Entries from Alaska Seminar

Friday, May 31, 2019 - 9:22 PM PT Today we practiced the rest day. A day full of reading, listening to music, watching TV shows, sporting eating, napping or whatever you can come up with to occupy your time. Being able to entertain yourself all day while it snows outside is an important skill to have on big mountains. It was a light snow today with limited visibility. But the sun's heat made it through the clouds making it rather toasty in the tents. You mix heat and being on the glacier for nine days, you get a pretty stinky tent. Lucky for us though showers are in our near future with a potential for flying off the glacier tomorrow. The forecast is looking better, so hopefully we can here the otters in the morning and catch a ride. Otherwise we will continue to practice resting for another day. Let's hope for blue skies, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Thursday, May 30, 2019 9:51 PM PT Luck was on our side! We woke to clear skies and sunshine. And you know what sunshine means, we went and played in some crevasses. Psyched that the weather hadn't arrived yet, we hit the snowy trail and walked to a beautiful section of the glacier. Tall rocky peaks stood all around us. Their sides full of hanging glaciers. We were safe out of harm's way but could see their ominous appearance. We spent the day ice climbing out of the crevasse and practicing our rope ascending skills. Everyone did a fantastic job in both activities. By the end of the day the forecasted weather started to creep in on us. A light breeze pushed at our backs almost assisting us back to camp. The clouds have begun to lower and small flurries float around camp. It is one of our team members birthdays tomorrow, and he is wishing for good weather. Let's hope his birthday wish is granted and this forecasted snow storm stays away another day. Goodnight all, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 9:26 PM PT Howdy howdy. Its us again but this time from new location. We decided to pack up camp, load the sleds, and go for a walk. The clouds came and went, giving us gorgeous views of the surrounding peaks and than closing in us making it look like the inside of a pingpong ball. Regardless of where the clouds were though, the furnace was turned to high and sweat ran down our faces. The saying goes freeze or fry in the mountains and we felt the fry. Once we arrived to our new home, we put on our working gloves and got down to business. It's a lot of work putting in a new camp. You gotta make flat platforms for the tents, dig a bathroom, and dig a kitchen. But at the end of the day it feels good to work hard and do some shoveling. Tomorrow will be less work and more play hopefully. Looks like the weather will hold for one more day before the next weather system moves in. So we will take advantage of any sunshine we can get and go explore. Time to catch some Zzz, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Monday, May 28, 2019 - 9:47 PM PT You never know what your are going to wake up to in the morning, but today we woke to a fresh blanket of snow and the sun trying to peak through decreasing clouds. We ate breakfast, packed our things for the day and headed to a beautiful crevasse. Crevasse rescue was the focus of today. Everyone on the team got to feel what it is like to catch a person falling into a crevasse, to run the rescue scenario, and got to enjoy the hypnotic beauty of a crevasse as they sat in their harness looking in awe. The weather cooperated all day with bouts of sunshine mixed with light snow flurries. All in all it was a fun day. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will see if we can go up Radio Tower. A nice objective to use some of our skills we have learned the last few days. Adios, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Good morning from The Ruth Glacier. Thirty hours of straight precipitation that started pretty much as we got to camp after summitting Mt. Dickey, kept us in our tents all day yesterday. The rain only turned into snow as the temperatures dropped with the night. We're currently waking up to a couple inches of fresh, heavy wet snow. But we are very happy! The name of the game was to stay dry and to eat good food; steak with quinoa and stir fried vegetables was an insuperable rest day dinner. Stand by to see what the weather brings today. Corell, Lucy and Elias

Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 9:37 PM PT Snow fell from the sky all day today. A wet, heavy snow. Sounded like rain pitter pattering on the tent. It made for a great background noise for afternoon siesta. But the snow didn't stop us from more learning. Today's topics were anchors and crevasse rescue. We did practice rounds on flat ground by our tents of making a 3:1 pulley system to haul out a fallen climber. Next time we practice we will be able to practice in a crevasse. Very exciting. We will see what tomorrows weather will bring and roll with what ever mother nature throws our way. As for now, we will fall asleep to the sound of snow falling onto the tent, which sounds like the snap crackle pop of rice krispies. RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 8:16 AM PT Hello from the Ruth Glacier Base Camp. What a great day and climb we had yesterday. Our climb of Mount Dickey went well and while better accomplished over 2 days, we had to single push it in order to nail the weather. Saved by the bell, we pulled back into camp as the rain started, and it's been coming down ever since. Double reason for a well deserved rest day today. We'll enjoy a good steak (and I'm not kidding) meal and revisit our climb that provided arguably the best views of the Alaska Range. Regards, Lucy, Corell and Elías

Saturday, May 25, 2019 - 9:31 PM PT Good evening all. We crawled out of our tents today to clear sunny skies. A perfect day to take a walk and learn some skills. After filling our bellies with bagels and cream cheese, we learned about rope travel. The best way to learn is to do, so we took the learning on the road. After a short stroll we came across a perfect place to park it for the day and learn different techniques to walk efficiently and also how to self and team arrest. Our day finished with a lesson on knots and hitches as the clouds descended and snow flurries danced from the sky. It looks like some weather might be moving in, but that's alright. We will just learn about defending camp and how to stay occupied in our tents. Crucial skills on big mountains. Nighty night, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Friday, May 24, 2019 11:03 PM PT There is nothing better than starting your day with a pancake bigger than your face and your morning commute on an otter plane. The clouds stayed at bay and we were able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier. The views are mesmerizing. Words cant explain how beautiful it all is. We gathered are things from the plane, said goodbye to our pilots, and settled into camp. Excitement continues to grow for what is to come in the next week. But for now we are snuggled into out tents ready to catch some Z's. Talk to you all tomorrow, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Thursday, May 23, 2019, 10:36 PM PT Good evening lower 48, it is us up here in the northern state of Alaska. The team gathered this afternoon in the Anchorage airport with a high stoke level for what is to come in the next ten days. The next ten days will bring beautiful views of pristine glaciated terrain that will be our classroom for learning the skills needed to do a Denali Expedition in the future. We made our way to Talkeetna, the launching pad to Denali and are all getting use to the 24-hour light as we settle into our hotel. Tomorrow will be a busy day of packing and shuffling gear so we can hopefully fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier. Keep your fingers crossed for blue skies, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team