Entries from Locations
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Tatum Whatford, Mitch Valaitis, George Hedreen, Arianna Drechsler, Stella Johnson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb June 30 - 3 July was unable to reach the summit today due to high winds. RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Tatum Whatford left Camp Muir with an alpine start but were turned back at Ingraham Flats due to extremely high winds. The teams returned safely to Camp Muir where they spent the rest of the morning. They plan to start their descent from Camp Muir to Paradise around 9 am.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 - 8:15 am PT
So the plan was to walk out in the early morning with the glacier surface frozen up nice and firm. Good plan. But it didn’t freeze. We had a wet snowstorm from 11 PM until 6 AM at our final camp… mostly it just preserved the slush. And then we were socked in with cloud until midday. But when the clouds lifted, we broke records taking down camp and stretching out the rope teams. We were moving at 1PM and then stopped at 1:01 PM figuring out the first crevasse crossing. There were a few thousand more to figure out. Our final day took about six hours and included a couple dozen snowshoed feet and legs going into crevasses, but thankfully no bodies. And magically, as we pulled up the final hill, the weather cleared and two beautiful K2 Otters glided in to the snow strip. We loaded planes and were off deck by 8 PM. There wasn’t much time for gear sorting back in Talkeetna. But there turned out to be time for Mountain High Pizza Pie and the Fairview Inn. The team still has a couple of high altitude hacks, some tired legs and some sunburned faces, but those faces were smiling last night as we settled into the Swiss Alaska Inn.
No summit… it is true. But we tried.
Best Regards
RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
PC: Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 11, 2024
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Robert Whyte, Hannah Billings, Drew O’Brien, Josh Geiser, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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RMI Guides Ben Luedtke and Drew O'Brien led the Five Day Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They report chilly and breezy conditions on the summit. The teams began their descent from the summit around 9:45 am and are making their way back to Camp Muir where they will spend one more night on the mountain.
Way to climb!
PC: Ben Luedtke & Drew O'Brien
Congrats to everyone, great accomplishment, that beer will taste great. Our team hopes to summit on July 10th, hardly wait!
Posted by: Barry Milne on 7/4/2024 at 8:54 am
Congratulations to the team. Proud to be called Chandan’s family.
Posted by: Sougandh Mulini Golla on 7/3/2024 at 12:17 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 8,000'
Sunday, June 30, 2024 - 10:16 pm PT
It was cold at 14,000' this morning because we didn't wait for the sun to get around the mountain. But the cold was nowhere near what we'd experienced up high. We ate breakfast, packed and got on our way. Back to pulling sleds. We pulled them around Windy Corner, through the Polo Field, down Squirrel and Motorcycle Hills. Down at 11K, we dug up the cache of gear and made our switch to snowshoes. It was a treat to be the only team left on the lower mountain (there are perhaps five or six teams still above us). It was pretty easy going down the Kahiltna Glacier until we reached Ski Hill where the combination of mushy snow and crevasses made things less fun. Even so we made good time reaching 8,000'. We set up camp as clouds rolled in from above and below. Our hope is to have things freeze up in the night to make for safer and easier travel, but with cloud cover, that doesn't always happen. We'll see what we get. Basecamp is potentially just four hours away.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
PC: Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 11, 2024
Bummed you guys didn’t summit.
Was of course hoping you would on July 1st.
I was fortunate enough to summit on July 1st 1994 with Craig John, Ford Huntington , and Jennifer (?) as our guides.
Guess there is always next year.
If any of you see Joe Horiskey tell him Hi for me !
Posted by: Don West on 7/1/2024 at 8:15 pm
RMI Guides Jess Wedel and Mike Bennett led their Four Day Climb June 27-30 to the summit of Mt. Rainier. The teams reported winds on the crater rim 15-20 mph and an overall nice day. The teams reached the summit around 6 am and are on their descent to Camp Muir. Once back at Camp the teams will pack up their gear and continue the remaining 4,500' down to Paradise. Their program will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Wow what a great trip! The guides are some of the coolest people on the planet! They were funny, extremely knowledgeable, and humble. every aspect of the trip was fun, but challenging in some way. Be physically and mentally ready. It’s a full few days with no real sleep to get to the top. Loved every minute. Thanks Jess, Dillon, Mitch!
Everyone, please remember to tip your guides.
Posted by: Karl Rummel on 7/1/2024 at 8:08 am
It was a great day and thank you Jess and Mitch for leading our team to the summit. Was a great feeling to summit after trying and failing due to weather back in 2008 for me. However, just FYI, we all thought the winds were more like 30 mph based on how cold it was at the peak. ;-)
Posted by: Eric Dirst on 7/1/2024 at 8:05 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, June 29, 2024 - 10:10 pm PT
Life is easier at 14,000 ft. It was still a little breezy and cold this morning as we packed up at 17K. It still looked like the wind was howling up above. But of course we had our eyes on a dignified retreat. And a careful one. There were quite a few tricky steps to manage on the descent of the West Buttress. It was a relief to have the fixed rope section completed without incident. We rolled into 14,000' Camp at 5PM and had an easy evening in the sunshine. Yes, we are still a long way up a mountain, but everything is more friendly down in the thicker air. We'll try for 8,000 ft for tomorrow night.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 11, 2024
Thinking of you Tony! you got this!!!
Karl and Diane
Posted by: Karl Ring on 7/1/2024 at 7:17 pm
so proud of you guys! proud of the wisdom of your guides, the skill and strength of the team, and wow what stories you will have to share!! much to celebrate when you return!! lynn
Posted by: barbara theiss on 6/30/2024 at 10:12 am
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Jackson Breen, Evan Redman, Walter Hailes, Avery Stolte, Celeste Wilson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four-Day teams led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Jackson Breen summited this morning in good weather. They reached the top at 6:00 am taking 6 1/2 hours due to many climbers on the route. The team spend time on the summit before starting their descent, they return to Paradise this afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Wow! You did it OLIVIA!!!
Posted by: wendy sobol on 6/29/2024 at 6:43 pm
Congratulations to all! Great job Olivia!! Another check off your list.
Posted by: Grandma Seaver on 6/29/2024 at 2:03 pm
Posted by: Tatum Whatford, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
The Mt. Baker Expedition Skills Seminar spent the week on the mountian training. The team had tough weather on the mountian. Yesterday they spent the day in the sunshine on Mt Erie to solidify rope skills and dove deeper into a variety of alpin skills. The team was unable to summit due to the weather but took advantage of the time and were eager to learn and develop new skills.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 18,850'
The day started out calm, so we started out climbing. We left high camp at 8:30. The day was slightly warmer than the last few, but there was less sun, so it didn't really feel all that warm. We had most of our clothing on for the 2.5-hour journey to Denali Pass. It was a little breezier at the pass, so we didn't rest long there. We got into significant wind and clouds in the next hour pushing up the steep rolls to Zebra Rocks. Finally, we had to call it quits at around 18,850 ft. Storm conditions stayed with us all the way back to high camp. It was a slow descent because of that and some justifiably tired legs.
We were in camp by 6 PM and into the shelter of the tents shortly after. We gave it a good go but got turned by some tough conditions. That happens. We'll begin our descent tomorrow. Some tough and careful climbing is still to come.
Best,
RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Marjerison, Sam Hoffman, Nick Sinapius & Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition June 11, 2024
Too bad the weather did not cooperate, Wallis. Great job, nevertheless!! Have a safe climb down.
Posted by: Subbu Aiyer on 7/1/2024 at 6:29 am
So sorry to hear the weather was not cooperative! Great job Jon and to everyone in pushing through for as long as you did in windy conditions, but better safe than sorry! Kudos to the knowledge and wisdom of the guides and team in prioritizing safety. Positive thoughts for a safe and easy descent!
Posted by: Sunita Bendale on 6/30/2024 at 9:01 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Tom Skoog, Bailey Servais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Black Diamond Team led by RMI Guide Casey Grom reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:45am this morning. The team climbed above the clouds and had light winds and clear skies. After about and hour on the summit enjoying the views, the team started their descent and are in route to Camp Muir!
Tony - Wow. Incredible on so many levels. What an experience. Life is what you make of it … and clearly you are making the most of it!
Posted by: Marc on 7/7/2024 at 8:27 am
Congratulations to the guides and climbers on a job well done! Whether in climbing or so many other things, some day’s a diamond, some day’s a stone. Hugs to all. Saying hi to Karen. Hope to see you soon at Green Lake Fitness. We’ll keep the light on for you. Dean
Posted by: Dean Wingfield on 7/2/2024 at 2:45 pm
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