Entries from Alaska

Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - 10:06 pm PT

At long last, we made it from the lower mountain to the upper mountain.  The weather was perfect all day long, although forecasts hadn’t given any indication that it might be.  It was a bit of work to get packed up and moving out of 11,000 ft this morning… we tend to put down roots, but by 9AM we were stretching the ropes out and walking toward Motorcycle Hill.  The snow surface was firm and perfect for crampons.  We moved on up over familiar terrain, but this time with unlimited views of tundra and rivers to the north.  Views were spectacular as we turned Windy Corner, but of course we couldn’t gaze at them too long -lots of climbing stuff to concentrate on at the Corner.  There was little or no wind to be had as we made our way into Genet Basin and the fabled Fourteen Camp at 2:30 in the afternoon.  Our expedition experience changed markedly as we hauled through camp.  As one of the last guided teams of the season, we’ve been mostly on our own or around one or two other teams at most.  It was nearly overwhelming to be seeing so many teams coming and going from 14 Camp. Socially it was exciting -for both guides and climbers- to be seeing friends and co-workers from various companies -many for the first time since before the pandemic.  A handful of teams were coming down into camp after summit bids yesterday. Briefly, all three RMI teams on the mountain were in the same place at the same time.  The National Park Service B3 helicopter was in action conducting rescues high and low.  As we dug in to establish our camp we felt like we’d come into the center of everything.  For a short time at least.  Many of those we saw will shortly go lower or higher.  We still need to drop down tomorrow morning for our cached supplies parked just above the Corner.  But tonight we are sleeping at fourteen-thousand-hard-earned feet. 

Best Regards.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - 8:31 pm PT

Hey-O,

A long day indeed. We woke at 17K Camp and are now resting at 11K Camp. We have changed our focus of going up the mountain to going down the mountain. The focus is always on going higher and higher but the most important part is the downhill. Our trip is coming to an end and we are making our way back to basecamp. These long days walking gives plenty of time to reflect on the trip. It's been a long one, with today marking day 21. Many experiences and memories have been had. We may have not gained the summit but we have gained stories on stories of our time out here. And really the summit is just the cherry on top of an experience of a lifetime. Tomorrow we walk the Kahiltna Glacier with the final bit called Heart Break Hill. Its only a quick nap at 11K before we hit the glacier around midnight. Caffeine is going to be our friend.

Oh how sweet the air is,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - 6:26 pm PT

The winds and clouds from yesterday and last night disappeared and we woke to crystal blue skies this morning. After breakfast we loaded our packs with food and fuel and headed out of 14K Camp, up towards the Headwall. The first two hours were in the shade, and chilly, which made for great climbing weather. We were finally in the sun by the time we hit the fixed ropes and the temperature was downright pleasant.

We ended up putting our cache in at around 16,400' and headed back to camp, beating both the heat and the many climbers descending from high camp.

Back in camp a little after 2pm, we had plenty of time for a nap before dinner. Now we're set up with our cache up high. We'll take a rest day tomorrow and then wait for a good weather window to head up to high camp and hopefully have a chance for a summit bid.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 - 10:13 pm PT

And that's that,

Today we gave it all we could. The forecast was for less than 15mph winds and party sunny...well that wasn't exactly what we got. Camp was windy from the start. The sun was out but so was the wind. But today was our last shot so we left camp. It was a slow start behind a bunch of teams on the Autobahn but we made it to Denali Pass. The first stretch of the day is a real butt kicker. Clouds began to roam above Denali but conditions were still good. As the day progressed so did the clouds. By late afternoon we were in a cloud and the winds had picked up. We pushed as far as we could until it didn't make sense to keep going. 19,500' was our high point. Pushing past there with the conditions we had would be a risk. As the saying goes the mountains will be there for another try. They are much more robust than we are. The team made good, safe work making it back to camp. It would have been nice to arrive to a quiet camp but it is rather windy here. It will be a rowdy night in the winds but tomorrow we will skiddattle out of here to the land of more oxygen.

We gave it our all,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 - 10:12 pm PT

The morning weather looked promising enough for early rising.  We launched into breakfast and made the decision to take one last acclimatization day before moving up to 14 thousand feet.  That meant that breakfast turned into brunch and that we would spend the day aggressively resting so as to be ready for a move tomorrow.  It was generally fine weather down on our part of the mountain and we got in good naps and meals and snacking sessions.  By afternoon and evening, clouds were stacking up on the mountains around us but things remained calm at 11,000 ft. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 - 4:25 pm PT

The sky was blue and winds were calm at 14k this morning. Up higher it was a different story, with a lenticular cloud cap on the summit and long plumes of spindrift streaming out to the east. We enjoyed a morning jaunt to the Edge of the World, where we could look down almost seven thousand feet below us to the Kahiltna Glacier and our camp at the Base of Ski Hill at 7800'.

We also spent a few ours reviewing and practicing some climbing techniques that we will employ up higher.

Our next task is to establish a cache up high, above the Headwall on the West Buttress proper. Weather willing we'll do that tomorrow. Now it's time for some reading and resting before dinner.

We'll be in touch tomorrow.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Sunday, June 27, 2021 - 8:18 pm PT

An easy day for our team with mostly sunny and calm conditions. We only needed a few of us to snowshoe back down to 9,500 ft to retrieve cached food and fuel. The gang sorted gear and got ready for carrying up past Windy Corner. We hope for nice weather in the morning for that mission.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, June 28, 2021 - 9:02 am PT

With clear skies and light winds we retraced our steps from a few days ago up to Genet Basin. This time, though, we had our whole kit with us and now we've a established a comfortable camp at 14,200'. Today will be a rest day for  us, and we will review the skills necessary to travel on the fixed rope above us on the head wall.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Saturday, June 26, 2021 - 9:51 pm PT

Hello all,

Our waiting game is coming to an end. If we wake tomorrow and the winds look good we will head to 17K Camp to get in position for the summit. Camp has been very busy with teams carrying to 17K, moving into 14K Camp, and others getting ready for their move to 17K Camp. Lots of excitment and chatter roaming through the camp. We will see what happens. I know we are all ready to tackle the remaining six thousand feet of this mountain. We have been staring at it for over a week. Since tomorrow may be an early day, its early to bed for the team. We may have a big day ahead of us.

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Saturday, June 26, 2021 - 10:40 pm PT

The bad weather hadn't finished, but we made our break for 11K Camp just the same.  What is Denali without some wandering in whiteouts?

It took about four hours and that put us into 11K at 3PM.  So nice to see our friends in Mike Walter's group. We dug in right next door to them. Still light snow falling and a lot of cloud, but we are delighted to have different scenery when we can see it.  Tomorrow we'll go back down to retrieve loads.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn