Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Friday June 19th 11:11 pm PT
On Thursday, June 18th,
RMI Guide Jake Beren and his June 2nd
Mount McKinley Expedition reached the summit!!!
After our spectacular day on the roof of this continent, we have to come down. Waking to calm winds and warm(ish) temperatures, we packed up our high camp and bid our snow walls and tent platforms adios. Leaving 17K Camp we cruised the Buttress and made it down to 14K Camp where we dug up a cache and wished the ascending
RMI team bon voyage before heading to 11K camp to grab a few winks while the glacier sets up for our walk out to the runway.
Amazing how just last week we were camped here with a huge mountain ahead of us filled with so many unknowns. Now we are on the other side of the mountain, grateful for the exploration of an amazing place on planet earth.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
We packed up our gear, loaded up the van, and left Quito, heading north towards the town of Otavalo this morning. On tap was another acclimatization hike up the extinct volcano
Fuya Fuya. The hike started at Lake Mojanda, high up in the Andes. The trail wove through the high Andean grassland, with increasing steepness with every step. A short rock scramble culminated in a 14,000' summit with great views and not a breath of wind. A quick descent followed. We are now at our hacienda for the night, Casa Sol, where we are looking forward to a hot shower and a nourishing meal...I'm sure we won't be disappointed.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
The Four Day Summit Climb, led by Seth Waterfall and Ben Liken, reached the summit of
Mt. Rainier today. Seth reported a fair amount of wind and cool temperatures with clouds hanging around 9,000’. Both teams began their descent at 7:25 a.m.
Thursday June 18th 10:15 pm PT
Today was another early wake up, and then we broke camp and retraced our steps back up to
14K Camp. Everyone did great with the move, and the name of the game for the rest of the day was beating the heat around camp, moving in and mentally preparing for a much deserved day of rest tomorrow. The word on the street is blueberry pancakes could be involved.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
Thursday June 18th 9:30 pm PT
Hi everybody! Billy here checking in from
Kahiltna Basecamp on a gloriously sunny day. We enjoyed a big breakfast this morning in Talkeetna's Roadhouse and scooted over to the airport to confirm the fact that we'd indeed be flying first thing. A flurry of packing and final weigh-ins preceded the loading of the planes, a group photo, and a smooth departure. The great folks at K2 were really helpful and quickly delivered our team to Basecamp in two simultaneous otter flights. Next thing we knew we were on the ice and having come from summer it felt a bit abrupt but the sun was strong and kept us warm as we got accustomed to our new surroundings. We spent much of the day building our camp, organizing gear and supplies, and rigging sleds for tomorrow's departure up the hill. The team is psyched for a big adventure and ready to work hard.
All for now!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
We had a great climb today, with everyone climbing strong and reaching the summit of
Rucu Pichincha. At a height of nearly 15,700', many of our team set new personal altitude records today. We were working hard and breathing deeply in the thin air of Rucu, which rises abruptly out of the city of Quito. We accessed the upper ridge of Rucu via a gondola ride to over 13,000'.
The weather cooperated with us today, although on the summit the views were obscured by clouds. Lower on the climb we were afforded impressive views down into the Quito valley below.
We're psyched for a little down time this afternoon. We head up north tomorrow to climb Fuya Fuya. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Thursday June 18th 10:20 a.m.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent just called from Talkeetna. K2 Aviation is ready to fly the team onto
Mount McKinley! Once they are settled into their first camp, Billy will check in with us from the glacier.
Wednesday, June 17th
Our
Ecuador Seminar trip is officially under way. We met this morning for breakfast and group introductions, and then hit the ground running. First on our to-do list was head out to the Panecillo, a statue and view point overlooking Ecuador’s capital city, Quito. Surrounded by mountains and sitting at nearly 9,000’, the views were beautiful, including a glimpse at tomorrow’s objective, Volcano
Rucu Pichincha.
Next up, we toured the streets of colonial Quito. Here we got history lessons from our local guide and visited churches, the presidential palace, independence plaza, and more.
Finally we were off to the Equator to simultaneously place a foot in both the northern and southern hemisphere. At the Equator we visited an ethnographic museum and learned about the various cultures of this diverse country. We also saw some simulations explaining the Coriolis Effect and the significance of being at mitad del mundo …literally at the middle of the world.
The evening ended with a team dinner with traditional Ecuadorian food. One bold team member ordered the local delicacy, cuy, or guinea pig.
With day one in the books, we’re eagerly awaiting our first acclimatization hike tomorrow. We’re headed to the Volcano Rucu Pichincha, one of the major volcanoes forming a geographical boundary of Quito. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!
Ciao,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Our
Mount Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Walter Hailes and Pete Van Deventer, were just reaching the summit at 7:10 a.m. Walter reported winds of about 20mph, cool temperatures, and they were just below the clouds hanging right above the summit. Both teams began their descent at 8:15 a.m.
Elias deAndres Martos and the
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team checked in and were at 12,600’ working their way to the summit.
Wednesday June 17th 10:00 pm PT
We feel like we are finally on the
mountain. We woke up early and left camp around 4:30 to cache some gear at 14,000' Camp. Our attempt to beat the heat worked since we pulled into camp right when the direct sun hit. The rest of the day was spent resting and preparing for the move back up to 14 Camp tomorrow. The boys of el Siete feasted on quesaritos this evening, and are going to sleep with full bellies and full hearts thinking about you all.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
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So awesome that you all made it. We can’t wait to hear all the details and celebrate with you!
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Van Dusen on 6/24/2015 at 9:48 pm
Way to go everyone! Can’t wait to hear all about it Mere!
Sarah S
Posted by: Sarah S on 6/23/2015 at 9:46 am
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