"Pigs" is the term of endearment climbers use to describe any heavy load on a climb. On Denali our "pigs" are our sleds, and today we took them for their first walk. The team woke to a bluebird day--welcome after the days of gray--learned about packing, strapping, and roping up our sleds, and then took them out on the trail from Basecamp to 7,600'. Day one of "walking the pigs" can often be a porcine rodeo with lots of grappling and twisting going on, but this crew made it look more like walking poodles at the Westchester Dog Show. We're now at the base of Ski Hill, firing the skillet with fajitas, enjoying the stunning scenery up the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna, and getting ready for tomorrow's push into steeper terrain--this crew is ready for it. RMI Guide Kel Rossiter

On The Map

Hey everybody, checking in from the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier where we are settled into Basecamp after a day of exciting weather. We woke this morning in Talkeetna to a couple inches of new snow on the ground and thought it was going to be another day of waiting around for flyable weather. But when I checked in with K2 at 8:00 they said it was actually clear at Basecamp and that as soon as the snow showers in town stopped we'd potentially be on our way. Well, the clouds broke around noon and our intrepid crew loaded up onto a pair of otters and headed for the Alaska Range. Clouds enroute nearly forced us to turn around but our pilots were able to make it happen and delivered us safely to the Southeast Fork. Some unfortunate planes were forced to turn around after the runway shutdown because of a bank of clouds that rolled in soon after our arrival. These folks eventually made it in later on in the evening when everything cleared up. The views here are breathtaking, if a little humbling. Wish us luck as we head out on the route first thing tomorrow! RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Woke up this morning to snow on the ground and sleet falling from the sky. It turns out that this doesn't make for the safest bush flights or glacier landings so we spent another day hanging out in Talkeetna. We ate a lot of food, hung out some, practiced crevasse rescue, hung out some more, and some of us even drank a couple beers. Tomorrow is calling for more of the same but with a chance of partial clearing later in the day. We have our fingers crossed... More to come as our expedition gets off the ground, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Update 10:34 am PST Billy called from Talkeetna to give us an update: It is snowing in Talkeetna and the team will not be flying today. Update from 5/16/13 at 11:00 pm PST Checking in from a rainy Talkeetna... We woke up early this morning and headed over to the hangar after a quick breakfast at the Roadhouse hoping to finish up our last odds and ends and fly on to the glacier. While we were weighing the last of our luggage for the flight, the K2 staff told us the bad news: snowing at basecamp, flat light, and a low cloud ceiling. Translation: no go for us. So we hung out most of the day today eating food and worrying about what we forgot to pack while the rain gradually built up all day. Unfortunately, it's not looking good for tomorrow either so we may have to organize a pingpong tournament in the hangar. Despite the crummy weather the team is in good spirits and looking forward to our big adventure. We'll check in tomorrow, hopefully from Kahiltna Basecamp. All for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Hi all, today kicked off the official start of the second RMI Denali expedition of the 2013 season! We spent the day dealing with the more unsavory and tedious parts of mountain climbing in our preparation for tomorrow's flight into the range. Namely, we checked (and re-checked) gear, completed our orientation and permitting process with the NPS, and packed up and weighed all of our food and equipment for loading the planes. We enjoyed a team dinner on what is hopefully our last evening in civilization. The team is psyched, strong, and maybe a bit nervous but certainly ready to go - we just need the weather to cooperate tomorrow morning so we can get into Basecamp. we'll see... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map