RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 10:11 pm PT
It was an incredibly pleasant day at 14,000'. It snowed lightly all night but when we woke up it was bluebird and calm. We took our time over breakfast (again) and started to wrap our heads around the schedule and logistics above here. We did an afternoon training session to prepare for the fixed lines and running belays of the West Buttress above, then retired for a warm and sunny siesta. The rest was part of the plan as we intend to head up the fixed lines and along the West Buttress tomorrow to put in a small cache and get familiar with the terrain. With that complete, the puzzle pieces that we have control over will be in place for our summit push.
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, May 23, 2023 - 9:01 pm PT
Hello fellow readers,
Today was our first rest day of the trip and much needed. Our sunburnt lips and face, chaffed hips, and tired bodies needed the well deserved rest. We enjoyed a casual morning with coffee and pancakes at 9:30 am, followed by lots of down time in our tents. The afternoon was spent gathering our group gear piles for our cache tomorrow and reviewing crampon technique for tomorrow's steep ascent up motorcycle hill. The team is ready and psyched to head further up Denali and get closer to being on top. Camp is bustling with more hopeful people. As per usual we have all crawled into our tents to get settled for the night to rest up for tomorrow's cold early start.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team
Corey, hope you know I’ve been gloating about you to everyone lately. Went up to visit some Bilodeaus in VT and they’re thoroughly impressed with your expeditioning!!
Also, the Cubs won tonight. May this power you through the next portion of the journey.
Annanana + Bennington (not Bennington, VT though)
Posted by: Anna Nolan Not So Mountain Explorer on 5/23/2023 at 8:03 pm
Glad to read about the rest…now awaiting the rest of story. Go Bethany. You can do this! Love Mom and Dad
Posted by: Jan L. Gray on 5/23/2023 at 7:27 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 7:55 pm PT
The weather was gorgeous today. We retrieved our cache from Windy Corner, so we're all set here at 14,000'. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and socializing in the sun. Meanwhile, the guides excavated a palacial cook/dining tent for the team. Our plan is to review fixed rope travel and rest tomorrow, taking advantage of another day/night to acclimate to the altitude, and then establish a cache up high on Wednesday. A little weather might move in Thurday, but we're optimistic for a good window for a summit push this weekend.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Sending bro’ support from Tucson to Emmo from Pete and Lisa. Remember your increasingly dilapidated 60 something bud’s are living vicariously through you. Makes us proud just to know you are up there.
Posted by: Pete Eckerstrom on 5/23/2023 at 10:05 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023, 9:33am PDT
Burdened with heavy packs, we climbed the 3000' to Genet Basin, our new home. Climbing conditions were excellent; weather ranged from warm and sunny to cold and breezy to snowy pea soup. Five hours after leaving our 11k Camp we arrived at 14k Camp, then had another few hours of building camp, melting snow, and making dinner. This morning is beautiful and we will go back to Windy Corner to pick up our cache. Lots of resting and eating will ensue.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team
Could someone just let us know which expedition Scott Crist is on (don’t need any other details) but we would like to follow the blog for that particular trip he is on. He asked me to follow it before he left and after the 2-3 day delay when they could not get on the mountain.
Thanks, Doug Mitchell
Posted by: DOUG MITCHELL on 5/22/2023 at 2:34 pm
Making great progress now !
Posted by: Kim H on 5/22/2023 at 1:58 pm
Posted by: Josh McDowell, Bryan Mazaika
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier Four Day Climb teams led by RMI Guides Josh McDowell and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier shortly after 7:00am. The teams spent about an hour on the summit enjoying the beautiful weather. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to the team! Kudos to Vaughn and Zaid!
Posted by: Aisha Ahmad on 5/22/2023 at 12:00 pm
Congratulations, well done, and Team return to Base safely. God Speed….
Posted by: Sanjay Kapur on 5/22/2023 at 8:40 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:59 pm PDT
It was a wonderful morning to wake up at 14k Camp. A classic 14k Camp morning includes sunshine and stunning views of Hunter and Foraker -- make this trip so special. We waited for the sun to warm the tents, and rolled into coffee with eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon for breakfast/brunch. We readied to run back towards Windy Corner to grab our cache. We made quick work of the back carry, 1.5 hours round trip, largely due to the sudden snow squalls and wind that rolled in hard on us. It motivated us to get back to tents. With all of our stuff now at 14k Camp, we are psyched. The weather looks to remain sporty tomorrow, so we will likely rest, but we are in place and ready to make our first tour up the fixed lines when the mountain says we may pass, and that will set us up to start looking for our summit window. Cheers from 14,000' on Denali!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and team
Just wanted to let Bailey know I’m rooting for her! Enjoy the beautiful mountain, and good luck with the summit push to the whole group! (I hope this is the right group).
Posted by: Cecilie on 5/23/2023 at 5:13 am
Woot Woot!! Looks Amazing up there!
Posted by: Pete on 5/22/2023 at 10:34 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:47 pm PDT
Today was a big day! Our first official rest day of the trip. After a few long hard pushes, we decided to sleep in and take the entire day to recover, and prep for the big carry tomorrow. We woke with the sun, and had a few rounds of breakfast burritos. After a leisurely breakfast, the remainder of the day was spent resting, recovering, reading and napping. Just before dinner we reviewed a bit of cramponing and ice axe techniques to prepare for the terrain above 11k Camp, and then rolled into an early dinner. Tomorrow we'll make our way towards 14k Camp to cache some food, and gear before returning to 11k Camp.
RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team
Wow! Amazing view!
Glad you got some rest time Kevin and team
Posted by: Karie Seubert on 5/23/2023 at 6:37 am
Climb Strong Kevin and team and rest strong too!!! Spectacular!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/23/2023 at 3:27 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
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Sunday, May 21, 2023, 9:40pm PDT
Hello, hello!
Today we woke up to clear skies and chill to the air. The cold is a welcoming feeling after so much heat. We whipped up some bagels then headed back downhill to retrieve our cache. We made quick getting to it and steady work getting back up to camp. After another round of bagels we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. The sun warmed our tents and dried wet socks before evening showers drifted in. Camp has filled up with more eager climbers hoping for the chance to stand on top of this beautiful mountain. One RMI teamed moved to 14k Camp where another RMI team sits waiting. We are here at 11k Camp with one more RMI team. We have twelve RMI guides currently on the mountain and eight of them are female. It's pretty cool to have so many strong female guides on the mountain at once. Any who, we are all snuggled up once again in our sleeping bags reading books, listening to music, watching TV or eating snacks. It's a fun feeling knowing we do not have to walk anywhere tomorrow and get to sleep in.
So goodnight all,
RMI Guides Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland and Team
Hey Hannah! Tell your team that Farmer Dave said they are Lucky to have you for their guide!! All the best to you and your Team!! Climb Strong!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/23/2023 at 3:30 am
Woo go Corey! So proud of you
Posted by: Mom and Dad Burley on 5/22/2023 at 6:09 pm
Saturday, May 20, 2023 - 11:18 am PT
We woke up to snow lightly falling at camp this morning, and slow rolled into a warm breakfast of toasted bagels and bacon. After enjoying a second cup of coffee, we rigged the empty sleds to our backpacks, roped up and headed out from 11,000' Camp down to our cache at 9,900'. Making quick work with empty packs, we arrived at the cache in just under a half hour. We dug up the cache, divvied up the group gear, re-rigged our sleds and traced our steps from yesterday back to 11,000' Camp. It was short, but hard stretch to roll back into 11 Camp. We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of snow storms, and enjoying the afternoon to recover. After a few hours of down time, we had a festive dinner of beef burritos with salsa verde and then prepared to potentially carry tomorrow. We will see what the morning brings, check in tomorrow!
Keep us updated!! Climb Strong Kevin!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/22/2023 at 3:33 am
Love the updates! Such an epic adventure!! Cheering you all on from Seattle!
Posted by: Mary Upton on 5/21/2023 at 10:34 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Luedtke, Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Nicole De Petris, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb May 18 - 21 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Dave reported broken clouds above with some sunshine coming through and warming the team as they started their descent from the crater rim. There is also a cloud deck below them at around 8,000' this morning. Once back at Camp Muir the teams will repack and take a quick break before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to their return to Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congrats to the summiteers. Especially Vaughan and Zaid
Posted by: Paul Andrews on 5/21/2023 at 3:59 pm
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Happy belated Birthday Juan! Hope you and the crew are safe and enjoying yourselves. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Posted by: Mike Jenison on 5/23/2023 at 6:57 pm
Keep going Bailey!! Atlas has been shrugging.
Posted by: Stewart Beshears on 5/23/2023 at 5:40 pm
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