Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 - 4:43 PM PT
We were all set to climb to 17,000' Camp this morning but Denali had other plans for us. By 8 am this morning we could see strong winds blowing across our climbing route on the Buttress. We decided to put the move on hold until the winds slowed. Luckily, Mike Walter's team at 17 Camp provided hourly updates on the weather situation and we eventually decided that the weather was too severe to climb into today.
Not all was lost though, we took some time to remodel our mountain kitchen and built a new outhouse. Obviously important facilities when waiting out bad weather.
We will wake again tomorrow planning to move and see what the weather allows.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
The Alaska Range draws hundreds of climbers every year. Guarded by Foraker, a seldom climbed 17K ft peak, and by Mt. Hunter, the most difficult 14er in North America, Denali, "The Big One", is without a doubt (and for well-deserved reasons,) the main climbing goal of intrepid mountaineers from all over the globe. Dozens of other smaller, but no less beautiful peaks, are overseen by most of those whose dreams of the altitude are set on reaching the roof of the North America continent. Right at the start of their journey, across from the landing at the South East Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, lies Mount Frances, a satellite at the very terminus of Denali's South Buttress.
This year, climber Brian Phillips, came with his mind set on
Alpine Climbing in the Range; a good plan to tackle fun, full body climbing involving the implementation of the techniques practiced over the year of ice, snow and rock climbing. With our current conditions and weather forecast last week, we decided to put our eyes on the South West Ridge of Frances. An objective that can be done in a long full day of climbing. After all, we had one week to climb (another of the beautiful things of
Alpine Climbing in Alaska, is that one doesn't need to plan for an entire month, and 7-10 days allow for a great deal of fun!!!)
Upon landing on the glacier, we started our decked-out camp. When you know you're constructing your home for a full week, it better be good! Beyond fortified walls around our flattened tent platforms, making a decent kitchen, with snow benches to sit, eat and socialize on is key. A good two hours of digging, and our crafted living space was ready to be enjoyed. We didn't get too comfortable that very first night, as the forecast, unlike what the predictions said, was too good to let go, and after early bed, we woke ready for action.
The SW Ridge of Frances is a moderate route that involves steep snow climbing, only separated by pitches of fine, moderate rock climbing. While none of the steps are very difficult, it is very sustained, and for hours on end you are always "game on" mode. An early start granted frozen snow to move on on the lower part of the mountain, which made us gain progress fast. Soon enough we'd be climbing rocks, and without realizing, the alternation of both terrains, was the constant for the day. Plotting along, the early evening would come, and high on the route, we could keep an eye at the Denali Base Camp, and the many climbers that eventually circumnavigated us, at ground level, totally unaware other human beings were up there. We tackled the last rock pitches as the sun wanted to dip behind the horizon, but in the "Land of Midnight Sun" it never would. We continued the progress now towards the summit, on the frozen ridge that connects the false one to the true one, tip toeing around cornices, a couple crevasses and long ice cliffs beneath us. It was dinner time when we got to the top, and even though we knew that descending the East Ridge was a mere two hours back to the comfort of our Base Camp, we stuck to the plan of bivouac on top. How special could it be to see the alpenglow of both sunset and sunrise over Hunter, Foraker and
Denali? It was almost cloudless, and we had carried a small bivi tent, sleeping bags and a stove anyways. So we stayed. Tired but accomplished and cold but warm inside, the night blended with the day, and sooner than we noticed, the bright sun was again over us and now, time to head back down before the snow softened further. The East Ridge, our descent route, had been climbed several times the previous week, even a ski descent, so with a good track, we were back at our camp in a mere two hours. We had gone up and down, in style, fully climbing up a peak and we were proud of it!
Alpine Climbing in Alaska at its best.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Wednesday, June 7, 2018 - 10:59 am PT
Nothing is easy about
Denali. After two hard days of climbing and finally reaching the summit yesterday, we are currently hunkered down in our tents, avoiding the wind and spindrift that the mountain is throwing at us this morning. It is currently too cold and windy to safely pack up and climb down the exposed West Buttress. So we're on standby, chilling out in our tents waiting for the wind to abate. Hopefully we'll be able to bump camp down to lower altitude and warmer temps soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Tuesday, June 6, 2018 - 10:50 pm PT
Despite a less than ideal weather forecast, we awoke to clear skies and no winds. We fired up the stoves and woke our team. Muscles were weary after climbing for seven hours yesterday, but we couldn't pass up this opportunity.
The weather stayed good all day and the route was in great shape. It was a hard day of climbing but we got to stand on the
top of North America! We were ten hours round trip (high camp-summit-high camp). And now that we've eaten dinner and crawled in our tents, the temperature has plummeted, winds have increased, and snow is falling. Timing couldn't have been better.
We will start our descent tomorrow...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Hello there. It's Eric Frank calling in from Bolivia. It's about 1:30 in the afternoon (BOT Time) and I'm at 17,400ft here on
Illimani. Unfortunately, we decided this will be our high point for the climb. It's a combination of recent storm snow, and the forecast, which has made us decide to head down hill. So at this point we're going to move back to our base camp and spend our last night in the mountains. Tomorrow we will pack up, head back to La Paz, and in two short days, be back at the airport. We look forward to seeing all of you soon. Bye.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 - 10:46 PM PT
So there we were, standing in our cook tent on
Mount Denali. This morning was a beautiful morning, and it really doesn't get much better here in Alaska, but tomorrow's forecast had been showing elevated winds for some time. With that stability of forecast, it didn't look like a summit day tomorrow, so we decided to drag our feet at 14,000' for one more day. It was a beautiful rest day, well enjoyed by the whole team. The cook tent was humming this evening with the energy of expectation of a move to 17,000 ft Camp tomorrow. We are all excited and ready, and can't wait to give high fives to RMI's Denali Team led by Mike Walter as we pass them on Denali's West Buttress.
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Taylor, and team
On The Map
RMI Guide Brent Okita radioed at 6:52 am PT as the Four Day Summit Climb teams were approaching the crater rim. Brent reported chilly temps and light winds. They will enjoy some time on the summit before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 - 5:35 PM PT
The team enjoyed an excellent rest at 14,000 ft. today. We started the day with breakfast burritos. These weren't just any breakfast burritos. These burritos were so expertly prepared that they earned the coveted Alden Mills "Best Breakfast of the Trip" endorsement. After breakfast, we lounged, drank second and third rounds of coffee, and planned out the rest of our day. The planning was not very hard, since we really didn't have much to do. We took a walk out to a feature appropriately name the Edge of the World, and gazed 6,000 ft down into the NE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. On the walk back to camp, the team practiced some rope skills that will greatly enhance our efficiency on summit day. After the hard work was done we ate as much cheese, sausage, and bread as we could in preparation for our summit bid. Now we just wait for a weather window to move to High Camp, and head for the top. The team sends their best to everyone following along back at home.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
On The Map
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 - 4:28 pm PT
Well our lucky streak with the weather continued today. The Team was up early packing our equipment and taking down tents for our move to
14,200ft camp. The group of gentleman we have on this trip seem to get stronger each day developing skills both physically and mentally. Though we are all a bit warn down from this week's efforts, we are happy at our newly-built camp in the basin. We have spectacular view from our tents, which are currently glacier-front property. We are sitting pretty and looking forward to a full rest day tomorrow along with hydration, acclimatization, and a few skills for higher on the mountain. The camp will also get a few upgrades I’m sure.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Summit!
At 8:45 am
RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed to say, "We are walking into the
Crater Rim." The mountain has a cloud cap with some high winds and also some sunny skies. The teams will spend some time on top before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
The winds up high were moving.
Snow trails off the mountain into the air.
We're snug and cozy at 14K with plenty of food and fuel,
So we sit and watch the tails of a mare.
This small verse sums up our day. We looked up, saw winds moving snow around up high, and decided to do the prudent thing and sit tight at
14K Camp. We're ready to crack when conditions line up, but until then, some igloo building, heads up, and sunbathing are plenty to keep us happy and occupied.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford and team
On The Map
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Sending big love; so proud of you guys; we’re cheering you on!
Posted by: Taina on 6/7/2018 at 3:01 pm
Better to be in your tent, wishing you were on the mountain, than on the mountain, wishing you were in your in your tent. Slow and steady. Well done!
Posted by: Tom Power on 6/7/2018 at 8:54 am
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