Entries from Locations
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 - 9:25 pm PT
Hello again,
It was an early morning today for our carry to 13,500' to cache gear. We were the first to leave 11,000' Camp as we headed up Motorcycle Hill. It's not a casual start as it's quite steep and contains some cracks to step over. Once onto Motorcycle Hill, we preceded to go up Squirrel Hill and then walked across some flatter terrain called the Polo Fields. At the other end of the Polo Fields is Windy Corner and that leads us to our cache. It was a fantastic day with good weather and beautiful views. Words and pictures never do it justice. Once we dug our hole and offloaded our gear it was back to camp. It was a long day and deserves a rest before we break down camp and move to 14,000' Camp. Weather seems to be holding with chances of snow but for us some rest will set us up for success later on. Fingers crossed for good weather Thursday on our move. For now we are going to enjoy some down time in our tents and plenty of opportunity for snack consumption.
Goodnight all,
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 - 9:05 pm PT
Another mellow day in the books. We woke up late to rest after our big carry yesterday. We made a big breakfast of bagels and smoked salmon before returning to our tents to rest, and prepare to move tomorrow. After spending the day reading, sleeping and preparing gear to leave we had another dinner of quesadillas and crawled into our sleeping bags for an early night.
We hope to check in from 14,000 Camp tomorrow!
Hey Kevin! Sending best wishes for Great rest followed up by Strong Climbing!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/25/2023 at 3:31 am
Reading blogs daily. Glad to know all going well, Matt !!
Posted by: Peter J George on 5/24/2023 at 6:01 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 - 8:23 pm PT
We had a wonderfully serene rest day today. It started with a prolonged breakfast scramble brunch, transitioned to hours of lounging, and culminated in a few hours of practicing fixed rope travel and running belays. Now we're fixin' for a burrito dinner. Tomorrow we hope to establish a cache up high so we're ready to make a summit bid if and when we get a good weather window, which could come in as little as a few days. The forecast is promising, but we won't hold our breath at this altitude.
We're taking it day by day.
Rich, Happy Birthday! I hope you can get my wish on this way! Good luck for all of you! Dia
Posted by: Dia on 5/25/2023 at 12:09 pm
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 10:50 pm PT
We set an early alarm, and peaked our heads out the tent to see what the weather was doing. Surprised to find clear skies above us, we blasted the stoves and got every up for a quick breakfast of oatmeal. After eating a quick breakfast, we loaded up our packs with the group gear, and personal food we wanted to cache and began the first stretch of the climb requiring crampons. Up until now, we have been on a long rope interval, and primarily in snowshoes. From here on out we will be climbing in crampons, and using an ice axe. Just as sun hit camp, we began our way up the steep Motorcycle Hill, around the corner up Motorcycle Hill, through the broken up Polo Field and around Windy Corner. The morning was cold, the wind was howling for the first few stretches but by the time we got to the corner, the wind had died down and we were warming up. We passed the common cache site at 13,500' and made our way up to 14,000 Camp, where we were greeted by other RMI teams. We buried our cache, and then headed back downhill to 11,000' Camp for the night. We made a big dinner of Annie's Mac and Cheese and bacon, and then promptly crawled into our sleeping bags after a long day. The team did great today, setting us up well. We are looking forward to another slow morning, and rest before fully moving to 14 Camp.
Sounds amazing!. Hope you are having fun, Kevin!
Posted by: Jim Boerger on 5/27/2023 at 3:50 pm
Way to go!! Rest up!!! Cheering from Houston. Go Dawny! Go Robin!! And go team!!
Posted by: tiff on 5/24/2023 at 11:27 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 10:11 pm PT
It was an incredibly pleasant day at 14,000'. It snowed lightly all night but when we woke up it was bluebird and calm. We took our time over breakfast (again) and started to wrap our heads around the schedule and logistics above here. We did an afternoon training session to prepare for the fixed lines and running belays of the West Buttress above, then retired for a warm and sunny siesta. The rest was part of the plan as we intend to head up the fixed lines and along the West Buttress tomorrow to put in a small cache and get familiar with the terrain. With that complete, the puzzle pieces that we have control over will be in place for our summit push.
Happy belated Birthday Juan! Hope you and the crew are safe and enjoying yourselves. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Posted by: Mike Jenison on 5/23/2023 at 6:57 pm
Keep going Bailey!! Atlas has been shrugging.
Posted by: Stewart Beshears on 5/23/2023 at 5:40 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, May 23, 2023 - 9:01 pm PT
Hello fellow readers,
Today was our first rest day of the trip and much needed. Our sunburnt lips and face, chaffed hips, and tired bodies needed the well deserved rest. We enjoyed a casual morning with coffee and pancakes at 9:30 am, followed by lots of down time in our tents. The afternoon was spent gathering our group gear piles for our cache tomorrow and reviewing crampon technique for tomorrow's steep ascent up motorcycle hill. The team is ready and psyched to head further up Denali and get closer to being on top. Camp is bustling with more hopeful people. As per usual we have all crawled into our tents to get settled for the night to rest up for tomorrow's cold early start.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team
Corey, hope you know I’ve been gloating about you to everyone lately. Went up to visit some Bilodeaus in VT and they’re thoroughly impressed with your expeditioning!!
Also, the Cubs won tonight. May this power you through the next portion of the journey.
Annanana + Bennington (not Bennington, VT though)
Posted by: Anna Nolan Not So Mountain Explorer on 5/23/2023 at 8:03 pm
Glad to read about the rest…now awaiting the rest of story. Go Bethany. You can do this! Love Mom and Dad
Posted by: Jan L. Gray on 5/23/2023 at 7:27 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 7:55 pm PT
The weather was gorgeous today. We retrieved our cache from Windy Corner, so we're all set here at 14,000'. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and socializing in the sun. Meanwhile, the guides excavated a palacial cook/dining tent for the team. Our plan is to review fixed rope travel and rest tomorrow, taking advantage of another day/night to acclimate to the altitude, and then establish a cache up high on Wednesday. A little weather might move in Thurday, but we're optimistic for a good window for a summit push this weekend.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Sending bro’ support from Tucson to Emmo from Pete and Lisa. Remember your increasingly dilapidated 60 something bud’s are living vicariously through you. Makes us proud just to know you are up there.
Posted by: Pete Eckerstrom on 5/23/2023 at 10:05 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023, 9:33am PDT
Burdened with heavy packs, we climbed the 3000' to Genet Basin, our new home. Climbing conditions were excellent; weather ranged from warm and sunny to cold and breezy to snowy pea soup. Five hours after leaving our 11k Camp we arrived at 14k Camp, then had another few hours of building camp, melting snow, and making dinner. This morning is beautiful and we will go back to Windy Corner to pick up our cache. Lots of resting and eating will ensue.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team
Could someone just let us know which expedition Scott Crist is on (don’t need any other details) but we would like to follow the blog for that particular trip he is on. He asked me to follow it before he left and after the 2-3 day delay when they could not get on the mountain.
Thanks, Doug Mitchell
Posted by: DOUG MITCHELL on 5/22/2023 at 2:34 pm
Making great progress now !
Posted by: Kim H on 5/22/2023 at 1:58 pm
Posted by: Josh McDowell, Bryan Mazaika
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier Four Day Climb teams led by RMI Guides Josh McDowell and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier shortly after 7:00am. The teams spent about an hour on the summit enjoying the beautiful weather. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to the team! Kudos to Vaughn and Zaid!
Posted by: Aisha Ahmad on 5/22/2023 at 12:00 pm
Congratulations, well done, and Team return to Base safely. God Speed….
Posted by: Sanjay Kapur on 5/22/2023 at 8:40 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:59 pm PDT
It was a wonderful morning to wake up at 14k Camp. A classic 14k Camp morning includes sunshine and stunning views of Hunter and Foraker -- make this trip so special. We waited for the sun to warm the tents, and rolled into coffee with eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon for breakfast/brunch. We readied to run back towards Windy Corner to grab our cache. We made quick work of the back carry, 1.5 hours round trip, largely due to the sudden snow squalls and wind that rolled in hard on us. It motivated us to get back to tents. With all of our stuff now at 14k Camp, we are psyched. The weather looks to remain sporty tomorrow, so we will likely rest, but we are in place and ready to make our first tour up the fixed lines when the mountain says we may pass, and that will set us up to start looking for our summit window. Cheers from 14,000' on Denali!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and team
Just wanted to let Bailey know I’m rooting for her! Enjoy the beautiful mountain, and good luck with the summit push to the whole group! (I hope this is the right group).
Posted by: Cecilie on 5/23/2023 at 5:13 am
Woot Woot!! Looks Amazing up there!
Posted by: Pete on 5/22/2023 at 10:34 am
So glad you all are making good time and having good weather! I’m thinking of you!
Onward!
Adam
Posted by: Adam on 5/24/2023 at 1:37 pm
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