Entries from Alaska

The storm that moved in so deliberately yesterday evening seemed to pause this morning.  At 6AM it was calm at 14k although we could hear big winds up on the crest of the West Buttress.  Cloud was all around us, but it wasn’t doing a lot.  We ate a slow breakfast and watched the weather.  Having no other appointments or engagements, we decided to walk uphill to attempt our carry of supplies.  The goal would be 16,200 ft, the top of the fixed lines.  We were underway by 9 AM, by which time it was snowing lightly.  Since we had two hours of straightforward uphill trudging before the start of the more complicated climbing, we figured we would give the weather a chance to improve.  It did not.  We turned around at 15,300 ft with the winds seemingly on the increase up above and snow beginning to fall heavily.  It only took thirty minutes to reach camp again. 

Winds began to hammer our camp by early afternoon and so we built big walls of snow-bricks to protect tents.  Thankfully, the fury was short lived and not all that furious.  We got a break by late afternoon, which certainly made dinner a bit easier to enjoy in the cook tent. The storm is still with us at 9 PM, ripping the upper reaches of Denali, but sparing 14 Camp for the time being. 

We’ll give our carry another try tomorrow should we get the chance.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Friday, July 2, 2021 - 1:16 pm PT

Just as forecasted, a storm has settled in on Denali. At 14K Camp it is snowing with some moderate gusts of wind and very little visibility. Up above us on the mountain we can hear the winds crashing over the West Buttress like waves in the ocean.

We're protected and safe, though, with a well-built camp. After a hash brown, egg, and cheese scramble for breakfast, we're just relaxing in our tents or in the cook tent, reading, napping, and sharing conversations, a thin piece of nylon the difference between comfort and suffering.

This storm is forecasted to last into tomorrow, and we're in no hurry to stick our noses in it. Hopefully we'll get some nicer weather in its wake.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Thursday, July 1, 2021 - 10:06 pm PT

Today was a simple one.  We got up at 6 AM, ate breakfast and put on our spikes for a short walk down to the cache at 13,500 ft.  The team loved the views of Mts Foraker and Hunter.  The Tordrillo Mountains were clearly visible to the South.  Ravens hadn’t even attempted to break into our well-buried cache.  We had it out and distributed for carrying in minutes.  Then we walked slowly back uphill with full packs, reaching camp by 10:30 AM.  Rest and rehydration was in order as we got out of the strong sun and into our tents.  A storm was gradually forming, first with winds up high on Denali, then with a steadily lowering cloud cap.  This didn’t prevent us from conducting a brief review of the climbing techniques we mean to employ on the fixed-rope section between 15,000 and 16,000 ft tomorrow when we carry high. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Thursday, July 1, 2021 - 2:19 pm PT

Just a walk in the park,

A short nap began our long walk out. A 10pm wake up and a midnight start got us to basecamp an early hour. Heavy sleds and packs were no match for our motivation to shower away 22 days worth of smell. Walking the Kahiltna in the middle of the night (granted its always light out) is peaceful. A great time for reflection. Its been a fun, albeit hard, 22 days on Denali. We had it all, snow, wind, sunshine, all three at once. What we didn't have was any illness or injury and that's the important part. Showered, fed, and full of oxygen-rich air, we are all ready for our journey home. Its been a memorable expedition but now its time for family, friends, and recovery. 

Well done team, well done,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

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