The weather is forecasted to change around here in the following days but today was one of the hottest days we've had. Lenticular clouds continue to be impressive. We spent today playing inside crevasses and went ice climbing. Everyone had a blast. The glaciers are an enormous amount of ice up here in Alaska. Researchers currently on the glacier conducting some studies have found the depth of the Kahiltna Glacier to be about 500 meters deep. As we climbed on the walls of the crevasses peering down into the dark black hole beneath us, we felt small. So long from the Kahiltna. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

The objective for the day was Kahiltna Dome. We woke up early and quickly prepared. An hour's walk took us across the glacier to the first hill, and warm morning sun. Unfortunately several stretches into the climb we encountered challenging conditions and decided to head back to our camp at 9,500 ft. The team broke camp in an impressive hour and a half and then made the 9-mile trip back to basecamp. Throughout the walk back, we saw lenticular clouds forming hanging over peaks in the area. Despite the sunny weather, they let us know that keeping our Gore-tex in the top of our packs was a good idea. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

Hello all. We moved our camp up to about 9,600 ft. Temperatures were perfect for us during the walk. It just started to get hot as we pulled into camp. Everyone did great today. We built a fortress of a camp constructed with cohesive blocks of snow. We used them for walls around our camp to shield us from the wind. Light snow began falling this afternoon but we are hoping to wake up to blue skies and stable weather for our climb on Kahiltna Dome tomorrow. That's all for now. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

This morning we woke to clear skies and chilly temperatures. After warming our hands with breakfast and hot tea or coffee, we packed up camp and tied into our ropes to leave the basecamp area. The goal for the day was moving to 7,800' camp on the main flow of the Kahiltna Glacier. We enjoyed pleasant temperatures and excellent conditions on the glacier, enabling us to make the trip in just under five hours. As one of the first teams to arrive for the day we were able to move into some pre-dug tent platforms. The peaks surrounding us are shining in the sun and shimmering blue ice is all around. Quite the view from our new home. The weather forecast is great and we are looking forward to our next few days. RMI Guides Eric Frank, Jason Thompson and the AK Seminar team

Well today we began our day a little earlier than usual. We elected to go for a little glacier tour this morning and with how hot its been during the day the cool temps felt nice. We went to the base of Annie's Ridge and had a little glaciology talk from a rad location. On the walk back we saw a big ice fall release on Mt. Foraker which was lovely, they are always impressive no matter how many times you see them. We chilled out this afternoon hiding from the afternoon sun. We regrouped for a crevasse rescue station. Everyone is sending and building mechanical advantage systems to haul climbers skyward. We are also organizing our gear for a move tomorrow up towards Kahiltna Dome which sits at 12,525'. If the weather plays nice, hopefully we will be back in 4 days. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

Well hello all. Last week temperatures were frigid. I am happy to say today was downright balmy. We'll take it. We spent our entire day today going over some critical information. Laying the ground work for crevasse rescue. A lot of information was downloaded and everyone seemed to grasp the concepts. Knots, anchors, rappelling into a crevasse, self extrication from a crevasse were some of our topics on this beautiful day. Kahiltna Base Camp is getting busier by the day. More and more climbers are showing up to head up Denali, other friends are finding success on various routes on the Mini Moon Flower and the North Buttress of Mt Hunter with this current stretch of superb weather. Word on the street is temperatures are about to get really hot the next few days. We will let you know how that plays out. Everyone is doing great and says hello. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

Hello from the Alaska Range, We departed Talkeetna this afternoon and the flight onto the glacier was spectacular, no one was disappointed. We quickly set up our camp on the SE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and are beginning to adjust to glacier living. The weather is splendid. We are looking forward to beginning our training tomorrow and will let you know how it goes. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map