Entries from Locations
May 22, 2014 - 6:51 pm PT
We've been in and out of the clouds all day here at our 14,000' camp on
Mt. McKinley. Despite the clouds and requisite light snow, the solar is pumping, and it feels like we're in a greenhouse. We woke on the later side, giving the sun time to make it to us, and ate another big breakfast of hash browns, eggs, and bacon. Anything to get calories in. After a bit of camp tending, we set out for a quick jaunt to our cache at 13,500'. We retrieved all of our food and personal gear, then turned and headed back for camp. The afternoon was for relaxing, drying sleeping bags and clothes, wet wipe bathes, and general self care and rest. More than likely we'll be resting tomorrow and training for the fixed lines.
Thanks for reading,
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
The RMI Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by
Casey Grom and
Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with 100% of their team! The team reported great climbing conditions and clear skies. The are currently back at Camp Muir where they will spend another night on the mountain and complete their skills training before making their way back to Ashford Basecamp on Friday afternoon.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
May 22, 2014 - 1:55 am
We are
tucked in tight at 14,200'!
It was a beautiful, clear morning, so we crashed our camp along with a few other groups, cached our sleds and snowshoes (no one was sorry to leave them behind), and once more pointed our feet towards Motorcycle Hill. The going was a lot easier today with the trail that we put in yesterday having had a fair amount of traffic. We passed through a once more windless Windy Corner, and headed for 14,000' with everyone moving well under heavy packs. Mike Walter and team were at 14,000' to greet us, and made our move in easy, helping with water, tent platforms, and a kitchen. We definitely owe them a big thanks. We lose the sun a bit earlier here, and the extra three thousand feet definitely makes itself evident in the temperature. No one needed coaxing to crawl into the sleeping bags and call it a day.
We are psyched to finally be here, in position to set ourselves up for a summit bid. It's nice to check off another milestone too. We'll let you know what adventures tomorrow brings.
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
May 21, 2014 - 11:16 pm
Today we spent a full day rotating through stations of
crevasse rescue and beacon searches. The team did well grasping the concept of producing mechanical advantage and they ran through the drills multiple times. By the end of the day, I think most ended up with an understanding of how the systems work. Clouds are moving in slowly and may linger for a few days here but that won't stop us from venturing out onto the surrounding glaciers. We have one more day here in base camp to prepare for our move north.
Goodnight to all.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 21, 2014 - 10:15 pm
We rested today at the
14,000' Camp, with plans in place to move up to high camp tomorrow and go for the top on Friday. We'll see how that shakes out, as the latest weather forecast is calling for extreme winds up high for the next few days. This is a drastic change in the forecast from yesterday, which called for 10-15 mph summit winds for the next few days. If any body out there can pull any strings with the weather gods, now would be a good time.
We'll continue to keep you up to date with our progress.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 21, 2014 - 7:12 pm PT
The day before flying on to the mountain is always an incredibly full day. At breakfast we discuss our expedition goals, strategy, schedule and everything else under the sun. This is followed up by our orientation with
Denali National Park. And then on to the hangar of our air service where we spend half the day making certain we have everything we need to survive the weeks on the mountain. The other half of the day is spent putting this incredible amount of gear and food in some semblance of order so that when we actually fly on to the glacier we can pick up and go.
It's been a long day, but one well spent. Tomorrow we're all set for the flight on to the mountain. But tonight, a final dinner where we can relax with a burger and a beer. A well deserved treat after such a busy day, and one we'll be dreaming of in the not to distant future.
RMI Guides Brent, Leah, and Nick
May 21, 2014 - 12:28am PT
After yesterday's blustery winds, snow, and ground blizzards, we woke up to silence. No shaking tents, no rumble from the ridge above, just a clear blue sky. Excited to move, we were the first team out of camp, cramponing up perfect styrofoam snow on Motorcycle and Squirrel Hill, then breaking trail through 5 or 6 inches of fluff on the Polo Field. The sun grew strong and bouncing off the fresh white snow, we were soon stripping layers. We cached 10 days worth of food and several gallons of fuel at
13,5k that we'll retrieve in a couple days after we move to 14 camp. It was a perfect day in the Alaska range, and everyone was excited to keep pushing forward. We were back in camp with several hours of sunshine left to dry sleeping bags and clothes. Hopefully tomorrow we 'll be packing up camp and making our way to 14.
We'll let you know how it goes.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Josh Maggard, Robby Young & Team
May 20, 2014 - 11:57pm PT
Today was a glorious day full of sun and cooler temperatures. We left camp early this morning and headed west, down to the main flow of the
Kahiltna glacier. The team got first hand experience of how we move across such massive fields of ice and the views both up and down glacier were amazing. Felt like we were in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Our objective was a small formation called the pizza wedge and as we got closer the crevasses got bigger. So big that our desired approach was cut off by a 200' wide crack over a mile long. Despite being rewarded with great weather and cooler temps, this years snow isn't making things easy. So we trekked back to camp and resumed training for a full day tomorrow of crevasse rescue and beacon searches.
All is well and beautiful here!
RMI Guide
Leon Davis & Team
May 20, 2014 - 10:42 pm PT
Hi Everyone!
We awoke this morning to beautiful blue skies and calm winds. Our team did an excellent job at being efficient and getting ready to make our carry. We left just after 9 am, making us the first party out of camp, which proved to be a clutch move as teams behind us began to stream upwards and other parties reported waiting two hours at the base of the fixed lines to begin their ascent. The carry was a good training exercise and everyone is now more comfortable cramponing on the steep blue ice and working their ascenders on the
fixed ropes. We timed it well, and were also the first group down the lines, putting us in camp early enough to enjoy some rest and relaxation in the sunshine with the boots off!
Tomorrow we plan on resting and rehydrating in anticipation of our move to high camp and summit attempt at the end of the week!
Thanks for following along! We are looking foreword to seeing friends and family soon!!
RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter, Steve Gately, and the Team
May 20, 2014 - 8:29 pm PT
We are closing in on
Talkeetna enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, being driven by our shuttle driver Louisa. It's nice to finally be all together and underway after so much anticipation and preparation.
No lost luggage or late planes. Now all we need to accomplish is to unload our gear at the hanger, check into our wonderfully quirky hotel run by our friends Pam and Al, before heading out for a bite and a beer or two.
If first impressions mean anything, I think were going to have a good time on this expedition.
Cheers!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
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So exciting to read your day to day progress. Vince and I send a special shout out to
Bob and Nicky. What a way to spend your 1st anniversary! Climb high!
Posted by: Deb Manetti on 5/23/2014 at 6:25 pm
Marko, Thinking of you. good luck, wishing you and the team good weather.
Posted by: Larry Dominguez on 5/23/2014 at 5:50 pm
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