Entries from Locations

Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 7:38 am PT

Talkeetna was cloudy and sometimes rainy but our team used the day to get all set for a Denali expedition.  We started with a team breakfast meeting and then moved out to the hangar on the Talkeetna airstrip for getting organized.  Guides and climbers set to work organizing both group gear and personal equipment.  Finishing touches were made to the 22 day food supply.  We stood outside for a briefing from National Park Service rangers on safety and environmental procedures. 

We were happy to watch our fellow climbers in Dominic Cifelli’s RMI team load up and take off for Kahiltna Base as the weather improved.  Our day finished with a weigh-in and final division of the supplies into two piles for two airplanes.  We met for dinner in town to relax and talk once more on strategy for the climb. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 11:19 pm PT

Greetings from 14,000' Camp. We packed up 11,000' Camp this morning and climbed up Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill passing the Father and the Son wall. We strolled along the Polo Field and climbed past the 13,000' cache garden where we left supplies yesterday. The terrain on the route is steep and strenuous. The Bond Girls were carrying heavy loads with our sleeping bags, tents, personal gear and one piece of group gear each. But the reason I asked to do to the blog today was the loads carried by Andy, Jack and Joey. Their packs were overloaded beyond imagination and the sleds they dragged were piled high with gear! More than twice the weight any normal person could move. I worked on the railroad most of my life and have witnessed people doing extraordinarily hard jobs under extremely difficult conditions many times but the efforts of these three men today left me in disbelief! I stand at 14,000' Camp tonight looking at the beautiful sight of Mount Hunter and Foraker humbled by the efforts of the men that made it possible.

Jeff Ebeling aka Trashman

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:11 pm PT

All present and accounted for in Talkeetna, Alaska.  Most of us came together in the Anchorage airport this afternoon.  Some traveled today, others in the proceeding days. We joined forces for the van ride up to Talkeetna under overcast and sometimes rainy skies.  We busted up the three hour drive with a pause in Wasilla to round out provisions.  All of this got us in to Talkeetna by about 7 PM.  We did an easy evening of pizza downtown and came back for a rest at the Swiss Alaska Inn.  The real business of the expedition starts tomorrow morning. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Chapter 6

The Bond Girls squirrel up Squirrel Hill. The Bond Girls completed quite a mission today!  We left 11,000' camp and moved a cache to 13600' in preparation to move to 14,000' Camp tomorrow (if the weather allows).   We finally infiltrated Motorcycle Hill, which has been staring at our camp since arriving here last Friday. Before I tell you about our day, I have to tell you what made the day possible.  After some weather at 11,000' Camp, serious trail breaking was needed.  All of the guides at 11k Camp worked together as a team to discuss weather and a plan to put in the route for everyone.  Climbing this mountain is not possible without teamwork (unless you’re that guy who climbed it in like 11 hours, but even he probably had some help).  We all pitch in, carry group gear uphill on shared ropes.  We set up camp together, eat meals together and make each other laugh over hot drinks when the weather outside is… well, Denali.

Back to the daily adventure! The wind rushed through our hair on Motorcycle Hill. Trying to get my full zip gortex pants on was like trying to get Church the cat from Salem’s Lot into a cat carrier for an exorcism.  Luckily Jack saved the day. Thanks Jack!  It is a pretty humbling experience to not be able to wrangle your own side zip pants!  After Motorcycle Hill we took on Squirrel Hill. Climbing Denali, you become like a squirrel, caching treats and clean socks… or the books you don’t feel like carrying any higher, deep under the snow, marked with a little flag, to come back to when you are able to collect them. Squirrels are endowed with luxurious tails, we brandish orange plastic sleds. Luckily we did not bring the sleds today.  Squirrel Hill stole Windy Corner’s thunder as goggles and summit parkas struggled to keep us warm. Pony Rider led the charge across Polo Field with a war cry, and Windy Corner was actually quite pleasant today. The weather cleared up for the team to enjoy a break at the cache and take in the majestic mountain paradise of Denali.  The walk back to camp was beautiful.  Now we hydrate, try to not smell so bad and get ready for burritos. The caches at Basecamp are a bit more celebratory. Visions of beer, cigarettes and hard liquor cheer exhausted climbers on to the finish line; the airstrip of the Kahiltna glacier.   There bush planes take you back to reality...Talkeetna, where the past three elected mayors have all been cats (two long haired Siamese and one tabby to be precise). I am grateful for the knowledge, experience, fortitude and tenacity of this team. We take on hardwork with a smile and show up for each other. Trash Man, Sled Dog, Polar Bear, Goldie Locks (formerly known as Pony Rider) Joey Dreamboat Manship and Bond-O are a few of the many nicknames this crew has, surely more will be given before The Bond Girls break into our base camp cache and get weird while we wait to fly off of the Kahiltna glacier.  

Thanks for stopping by to check up on your favorite secret agents!

Tune in tomorrow night for another installment of, “Who’s Cache is it Anyway?"

Shout out to Jessee and all of my Wyldcats! To Mom, Dad, Maggie and Lenora, I love you!

-Katherine

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:57 pm PT

The team has arrived in Talkeetna with all of our bags! 

Yesterday, we spent the day doing the hard work of packing for a three week expedition. It is hard to visualize how much you will actually need and hard to come to terms with the sheer weight of the equipment needed for a Denali Expedition. There are no porters here. We have to carry everything we need on our own backs, but that’s what makes Denali special. You can’t pay your way to the top. 

At the moment, we’re waiting in a dreary Talkeetna for a weather window to fly. We’ll be hanging out in the hangar, practicing and refining the skills needed to climb “ The Big One”, and crossing our fingers for an opening. 

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

RMI Guide Mike Walter led the ESS-Emmons team from Camp Schurman to Columbia Crest this morning.  After several days of training and two nights on the mountain, the team topped out just before 9 am today.  The team will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will descend to the trailhead and return to Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to the Emmons Seminar Team!

The Five Day Climb June 10 - 14 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams were lead by RMI Guides Walter Hailes and Joe Hoch who reported a gorgeous day of climbing.  The teams reached the crater rim a little before 9 am and were able to spend time crossing the crater to the Columbia Crest.  As this is a Five Day Climb, the teams will return to Camp Muir to rest and relax.  They will spend their second night on the mountain tonight. Tomorrow the teams will descending the remaining 4,500' to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Monday, June 12, 2023 - 10:06 pm PT

Day ???

As a kid I remember snow days being a little more fun than this. The team emerged from hibernation and were greeted by less wind, but a lot more snow - both key ingredients to our second straight rest day. We spent most of the morning uncovering and digging our tents out while Chef Joey cooked up some delicious breakfast burritos - a fair trade if you ask me. The team passed the time lounging in the posh, playing games, and learning that some are much worse at spelling than others. The weather finally cleared (kinda) in the afternoon, and we crawled out of our cocooned tents to soak in the sun. Days like this are what the Bond Girls prepared for. 

Hoping the sunshine continues to hold so we can venture out of our little camp tomorrow and push toward 14k.

- RMI Guide Andy Bond aka Sled Dog

A new chapter in the adventures of the newly named RMI Denali team - The Bond Girls - The flapping sound of our tent walls in the winds acted as our alarm clock this morning. We awoke to a freshly snowy and wind drifted camp. Egads! After shoveling off / out our various camp structures including the kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathroom, we set about to enjoy a slow morning. Hot drinks were casually sipped and topics with no answer were discussed. Is Texas just a terrible place or just an awful place? Whatever happened to David Hasselhoff? Or Oprah for that matter? At some point smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels were devoured. It became clear as morning went on that we would not be granted a break in the weather to head uphill to cache supplies. So with the plans for the day settled the team got ready for another weather day. Snacks were devoured and stories were told, all while the wind and snow raged on. We dug trenches through the snow that would have made a French WW1 general proud. Hopefully in the night the storm will break and the wind will cease. I know I would love myself some sunshine right now. Or perhaps a beer in a Bavarian town. If the weather persists, you’ll find us here again, same place, same time. Doing battle with The Great One.

Signing out from,

Camp 2 (11,000 feet) - Denali, Alaska

RMI Guide Jack Delaney and the Team

RMI Guides Avery Parrinello and Alex Halliday lead the Five Day Climb June 8 - 12 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  Alex reported a lovely day with a light breeze.  The teams reached the summit crater between 6:30 and 6:45 am PT.  The teams enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent just before 8 am.  Once back to Camp Muir they will take a short break to refuel and repack before descending the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's Five Day Climb team members!