Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The
Four Day Climb June 6 - 9 led by
RMI Guides Andy Bond and Chris Ebeling worked hard this morning breaking trail to reach the crater of Mt. Rainier. They topped out just before 8 AM and were greeted with high winds on the summit. The team will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Nice work team and congratulations!
Hola from Ecuador!
Today we started our day with a team meeting where we did our usual round of introductions to get to know each other and then discussed the game plan for our upcoming 10 day adventure here in Ecuador.
After the meeting we headed out on the town to
explore this beautiful historical city with our local and very knowledgeable tour guide Angel. We first headed to the southern part of Quito to a big hill called La Panacia that over looks this beautiful city, then continued on foot exploring the historic district.
We then headed north to visit the Equator from which Ecuador gets its name, stopping by a museum that had a pretty interesting collection as well as some unique tests that attempt to prove it’s the actual middle of the world.
We wrapped up the evening with dinner at a nice restaurant where we enjoyed getting to know each other better.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Ecuador crew
Saturday, June 8, 2019 - 7:39 PM PT
Guess who’s back? We are. We’re back at
High Camp. A place I never really thought I would find myself twice over the course of one Denali trip. The Precision Strike Summit Team (PSST) made quick work of the move back up here. We are a well oiled machine by now. Other teams yell various commands when passing anchors on the fixed lines: “stop!” “go!” “climbing!” “what?” “did you say go?” “huh?!” We climb in silence now, like panthers, sure of each others actions without having to verbalize them. We made it to 17,000' Camp and moved right back in to our old tent platforms, so that made things efficient. We’re currently all chilling out in the tents, rehydrating, and waiting for dinner. The views are great, but we’ve already spent four days looking at them, so nobody is terribly preoccupied at this point. Here’s hoping tomorrow is another calm, clear day.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
On The Map
Saturday, June 8, 2019 - 3:42 PM PT
We had our first active rest day today. The weather forecast called for a calm night with increasing clouds and possible precipitation through the day. The air was still when I woke at 5 am to check the weather. After a salmon and cream cheese bagel breakfast we set off down hill with our sleds strapped to our backpacks. The goal was to carry all of our cache from 9300’ to 11,200’. The Team did exceptionally well and we managed to beat the heat of the morning for all but the last hour. The afternoon clouds are coming into camp and creating a greenhouse effect where the UV comes through the clouds and reflects off the snow then gets bounced back by the clouds making for a hot day in camp. People have their sleeping bags clipped on the outside of the tent for a more ideal napping environment. So long as the weather continues this pattern we will wake early and carry food and fuel around Windy Corner in preparation for our camp move to 14,200’ in
Genet Basin. Even though we have been moving lots of weight up the glacier for four days, the Team is happy and enjoying the beautiful scenery here on Denali. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
At high camp, I had a dream about eating cheesy hash browns and eggs. This morning, that dream became a reality. We ate breakfast burritos, lunch burritos, and dinner burritos. We lived a life of luxury that was not possible at 17,000 feet.
We also came up with a plan for the coming days.Tomorrow, half the group will walk out towards base camp and a flight towards Talkeetna. The rest of us will stay here at 14 just in case we have a summit window within the next few days. The forecast is calling for light winds this weekend, which has us hopeful. Regardless of what happens, we will certainly be eating more burritos.
RMI Guide JM Gorum and Team
Friday, June 7, 2019 10:18 PM PT
Greetings all!
A beautiful sunny day, finally! We woke to sun and were only interrupted by some quick snow showers during the dinner hour. We were able to fully complete our move to 14k Camp this morning by heading back down and retrieving our cache at Windy Corner at 13.200’. We were up and at em early and were back at Camp a little after noon, in time to nap and rest, and finish up our day with some fixed line practice.
Tomorrow, we’ll rest! It’s an important rest day as we continue our acclimatization process in preparation for our future travels to upper reaches of this grandiose mountain. We’ve got big plans for big meals, big naps, and possibly a trip to take in the views at the ‘Edge of the World’. We’ll report back and tell you all about it tomorrow! Til then, good night!
Robby, Nick, Joe and Team Pebble Beach
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Hannah Smith reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver before winter like conditions and a snow loaded trail forced them to turn. Mike reported that the team is on the descent just reaching Ingraham Flats en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
Friday, June 7, 2019 - 7:17 PM PT
We woke up to a calm and clear morning. The air was significantly warmer at the 4:30 am wake up call. A perfect day to get camp packed up and moved to 11,200’. The Team has seen all but the last three hours during our cache day. Leaving the snowshoes on our sleds we climbed up the Kahiltna glacier in crampons and made excellent time. Our goal was to beat any afternoon thunderstorms that had been rolling over
Kahiltna Pass the last few afternoons. We pulled into camp shortly after 1 pm feeling the altitude and heavy pack/sled combo. I can hear some snoring from some as they nap in the heat of their tents. Others are reading and organizing their gear. Everyone in this group is doing well with the heavy loads and rapid swings in weather. Tomorrow we will get an early start so we can retrieve our cache at 9,300’ and then the remainder of the day will be our first “active rest” day. Light clouds are moving into camp but we still have great views of Kahiltna Dome and the West Buttress of Denali, the namesake of our climbing route.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Thursday, June 6, 2019 11:56 PM PT
We woke up this morning and looked uphill at the summit again. We watched as winds increased up high. We watched a few teams leave camp and turn around before Denali pass. We looked at our dwindling food. We looked at our rapidly filling poop cans. When we added it all up, we decided that it was time to leave high camp. Four nights at 17,000 feet can seem like an icy eternity, but the team actually managed it quite well. There was nothing in the forecast that made us want to stay any longer, so we left. We’re back at 14 camp now, which seems like a beach resort in comparison. Some folks have decided they have had their fill, and some want to sit it out for a few more days, potentially trying again. Tomorrow we will flesh out our options and make a plan. For now, we are excited for the best nights sleep we’ve had in a while. We’re excited to eat something other than freeze dried food. We’re excited to be able to wear fewer than three jackets to bed.
RMI Guide JM Gorum & Team
Thursday, June 6, 2019 10:06 PM PT
Greetings from 14,000’!
For the first time all trip, the weather was better than forecasted! We took full advantage early this morning, walking into the clouds for only a brief time before we were basking in the sun above 12,000’. It was a smooth move day up here to 14 Camp. We arrived early afternoon with plenty of time to completely set up camp, take naps, and then indulge in a veggie curry dinner. It was great to see our RMI friends JM and company as well as a plethora of other guides from other walks of life. It’s truly a city of friends up here at 14 Camp and our team is ecstatic to be here, especially given the squirrelly weather we’ve had over the last week. We’re all in the sleeping bags now, as it gets cold quickly up here; but we’re amped and ready to go back and pick up our windy corner cache tomorrow morning and be reunited with all of delicious lunch food and larger huge variety of meals. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.
Robby, Nick, Joe and Team ‘Clean Plate Club’
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That’s great news. Congratulations! Step safe coming down.
Posted by: Susan Moore on 6/9/2019 at 11:12 pm
Congratulations ! Safe decent! Looking forward to seeing the photos!
Posted by: Ellie Prager and Monte MCcanne on 6/9/2019 at 10:02 am
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