Entries from Alaska Seminar
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Friday, May 28, 2021 - 1:04pm PT
We expected weather to move in last night, but it was definitely windier than we thought it was going to be. Thankfully we had a strong camp built up and, besides waking us up throughout the night, the gusts really caused us no issue.
We hoped to break down camp early and get moving up the main fork of the Kahiltna, but it didn’t make sense to risk losing a tent breaking down camp in the wind. The sun stayed out for most of the morning, so we just sat around hiding from the wind and playing two truths and a lie until about noon. By this point, the wind had died down significantly so we decided to pack up and venture out to find a new home. We left camp around 2pm, walked downhill onto the main fork of the Kahiltna glacier, and turned north. We had scattered clouds and moderate winds, keeping the temperature comfortably cool. In full sun and light winds, it can be uncomfortably hot on the Kahiltna, so we welcomed our all-natural A/C.
Setting up camp just north of Mount Crosson took no time at all. Everybody is a pro by now. We’re all in our tents now hiding from the wind again. There are plenty of climbing objectives in our new neighborhood, but we’ll just see what the weather allows.
RMI Guides JM Gorum & Team
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 - 11:54 pm PT
Another bluebird day here on the Kahiltna Glacier. Today was all about crevasse rescue for us. We found a nice big hole about 20 minutes from camp and practiced our haul systems from about 9 am until the sun got the better of us in the early afternoon. We retreated to our tents for our routine afternoon shade session.
The plan was to cover sled rigging and hauling before dinner, but all these perfect warm weather days caught up with the structural integrity of our camp. Our kitchen tent collapsed on itself as its foundation slowly melted away. Not a big deal. We moved it over twenty feet and built a new and improved version. Like so many home improvement hopefuls before us, once we started we just kept going, and before we knew it we had buffed out our entire camp and it was time for dinner.
We’ve got a bit of a weather system moving in over the next few days. It’s lightly snowing as I write. Weather permitting, tomorrow we’d like to pack up some gear and get out of town for a few days, venturing somewhere down on the main fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. We’ll wake up tomorrow, see how the weather looks and make our decision then. We’ll check in tomorrow, hopefully from our new home.
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 - 11:33 pm PT
We had another great day here on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Not a cloud in the sky and balmy temperatures made life easy. We woke up a bit earlier today, around 6, ate a quick breakfast and started breaking trail up towards our first climbing objective. Radio Control Tower is a peak located just outside of Base Camp. We made good time getting up to the ridge, and put a lot of different climbing techniques to use.
We got back to camp and hid from the sun in our tents for the early part of the afternoon. Once it cooled off a bit we practiced some crevasse rescue systems around the tents, with the hopes of finding a suitable crack to practice around tomorrow.
Everyone is adjusting quite well to glacier life. We’ve already got a book club in the making, and our nightly live-broadcast podcast is really taking off. Everyone sends their best to the folks back home! You’ll hear from us again tomorrow.
A book club in the making. Now THAT is not what you’d expect to learn is happening up on a glacier. Shows the balance of working both body and mind though. So rock on!
Posted by: Melanee Strootman on 5/26/2021 at 12:17 pm
Way to go team, keep up the good work. The view looks amazing.
Posted by: Frances Shaw on 5/26/2021 at 7:22 am
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Monday, May 24, 2021 - 11:13 pm PT
We made it in to base camp last night. We landed at our new home in the Alaska range around 7pm and got to work building camp. It took us about two hours to get settled in, and then we had a late dinner consisting of Talkeetna’s finest Mountain High Pizza Pie. It’s hardly ever a bad call to fly on to the glacier with four large pizzas.
This morning we had a leisurely start, waiting until the sun hit our tents around 8am. We drank some coffee and ate some toasty bagels, and then we got to work. Today was a skills focused day. We worked on footwork, rope travel, knots, and anchors. We didn’t venture too far out of camp, but we did do a little tour of the new neighborhood. Along the way we scoped out some crevasses that should work nicely for practicing rescue in the next few days.
We’re turning in now, tomorrow we’re going to get up a little earlier and put our newly practiced skills to use on a smaller climb close to camp. We’ll let you know how it goes.
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 348'
.jpg)
We joined the emails late but thought it was awesome to be able to hear and see some of what you experienced. Now that we know how to connect with you, we will stay tuned for more. You make us feel like we are lazy at home watching adventurous people like you having amazing experiences. Keep it up and have a great summer in the mountains. xoxo
Posted by: Sandy on 6/5/2019 at 6:28 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Just read seminar description. Sounds like the clients are intelligent people. Too many head to difficult mountains without knowing even basic climbing skills. I commend each of you, and wish y’all long lives, and safe climbing experiences!
Posted by: Susan Moore on 6/1/2019 at 11:38 pm
Until it clears enough for the pilots, you can socialize and play, or learn new skills. It doesn’t sound like any seminar I’ve ever been to. Sounds like a rough day. Lol! Enjoy the views. Spectacular!
Posted by: Susan Moore on 6/1/2019 at 11:29 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
Happy birthday Craig! ❤️ I hope you have great weather for your bday! Love you!
Posted by: Angy Gallimore on 5/31/2019 at 8:38 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
So happy to get to follow the adventures through your blog posts. Sounds like a continuous balance of learning, practicing and relaxing with the company of the team.
Posted by: Melanee Strootman on 5/28/2021 at 6:42 pm
View All Comments