RMI Expeditions Blog

Saturday, May 21, 2023 - 11:27 pm PT

Big moves today. We bounced back and forth on whether to move this morning, as it snowed all night and was still when we woke up. After a bit of waffling we decided it was time. Though it was pretty cloudy and white at 11,000', it was dead calm, and it looked much the same above. We stayed in that cloud until Windy Corner and it was HOT. It acted much like a microwave and we were sweating, both from heat and loads. The theme was pretty similar to yesterday - our travel was smooth, it was hard work, but the team was strong and we clipped right along. Six hours after leaving 11,000', we walked into our new home at 14,000'. 

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Saturday, May 21, 2023 - 10:30 pm PT

Good evening readers,

Today we woke to a wet rain falling on our tents. The plan was for an early start but we postponed our departure by a few hours watching the clouds. After yummy breakfast burritos we began breaking down camp and hit the trail. The team made their way back up Ski Hill on our way to our new home at 11,000' Camp. After walking for a few hours of descent weather we hit a hot pocket that made everyone go into a heat panic. But we persevered and made it to some cooler temps. At our last break the snow flakes got bigger and a chill hit the team but this was short lived and we were back to being hot as we rolled into camp. It was a tough long day with heavy packs but it sure feels good to be here. We made camp, ate dinner and it's off to bed to let the bodies recover. Tomorrow we will back carry down to our cache to be reunited with all our gear and then rest for the majority of the day. Snow falls as we get snuggled in. Frequent taps on tent walls make the snow slide down. We will see how much snow falls through the night.

Good night all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team

Saturday, May 20, 2023 8:36am PDT

We kept the proverbial ball rolling yesterday and established a cache at 13,700', above Windy Corner. The weather was remarkably hot Yesterday, a marked change from the previous two weeks we've been in AK. The icy slopes of Squirrel Hill & Windy Corner were mostly Slushy by the time we descended them in the afternoon. And today we are back to some snow and wind. Bizzarro.

Anyway, we're resting and acclimating today, with hopes of moving camp up to Genet Basin at 14,200' tomorrow.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

Friday, May 19, 2023 10:30pm PDT

We had a quite pleasant jaunt up to Windy Corner and around today to cache. It was good to make another step forward and get a load of food and fuel stashed up near 14,000’. Things are looking promising to move to 14,000’ soon, our first chance is tomorrow and hopefully we wake up and things look good to go. It's been Nice to be at 11,000', but we have seen enough of it and it's time to move on.

Our day today was calm, mostly clear, and very warm. The team was fully in sync, and we made short work of the round trip and walked back into camp looking fresh as ever. Juan chose mac and cheese for his birthday dinner, so we also had something to celebrate today.

All around, spirits are high, and life is good.

RMI Guides Pete, Henry, and Tatum

Friday, May 19, 2023 10:22pm PDT

After a long night’s rest, we woke up to clear skies, and warm temperatures. We had a quick breakfast of pop-tarts and grits as the sun began to shine onto ski hill. After our quick breakfast, we worked to tear down camp and begin our journey towards 11,000’ camp. We strapped into the snowshoes, and made our way up ski hill, through the 9,500’ camps, past our cache and finally up the final hill into our final destination for the night.

After a short break, we found a nice spot to call home for the next few days and spent the next few hours building camp and moving in before a warm dinner of ramen. Looks like a little bit of weather is coming in, but we are hoping to wake up with the sun and go get our cache tomorrow morning. Looking forward to a mellower day tomorrow! Check back in after the back carry.

RMI Guides Nikki, Leif, Lauren & Team

Friday, May 19, 2023 7:50pm PDT

Day two complete!

We woke to beautiful weather for our walk uphill to cache our gear. Camp was busy early in the morning with teams packing to move or carry. The team made fast work packing, and we were walking roped up only two hours after waking. Firm snow helped the sleds pull easily. The temperatures warmed fast and before we knew it was toasty out. So far, we have not experienced the Denali cold. I’m sure it is coming but right now we might as well be in the southern states.

Once we dug our hole deep enough that no ravens could get to our food, we headed back to camp.  It got a bit dire for a second with the overwhelming heat, but everyone made it in good style. A well-deserved down time was enjoyed before we rallied for dinner. During our rest we were greeted by a little bird that landed on my food, I think that is a good sign. Burritos filled our bellies, and we discussed tomorrow's plan.

As we lay in our tents resting for tomorrow a light snow makes a pitter patter on our tents. Fingers crossed it stays light and we can move to 11k camp tomorrow.

RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Andy Bond and Alex Halliday stayed at Camp Muir last night. The upper mountain was covered in a heavy cap with significant thunderstorms. Currently the weather at Camp Muir is sunny with the cap still hanging over the upper mountain and a marine layer sitting at about 5,000’. The team will enjoy the calm morning before starting their descent to Paradise. 

Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:55pm PDT

Hello from the Kahiltna Glacier!

What a busy day it was. We loaded planes and were in the air by 9am. It was chilly morning in Talkeetna, warmed by bour last Lattes and Michael but man was it hot on our walk. I thought it was cold in May. We took off downhill on what is called heart break hill. It is not heart breaking yet but it will be on our return. But that is a way away from now. Everything is so big around us you have little idea how far everything is. Is it close or is it miles away? We walked for 5.5 hours to reach our camp at the base of ski hill. It is a tough walk with heavy sleds and heavy packs. You really enter a pain cave to push through. One stretch is your quads, the next your hip flexors, the next your calves, something is always uncomfortable. But hey that is what we signed up for!

After setting up tents and moving in we gathered for dinner. We carried in pizza from Mountain High Pizza, and it was delicious. We topped off the night with a hot drink and the crawled into our sleeping bags. It’s a marvelous feeling to lay down and release the body. Tomorrow we will carry gear to just over 10k feet and then return to our camp for the night. The lighter loads will feel a lot better going up ski hill. Weather is moving in so fingers crossed it stays at bay till we return to camp or even better till the following evening so we can get to 11k camp. The team is looking good, and morale is high.

We are all excited to keep moving uphill.

Goodnight all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team

Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:36pm PDT

After a late night and long day yesterday, we woke up around the time the sun hit our tents. After a quick breakfast of frosted mini wheats, we put together the group loads to cache and begin our climb up ski hill. After 4.5 long hours we pulled into our cache site, dug a hole, and tossed our group food, and personal caches in. After attaching the sleds to our packs, we began the descent back to camp. A bit earlier this evening than last, we made some reindeer sausage jambalaya and prepped for our big move to 11 camp tomorrow.

The weather looks good, hopefully we'll touch base from 11k tomorrow!

RMI Guides Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, and Lauren Macklin

Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:40pm PDT

The weather finally cooperated with us, and we were able to make the move to 11,200'. Everyone did great pulling heavy sleds. We're currently cozy in our tents and looking forward to a good night's rest. If the weather is nice tomorrow, we're hoping to put a cache In above Windy Corner. We'll let you know what we find tomorrow.

RMI Guides Mike, Abby, Emma & Team