle bags and skis onto a moving gondola, and then unloading all of that stuff from a moving gondola...multiplied by three gondolas! We were pros by the last one. This afternoon we went out for an acclimatization ski tour and reviewed some of the skills we'll need for our summit attempt. It's great to be here on the mountain!
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
On The Map
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
Great job team! I’m sorry the weather didn’t work out in your favor. Nonetheless, I’m proud of you all (especially The Amazing Brian Baron and The Outstanding Parker Freedman
Posted by: Piper on 6/24/2016 at 10:39 am
View All Comments