Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, May 31, 2021 - 4:55 pm PT
After going to bed last night there was an earthquake that shook camp and caused some ice to fall waking up the guides and a few in the group. The others were too deep in sleep from our exhaustive day of trail breaking. Today we got a casual start with a big bacon and cream cheese bagel breakfast. Around 10:30 we headed down to our 9,500’ cache and by 11:30 we had started back up hill in the sunny weather and thin clouds that can feel like your being microwaved. The team did well and are all back in their tents enjoying some down time and their luxurious accommodations. Hard saying what will happen tomorrow cause there is stormy weather in the forecast. We will shoot for a carry of food and fuel around Windy Corner. Thanks for following along.
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 348'
Monday, May 31, 2021 - 11:17 am PT
I’m writing this from the Swiss Alaska Inn in Talkeetna. We flew out from Kahiltna Basecamp yesterday evening, after breaking down our camp and breaking trail back to the airstrip. Now we’re eating pancakes and eggs in the big city, re-adjusting to indoors life. We’ve got a few things to do around town before we catch our afternoon shuttle to Anchorage. It was a great trip all around. Everyone is a little sunburned, but otherwise no worse for the wear. Thanks for following along, and thanks to all the climbers who made this trip a memorable one.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Sunday, May 30, 2021 - 9:45 pm PT
The weather trend is finally improving for us! Today was a relatively pleasant day at 14,000' Camp. The ridgeline above was showing some wind this morning but that diminished through the day. Rather than jump up there and get cold, chilly, and tire ourselves out doing a small cache, we opted to stay in camp, organize, and prep to move to 17,000' Camp tomorrow. That didn't seem to stop most of camp from taking a run at it, which only reinforced our decision. We'll look to get up early tomorrow, be early out of camp, and be settled in to 17,000' comfortably so that we're ready to summit the following day. The pace of things will accelerate now and everybody is excited!
RMI Guides Pete, Matias, Chase, and team
Pulling hard for you Big Marc!! You got this!
Sending love and warmth from your fans in Seattle! Looking forward to cheersing your success with an ice cold rainier
Posted by: Patrick Smyton on 5/31/2021 at 10:31 pm
It is about six pm Pacific and I’m hoping you are all so snug at 17,000’ tonight. Wishing you all safe climbing and clear skies. Go, team, go!!
Posted by: Bethany on 5/31/2021 at 6:07 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Sunday, May 30, 2021 - 9:36 pm PT
I woke to the sound of song birds chirping by our dining tent. That could only mean one thing, that the storm had broken and we’d likely get a nice day to move camp. We woke up at 5 am and we were walking by 8 am. The storm had put 18” of new snow down. Since there were no early risers to break trail, we took that on ourselves. The day was hot and included lots of deep snow. We pulled into 11,200’ Camp at 4 pm. Camp setup, dinner and bed was all the bandwidth we had. Tomorrow we will back carry to 9500’ to retrieve our cache of food and fuel. It’ll feel like a rest day compared the effort put forth today. Goodnight.
Awesome stuff Rob and team! All the best!!
Posted by: Andrew, Alex, Oscar and Anabelle on 5/31/2021 at 10:49 pm
Way to go Abby and team!
Posted by: Mark Westling on 5/31/2021 at 10:09 pm
Posted by: Christina Dale, Joe Hoch, Dustin Wittmier, Dominic Cifelli, Erika Birkeland, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb May 28 - 31th led by RMI Guides Christina Dale and Joe Hoch led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. It's a beautiful day on the mountain and Joe reported the route was in good shape and would likely be improving with the warm temperatures and stable weather expected. The teams enjoyed about an hour in the crater and began their descent from the crater rim just before 8 am today. The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Yeahhhhh Aunt Sam and Matt!!!! We are cheering you on the whole way, and can’t wait to hear your summit story!! Baggin’ peaks and being awesome. ❤️❤️❤️
Posted by: Ellis Bond on 5/31/2021 at 2:54 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Avery Parrinello, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Sunday, May 30, 2021 - 4:34 pm PT
The storm finally blew itself out last night at 14k, and we woke to a light breeze and partly cloudy skies. Winds persisted up high and, after an early breakfast, we decided to pump the breaks on moving camp today. The next few days look good in terms of wind, so we’re gunning to move to High Camp tomorrow and hopefully having a shot at the summit.
Over 100 climbers moved or carried up the fixed lines today, making for a heinous traffic jam that we wanted no part of; this is the first big push of the season, as many teams have stacked up waiting for a weather window. If the weather cooperates we plan to get an early (and cold) start tomorrow, with hopes of getting to 17,200’, building camp, and having enough time to recover for a potential summit bid the next day. The weather and the mountain are in control here, though, and we’ll adjust to whatever is thrown our way. We’ll be in touch tomorrow.
We are all hoping for the window to open for you guys. Up-up to the top!! Good Climbing Y’all. Vt. Is thinking of you. N. & P.
Posted by: Sandy on 6/1/2021 at 4:54 am
Fantastic news to hear that the weather has cleared! We’re hoping for continued good spirits, clear skies and a smooth route to the top. Good luck from Vermont! Stay safe y’all.
Posted by: Tracy Wilhelm on 5/31/2021 at 4:31 pm
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 11:35 pm PT
Sleeping in was mandatory this morning as we waited for the sun to hit camp. Rest was the name of the game today as a storm laid siege on the mountain. Wind battered the tents with occasional snow as we all practiced the art of not getting bored. We had a delicious and grand dinner which devolved into (surprisingly well informed) debates on which Disney characters were best. The weather will hopefully improve tomorrow and we’ll be able to get up and stretch our legs.
Such an exciting adventure. Go NORM! Looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing your stories. Stay safe, my cousin. :)
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Leslie on 6/1/2021 at 4:40 pm
Ptaying you all up and down and sunny no storms, sure-footedness. Love to Norm, from Uncle Kaz too
Posted by: Old aunt Karen on 6/1/2021 at 9:10 am
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
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Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 10:52 pm PT
The wind died down for us last night, but in its place the snow ramped up. Our hope was to try to climb one of the peaks surrounding camp, but lack of visibility and new snow avalanche concerns kept us away from big steep slopes. Instead, we opted for plan B, which was to head east out of camp and do some ice climbing on an exposed part of the main Kahiltna Glacier. It turned out to be a great venue.
Twenty minutes of walking out our front doors put us on top of a few different 60-80 foot climbs. We lowered in from the top and climbed back out. Everyone got a handful of laps in. We even put up one notable first ascent which earned the name, I Just Need a Minute to Rest(MFA), AI4, 60 feet. Due to the long approach and shifting nature of the glacier, we do not expect this route to become a classic. That’s a real shame, because it got five stars in our book. We wrapped up the day with a bunch of macaroni and cheese with bacon, and some surprisingly deep and affirming kitchen tent talks. The only way this day could have possibly been better is if we could have seen a single thing all day, but living in a whiteout is part of being in the Alaska Range.
Tonight looks to be another snowy one, so we’ll see what we can get done tomorrow. At some point we’ll need to start working our way back towards base camp. As always, everyone sends their best and we’ll check in tomorrow.
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 10:25 pm PT
The weather that was forecast to show up, came in the late morning. Everyone enjoyed quality tent time with movies, cards, and even some song writing. Stay tuned for the artists debut. We see improving weather conditions in the forecast, and are hoping to make some moves in the coming days.
RMI Guides Matias, Chase, Pete, and team
Praying for better weather to continue your journey. Praying for you, Luke and all of the team!
Posted by: Rae Wilson on 5/30/2021 at 7:19 pm
I have been following the blog everyday with growing excitement when you have a climbing day. Sounds like everything is going good. Be safe. Mom
Posted by: Becky smith on 5/30/2021 at 1:17 pm
Posted by: Andy Bond, Alan Davis, Ben Liken, Cal Smith, Liam Weed, Leif Bergstrom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,800'
The Four Day Climb May 27 - 30 led by RMI Guides Andy Bond and Alan Davis reported pockets of wind slabs on the steeper portions of the route which forced the teams to turn around at 12,800’. They enjoyed a spectacular sunrise with great views as they descended to Camp Muir.
Photo: Andy Bond
Climb on Tom!!! I am with you in spirit!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/2/2021 at 3:35 am
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