Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 1:50 pm PT
Our team is taking another planned rest day today, the first multiple rest day stint of our trip. The weather at
14,200' right now is chilly with very light snow. This unsettled weather is forecasted to last into tomorrow before clearer weather moves in through the weekend. We are hopeful the weather will allow us to move to high camp tomorrow so that we can take advantage of a potentially good weather window (Fri/Sat/Sun) for a summit attempt.
We're all doing well, and optimistic that our chance to tag the top is right around the corner. Until then, we'll be resting and getting stronger.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 7:30 AM.
RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jordan Cargill chose to make their summit attempt today due to the nice weather. Brent reported no wind and a perfect day on the mountain. The team will return to Camp Muir and continue to their training until Friday when they will descend to Paradise. The top photos are from today's summit climb, the bottom two photos are from Tuesday's training above Camp Muir.
Congratulations to the climbers!
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 11:38 PM PT
It was another pretty perfect morning on Denali, so we made hay. We started off a bit earlier with a smoked salmon and bagel breakfast, then loaded up most of our food and fuel, strapped on crampons for the first time, and started up
Motorcycle Hill. The was a slight breeze to keep things cool, and a few moments of windy corner were cold enough to elicit brain freeze, but everything went incredibly smoothly. So smoothly that we decided to keep going all the way to Mike Walter and team's Camp at 14. They were nice enough to let us stash our load in their camp and keep an eye on it. We spent an hour visiting with friends and enjoying the new scene before we had back for our own Camp at 11. With our stuff up high, we're ready to move up at the next opportunity!
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Taylor, and team
On The Map
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 9:08 pm PT
We had our first overcast day today and it was a nice break from the intense sunshine. Temperatures were much cooler under the cloud cover and that made the climbing more pleasant for us all. After an early dinner we all kicked back in the cook tent and enjoyed movie night. Tonight's feature was "The brothers grimsby". Back to climbing in the morning when we head to Camp at 11,200 ft.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
On The Map
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 5:28 PM PT
Today we awoke to some of the first stormy weather of the trip. After sleeping in a little and taking the time to make a delicious pancake and bacon breakfast we roped up and spent the afternoon climbing to Furien Col taking advantage of a good weather window. The climb was steep and involved. We used many of the
climbing and anchoring techniques that we've learned throughout the week. It was fun to put our skills to use and get up to a high point. Unfortunately, no views for us because the weather rolled in and we were inside a pingpong ball. We descended from the col and are taking time to rest in our tents.
RMI Guide Christina Dale
Our beach vacation on Isla del Sol came to an end today as we made our way into the
Bolivian Andes to begin the mountain portion of the trip.
The first of our three peaks is called Pequeno Alpamayo, located next to Condoriri. The views were amazing as we walked to our Base Camp at 14,700’, located at the base of the valley surrounded by big glaciated peaks, including Huayna Potosi (our 2nd peak on the trip).
We are all enjoying the luxuries of amazing home cooked meals including having lunch today at Gregorio’s house (a local farmer) on the way to base camp.
Tomorrow we’ll move camp and do some training on a glacier before our first summit attempt.
RMI Guides Eric Frank & Andy Bond
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 5:27 PM PT
Hello from the
RMI Denali Expedition, Team Jones! Last evening we all met in Anchorage and drove up to Talkeetna early enough to enjoy our first dinner in town and begin to get to know one another. Today, we started with an early breakfast knowing we had a lot of preparations to do in hopes of flying onto the Kahiltna Glacier tomorrow. We spent the day inspecting our gear, organizing our packs and reviewing some mountain skills like setting up our tents and how to rig our sleds we will be towing the beginning of our expedition. It’s been a busy day but the group has been managing the time well and we are ready to go! Thanks for reading our first blog and we look forward to sharing our adventure as we move along the next couple weeks!
R
MI Guides Tyler Jones, Bryan Mazaika and Nick Scott
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 5:01 PM PT
Today is a rest day for our team after good long day yesterday establishing a cache at 17,200 ft. We woke early yesterday to a clear but bitterly cold morning (~ -20F), ate breakfast, packed our packs and launched. We were the first team to leave camp and the only team to continue all the way to
High Camp (17,200') to establish our cache. The weather and climbing conditions were excellent, and the views were unmatched.
Now we're resting, acclimating, and getting stronger in preparation for our summit bid. The weather forecast looks promising and we will likely move to High Camp in the next day or two. We will keep you posted with the latest.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 27 - 1 June led by
RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jordan Cargill met their team on Sunday for a day of Technical Training at Rainier BaseCamp. They spent their first day reviewing the plan for the week, working on some technical skills and completing a thorough equipment check. With backpacks proficiently packed they ascended to Camp Muir on Monday under blue skies. They will spend the next several days working on mountaineering skills and preparing for their summit attempt later this week.
Monday, May 28, 2018 - 11:49 PM PT
Hello all, and happy Memorial Day! Everyone is doing quite well adjusting to life on the
Kahiltna Glacier. There is a bit of basketball withdrawal going on, but besides that everyone seems happy. This morning we enjoyed a leisurely bagel and cream cheese breakfast, and packed up a bunch of our things to cache up higher on the mountain. The weather was perfect for us today. If anything it was a bit warm, but we'll take all the warmth we can get at this point. Skies were mostly clear, and the views looking back down the Kahiltna went on for miles. The team made quick work of the carry, and we made it back to camp at 7,200 well before dinner time. With a lot of our gear stashed above us, we are in great shape to move camp higher tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes. Everyone sends their best!
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
On The Map
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Dave and Shane….. you guys are so close now. Great progress and great weather is seems.
May the Sun shine for you each day and the winds blow gentle.
Love,
Dad
Posted by: George Head on 5/31/2018 at 11:59 am
Dave and Shane…wow…almost there. I can’t believe you are almost at the summit. We can’t wait to hear ALL about this adventure. We hope you are all feeling well. Miss you to pieces. Have a great day!! Love, Mom and Ken
Posted by: Dean and Ken on 5/31/2018 at 7:01 am
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