RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, James Bealer, David Price, Axel Ryd, Jackson Breen, Leif Bergstrom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and James Bealer, were on the summit at 6am this morning. The weather had clear skies and a steady breeze of 15-20 mph. They are currently working their way back to Camp Muir.
Posted by: Alex Halliday, Henry Coppolillo, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
The Expedition Skills Seminar on the Kautz Glacier has been training on the mountain all week in warm temperatures. This morning was their summit attempt. Due to a significant amount of icefall on the route, the team had to abort their summit bid. The team is safely working their way back to camp and are descending from the mountain today.
Did the Wilson still go, or did you have to go up the fan?
Posted by: Joe on 7/1/2021 at 5:24 pm
Good effort to the team! Any comment on where the icefall was and where they decided to turnaround?
Posted by: Shawn Rezendes on 7/1/2021 at 9:43 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli, Matt McEttrick
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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.
You’re almost there!!! Hope someone brought the fireworks !! Safe travels :)
Posted by: Mom and Cindy on 7/2/2021 at 4:38 pm
Congrats on the 14K level. It sounds like the camp was as busy as downtown Boston here.
The views sound tremendous & worth the effort. Good luck with the summiting.
You can ask Matt McEttrick how Denali compares with his first family climb here in Milton MA
at the top of Great Blue Hill (elevation 635’) overlooking Boston and Massachusetts Bay.
Joe McEttrick
Posted by: Joe McEttrick on 7/1/2021 at 12:47 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Dustin Wittmier, Devin Guffey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
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
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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.
Following along with you Aaron! Great photos and I may paint a few - enjoy the snow it’s HOT here! We love you
Mom and Dad
Posted by: Mom on 7/2/2021 at 8:53 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Dustin Wittmier, Devin Guffey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 19,500'
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
Gutted for you but great effort and staying power to stick it out as long as you have. Devin & Dustin it was great to see you when we were on our way down (I was with Mike King’s group). Here’s to a safe descent and lots of beers!!
Posted by: Huw Rothwell on 7/1/2021 at 4:07 pm
Really an impressive achievement and I’m so happy and so proud of you all for going after this exciting adventure!
I admire your patience & tenacity Byron! We all love living your adventures!
Mom & Dad
Posted by: Judy & Dale on 6/30/2021 at 1:29 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli, Matt McEttrick
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
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,
GO TEAM DAVE . Sending Prayers & Best to Ur team ... Take care y’all & Keep smiling !!! Please give our luv to Sanjeev Nagrath —- Rohan, Courtney, Nora , Niki & Anjalika
Happy Day :)
Posted by: Anjalika Nagrath on 7/1/2021 at 8:14 am
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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.
Posted by: Eric Frank, Jenny Konway, Kiira Antenucci, James Bealer, Nathan Delmar, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,300'
The Five Day Mt. Rainier Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Jenny Konway, turned at High Crack today due to hearing and seeing a significant amount of rock and icefall. They are back at Camp Muir and will be descending early this morning.
Posted by: JM Gorum, Chase Halbert, Augi Fleer, Connor Mullady
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 9,440'
RMI Guide JM Gorum called from Camp Schurman (9,440') around 9 am, the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons June 25 - 30 team had made it safely back to camp after making their summit attempt this morning. The team encountered soft snow and poor route conditions at 12,600' which caused them to turn back. The team will spend their third and final night on the mountain tonight. Tomorrow they will pack up camp and descend to the White River Trailhead and return to Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford.
We hope they had a great week of training and climbing on Mt. Rainier!
Well done to everyone who was a part of the summit team! You are all amazing!
Posted by: Jena Marks on 7/1/2021 at 10:35 am
Way to go team.. Looking forward to stories.
Posted by: keith Acheson on 7/1/2021 at 9:23 am
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