Entries from Locations
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah McGowan, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
June 21, 2017
It snowed a couple of inches overnight at 9500 ft but skies were clear by morning. A cool breeze kept us in bed for a little while, but we were on the trail by 9:30 and making slow and steady progress toward the head of the Kahiltna Glacier. We could almost see all of its forty-seven mile length stretched out below us as we turned East at Kahiltna Pass. The cool breeze was nowhere to be found as we worked up steeper hills at midday. We made it into 11,000 ft Camp at 1 PM and were happy to see our friends on Mike Haugen's team. They kindly helped to shovel tent sites for us and gave us some "starter water" to make us feel at home. The day had turned out to be stunningly nice... Which is always a good thing on the solstice. We gazed in wonder at the bright clean angular chunks of glacier hanging all around us and at the formidable rock of the NW and West Buttresses. Camp went up smoothly and quickly and we crawled in the tents to beat the heat for a few hours. Evening was a social whirl as guides and climbers from all over the world had reunions and wished each other well as they went in opposite directions. We will take a much deserved rest day tomorrow and look forward to catching up on sleep, reading, and hydration.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
We finally got to ski on Mt. Elbrus today! We had a nice acclimatization tour up to 14,000' in wintry snow conditions. All that rain down low has equaled nice snow quality up high, and aside from the altitude our turns felt effortless.
This morning we did the three gondola "duffel shuffle" - nothing like ski lifts for approaching High Camp (beats walking!). We've got ourselves nicely situated at our home here at 12,600'. Everyone is feeling good and in good spirits. We're psyched to go a bit higher tomorrow..
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
On The Map
Posted by: Andy Bond, Joe Hoch, Nick Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,800'
The Five Day Summit Climb June 17 - 21, 2017 led by RMI Guides Andy Bond, Joe Hoch and Nick Scott made their summit attempt today. High winds and firm climbing conditions prevented the team from going above 13,800'. The group has spent the last two nights at Camp Muir, they will return to pack their gear and continue their descent to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Posted by: Ben Liken, Jess Matthews, Ben Ammon
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,800'
RMI Guide Ben Liken and the Four Day Summit Climb team June 17 - 21, 2017 made their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning but were forced to turn around at 13,800' due to high winds and icy conditions. The team is making their way back to Camp Muir where they will take a short break and re-pack their gear before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah McGowan, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 9,500'
June 20, 2017
The alarm went off at 3 AM but we didn't leave camp until close to noon. Winds built as we ate breakfast and the thought of walking straight up into a cold and snowy down glacier breeze was unappealing. We did what we often do in such circumstances... We dragged our feet and waited to see which way the weather might trend. We got out our already packed sleeping bags and waited in the early morning shadows. When the sun came out, we were still waiting. By 11 things were not so different, but it wasn't nearly as cold. And so we packed up and made our move. As is normal, the glacier was in far better condition as we worked up Ski Hill. We had just a handful of easy crevasses to cross before we reached the stable ice up at 9500 ft. We pulled into our unbuilt new home just before 4PM and got busy building. Clouds had built up below us, overtaking our last camp and by evening we were in light snow from the clouds just up glacier, but we still had great views of Mts Foraker and Hunter to our South. The team turned in at 8 PM. Higher and happier with each passing day.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Glad to see all is going well out there.. keep chugging along!!!
Mr. Walker, Vegas Knights picked up Oscar Lindberg, tough loss but they are in really good shape still. I’ll keep you updated on the moves.
Good luck the rest of the way and soak it all in.
Chris
Posted by: Chris Calnan on 6/21/2017 at 7:10 pm
116 ha! Try 120 degrees and counting! Yeah Ken! I so wish I were there with your group enjoying much cooler climes! It must be beautiful beyond words! Hope you are taking loads of photos!
Climb on! Hugs~
Posted by: Joy on 6/21/2017 at 1:15 pm
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons Team led by RMI Guide Robby Young were turned at 13,200' on their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier via the Emmons route due to high winds and deteriorating weather. The team will be spending the afternoon learning crevasse rescue, and plan to return to Ashford Basecamp tomorrow afternoon.
Congratulations team!
Last night we slept to the sound of heavy rain, and this morning we awoke to the sight of heavy rain. We decided to let it subside before heading out on our acclimatization foray. Luckily it did, and we were able to get the blood flowing above 10,000' with a little help from a chairlift. The clouds partially broke for a moment in time, and we were treated to our first glimpse of Mt. Elbrus. We are ready to go set up shop on its lower flanks starting tomorrow, and most excitingly put skis on our feet. Stay tuned...
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
On The Map
Hope you all have a safe and enjoyable climb. I’ll look forward to your slide show upon your return, Kerry Hermann!
Posted by: Julia on 6/21/2017 at 7:40 am
My hands are sore from so much excited clapping!!
Posted by: Randy on 6/20/2017 at 11:13 pm
Posted by: Brent Okita, Jenny Konway, Matt Rosenberg
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,500'
RMI Guides Brent Okita, Jenny Konway and Matt Rosenberg led the Four Day Summit Climb of Mt. Rainier June 17 - 20, 2017. The team arrived at Camp Muir yesterday afternoon. They began their alpine start around midnight and climbed to 13,500' before deteriorating weather and poor visibility forced them to turn around. The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Special thanks to RMI Guide Jenny Konway for providing photos of today's climbers!
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Pepper Dee, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
June 19, 2017
Denali remains unseasonably cold for June. This actually works in our favor for the lower camps. The cold days allow us to wake up a little later to move camps or cache before the sun comes out and bakes us.
We successfully completed our mission for the day, which was to go back to our last camp and retrieve some food and gear that we left cached there. We couldn't have asked for better travel conditions with perfect weather and a great path stomped through the deep snow. We completed our task with enough time for second breakfast and an afternoon nap. This mountaineering stuff is rough!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah McGowan, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'
June 19, 2017 9:06 pm PST
Conditions were perfect at 1 AM for beginning an early morning transit of the Kahiltna Glacier. Skies were clear and the snow surface was beginning to freeze good and hard -just the way we like it for traveling crevassed terrain with heavy packs and sleds. We got stoves going and began to dress for success. The team set out at precisely 4AM and marched down the SE Fork of the Kahiltna to its junction with the main glacier -we banged a right turn and started our climb. The glacier didn't have much good snow from the winter, so plenty of crevasses were exposed and needed crossing, but with the good freeze, the crossings were easy and uneventful. We saw ample evidence of climbers having come through in soggy, hot and heavy conditions, poking legs and bodies into the dark cold depths of the glacier. We took hourly rest breaks and accomplished our move in just under five hours total, pulling into 7800 ft just before 9. Then in calm sunshine, we set to work building camp. T
Tents went up and once all work was finished, we dove in for naps, escaping the ridiculously intense midday sun. By early evening it was tolerable outside once again and we met for dinner under the shelter of our dining tent. Forecasts for the day had called pretty definitively for new falling snow, but our reality was a pleasant summer day. We'll gladly take another day of this "storm".
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Keep it going Jim! Thanks for the updates!
Posted by: Stephen Walker on 6/23/2017 at 4:28 pm
Awesome job!!! Thank you for the updates. Cheers and enjoy the rest day!!
Posted by: Chris on 6/23/2017 at 7:07 am
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