Monday, May 28th - 12:20 am PST
Perfect is not common in the mountains, but we had it today. The skies were clear and calm for the flight into the Alaska range. The snow was firm which makes the climbing easier and we had warm sunshine with a cool breeze to keep us all just right, not too hot-not too cold. Everyone moved well with their heavy pack and full sleds into our first camp around 7800 ft and enjoyed our first mountain dinner before sliding into our sleeping bags. All in all a great first day on Denali.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Zeb Blais called down this morning at 7:30 am from the summit of Mt. Rainier. They reported 10 - 15 mph winds, cold conditions, and high team morale. Their plan is to spend about 30 minutes on the summit before beginning their descent back to Camp Muir.
Our time in La Paz was short, as we awoke to another beautiful day here in Bolivia and made the three-hour drive to Lake Titicaca to take in the scenery and get acclimated to the 13,000’ altitude.
We walked amongst old Incan ruins and small farming villages surrounding the lake. The Bolivian Andes mountains on one side and Perú off in the distance across the lake to the north.
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. We took the opportunity to take a couple of ferry rides across the lake to different islands including driving through Copacabana. To get to our final destination for the night on Isla del Sol “Island of the Sun” we took a short boat shuttle to our eco lodge overlooking the lake and surrounding mountains.
The views are incredible as we got to watch the sunset light up the mountains across the lake. As we head to bed the near full moon is glistening on the water. We look forward to another day tomorrow walking around the island and all that it has to offer.
RMI Guide Andy Bond
Last night was chilly once again, but today the sun is out in full and has warmed us up. It's a beautiful day on Denali today, with barely a breath of wind at 14,200' (there is some visible wind up higher on the West Buttress), and partly cloudy skies.
We're taking a "rest" day today, although it will be somewhat active. After a leisurely breakfast that rolled into brunch, we headed out to the Edge of the World, a dramatic rock outcrop at the far eastern edge of Genet Basin that looks down to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, some 5,000' below.
Next we will be reviewing and practicing fixed rope travel in preparation for moving above our camp. And finally, before dinner, we will work on building snow walls to protect our tents and our kitchen from strong winds. All in all, a good day of active rest.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, we plan to establish a cache high on the West Buttress in order to have enough supplies available to us for our move to high camp. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Way to go Riemer!! Lots of good thoughts and vibes from us all :) Good luck from the boys and we’ll see you soon!
Posted by: Layla on 5/28/2018 at 3:02 pm
Hi Alex and Tom, Hope you are well and not too cold. All that snow makes me go brrr. Lots of rain here. And more to come(the remains of a tropical storm due from Wednesday on). Not much going on. Love you and miss you
RMI Guide Kel Rossiter and team just called from the summit of Mt. Baker after a successful climb. They reported good weather and softening snow conditions. After a celebration on the summit, the team will begin their over 5,000' of vertical ski descent off the top. Once back in camp, the team will rest, pack, and hike off of the mountain for a well deserved meal in town.
RMI Guide Kel Rossiter calls in after the team wraps up their Mt. Baker Summit and Ski Descent
We had another great day on the lower Kahiltna. Our goal was to carry a load of food and fuel to around 10,200', just shy of 11K Camp. We had a sneaking hope that we might move well enough and everyone would feel good enough to carry the load all the way to 11,000', eliminating the need for a back carry. After 3 good stretches of walking, we were just below the usual cache site with plenty of time to spare and everyone in good spirits, so we decided to push on. It was a great effort by the whole group, and now most of our food is waiting for us at our next camp. Tomorrow we'll pack up camp at the bottom of Ski Hill and make the move to 11, where the cycle will continue.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Jenny Konway walked into the summit crater at 8:00 am this morning. The team reported wind speeds of about 5 mph, excellent weather, and excellent route conditions. They have begun their descent from the summit and will be back at Camp Muir.
Our first day in Talkeetna was packed with mountain prep fun. After breakfast we listened to Pat, a Denali climbing ranger, introduce climbing safely and keeping Denali clean during our climb. Then we hustled to the airplane hangar to sort and pack gear. The hardest part of the day was trying to decide what food to bring and what items to leave behind. Twenty pounds of food is a lot but it seems to pile up quickly. We are ready to fly into the glacier tomorrow at 9am, so now we are working hard on relaxing and enjoying the beautiful Alaska weather.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
The team woke to blue skies and firm snow. The smiles grew even more as they devoured Bagel Bacon sandwiches for breakfast. They are hard not to love when the crisp texture of bacon and lightly, toasted bagel has been cooked to perfection by our leader Christina. We suited up and headed out on firm snow in boots under the tower which cast a shadow and gave us a delightful coolness from the beating sun. We traversed under a few seracs before we donned crampons on the hard-packed snow up to the top of Radio Tower. With sweeping views we visually inspected and learned about the intricacies of the phenomenon of Glaciers and Mountains. We descended under some growing clouds to a spectacular basecamp where we are now lounging in the sun and sipping on La Croix. The team is so strong and impressed us all by climbing a peak like this on day 2. We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and were proud that everyone climbed so well.
RMI Guide Lucas Haaland
Hello, this is day 2 of the Mount Baker Climb & Ski program. Today was an excellent training day. We woke up with a sunrise, had some breakfast, and got out on the glacier for some firm snow ski, uphill travel techniques: ski cramponing, boot cramponing, roped travel, and a variety of other skills. Then we ripped skins and had a delightful 1,300-foot descent back to camp. In the afternoon we covered avalanche rescue techniques and crevasse rescue techniques as well. We rolled into dinner, cooked up some great food, put the finishing touches on our packs and getting set for a successful summit bid on Baker tomorrow or tomorrow morning. Bye. Bye.
RMI Guide Kel Rossiter
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Where are you guys on Tuesday? So thrilled for you all. Looking due North and thinking of you
Posted by: Mumzie on 5/29/2018 at 9:01 pm
Life sometimes seems so short so “if you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much space”
Posted by: Carolyn mills-meyer on 5/29/2018 at 7:19 am
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