June 15, 2014 - 7:37 pm Greetings from 9,700' on Mt. McKinley. We woke up around three this morning, ate breakfast, and then packed up camp. We loaded up our backpacks and sleds and headed up to our next camp. We pushed hard for the early part of the morning so we could get to camp before the glacier got hot. It seems strange that we would be worried about the heat while climbing in the snowy mountains of Alaska. When the sun is out and the solar radiation is bouncing off of all of those white surfaces, it acts like an Easy Bake oven. We put in a storm proof camp in a crevasse free zone and were tucked away by ten this morning. I suppose that begs the question about what we did the rest of the day.....hard work I assure you! HAPPY FATHERS DAY to our wonderful dads! RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team

On The Map

June 14, 2014 - 10:21 pm PT Our intentions to get up early and head to 10,000' to cache some gear were thwarted by high winds and blowing snow. Every time we woke up to check the weather it seemed to be worse. By 10:30 this morning we were about to concede to Mother Nature and call it a weather day when the winds began to die and the sun started to peak through the clouds. We hopped into action and got our gear ready for a trip up higher. We worked most of the rest of the day to haul our packs and sleds up Ski Hill and beyond. We gained around 2,300' with heavy loads, dug a hole, threw in some gear, buried it, and headed down hill for our camp and quesadillas. Time for some sleep so we can get up early and head up to 9,600' to make a new camp. RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team "The Ocho"

On The Map

June 13, 2014 - 8:22 pm PT With an early start, we headed out from Basecamp to Camp 1 at 7,700ft. We left camp at six this morning and traveled down the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The beginning portion is called Heartbreak Hill since it is downhill from Basecamp. This same hill is a heartbreaking uphill climb upon return to Basecamp after the climb. We made very good time as we joined the main Kahiltna Glacier and headed towards camp. Although it is not a big elevation gain day, it is a steady rise from the base of Heartbreak to Camp 1. We arrived in camp around 10:30 this morning and got ourselves dug in since the weather has been pretty touchy this season. Our plan, if the weather allows, is to carry some of our gear up towards Kahiltna Pass around 10,000 ft. We carried our entire load today (100lb+ per person). Now it is time to start caching gear up higher to make our travels more efficient and to help us with our acclimatization process. Good night! RMI Guide Billy Nugent and Team "The Ocho"

On The Map

June 12, 2014 - 9:02 pm PT RMI Team Haugen is at Kahiltna Basecamp. We departed just before 9:00 am from Talkeetna as the weather was clearing and Denali was looming in the distance. We have taken the day to organize our gear and get a plan together to tackle the lower glacier. Basecamp is in good shape with all of the new snowfall and we are excited to head out towards Camp 1 at 7,800' on the Kahiltna Glacier. We plan on leaving basecamp very early since it did get pretty warm during midday today. The adventure begins! RMI Guide Mike Haugen

On The Map

June 12, 2014 9:20am PT It looks like we got lucky with the weather and found ourselves a day to fly! The mountain is visible from Talkeetna which seems like it is a rarity this season. All systems go! RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Team