Entries By Dave Hahn

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Just like that… we woke up in Talkeetna and the clouds were gone.  We scrambled on over to the airstrip at 8 AM and started putting on the big mountain boots.  By a little after 9, we were up in the air in two glorious DeHaviland Otters… prop driven ski planes built in the 1950’s.  The Alaska Range was visible in full from the moment we cleared the Talkeetna tree tops.  Denali was spectacular and seemed bigger and steeper than in previous years.  We flew straight at the peak and then moved a little West as we crossed into the mountains.  Our K2 Aviation pilots eased the planes down on to the SE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at 7100 ft and we slid to a stop at basecamp.  A few minutes of shuffling and shuttling loads in mushy snow ensued.  We built our camp and got settled in before a day of light training and a review of glacier travel techniques.  As the day proceeded, we went from hot sunshine to cool overcast, but the clouds didn’t rob us of the magnificent views of impossibly big and steep mountainsides.  We watched a handful of ginormous avalanches drop off various surrounding mountains.  We capped the day with a burrito dinner and an early bedtime.  Our hope would be to get up in the night and climb in the cool part of the early morning tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, June 19, 2021 - 11:00 pm PT

Today was about prepping and packing.  We got out to the airplane hangar early for a fine safety briefing by a National Park Service climbing ranger.  We then conducted gear checks and set about organizing and sorting personal equipment and group gear.  This took us through mid afternoon and culminated in a weigh-in with the K2 Aviation ramp crew -the folks responsible for loading and unloading the aircraft.  We were happy to be sheltered within the hangar as it rained off and on through much of the day.  The rain mellowed by the time we got into town for dinner at the brewery.  Plenty of tourists in town enjoying the weekend, but we seemed to fit in just fine.  Tomorrow, with a little luck, we’ll get on the mountain. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Friday, June 18, 2021 - 10:18 pm PT

It is usually a good sign when the easy part goes smooth and easy.  Our team of seven climbers and guides flew in and met up in Alaska without a hitch.  It was cloudy and overcast as we drove up from Anchorage, but not so much that we couldn’t get glimpses of the big mountains up mingling with the cloud tops.  We stopped briefly in Wasilla for a few final provisions from the world of supermarkets, and then cruised on up the Parks Highway to the Talkeetna spur road.  After settling our gear at the airplane hangar and ourselves at the hotel, we braved mosquito hoards and labor shortages to find a fine dinner at the West Rib.  A well-fed climbing team then waddled out to the banks of the great Susitna River to see if the mountains had come out.  Not quite, but we judged it all to be good enough for day one. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Dave Hahn radioed from the Summit of Mt. Rainier at 9:45 am PT today! Recent storms have deposited about two feet of new snow on the mountian. The team climbed strong to break trail, and the view from the top was the big pay-off!

The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.

Congratulations to Today's Team! 

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Dave Hahn and Andy Bond, reached the summit at 6:30 this morning!  The teams had some wind and clear blue skies on their ascent.  They are currently working their way back to Camp Muir and we look forward to congratulating them at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.

The Four Day Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Alex Halliday reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  The guides reported light winds and great climbing conditions. They have left the crater and started their descent back to Camp Muir.

Congratulations to Today's Teams! 

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Dustin Wittmier began on Sunday May 9th with the team meeting at Rainier BaseCamp for a full day orientation.  With gear checked, sorted and packed they departed Paradise on Monday morning en route to Camp Muir.  For the last two days they have based out of Camp Muir working on mountaineering techniques to prepare them for a summit climb of Mt. Rainier and more.  Today they got their chance to test their skills climbing to the summit of Mt. Rainier.   Just before 8 am PT, RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed that the teams were ten minutes from the crater rim.  He reported perfect conditions with light and variable winds, and an overall nice and sunny day.  After they enjoy some time in the crater and get all the photo ops, the group will start their descent and return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain.  Tomorrow the teams will descend to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp.  The weather has been great all week and we hope they enjoyed their time on the mountain.

Congratulations to today Seminar teams!

The Five Day Climb May 1 - 5 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and JM Gorum has returned to Camp Muir after making their summit attempt today.  The team reached 12,600' today before being forced to turn around due to route conditions.  On Tuesday the group ascended to Camp Muir and spent time yesterday getting in more glacier training and exploring parts of the route before morning their attempt this morning.  The group will pack up their gear and decend to Paradise this afternoon.

We had sunshine and calm conditions at 7 AM in highcamp today... which was better than the forecast called for.  There was still plenty of cloud about, but we decided to go for the summit.  It took until 9:50 to get fully fueled up and geared up for climbing, and by then a few more clouds had rolled in though we still had a good feeling about the day.  Vinson put up a fight, of course, and a few of the team were feeling effects of the altitude and so not everybody topped out.  Those that did, made it up in about 8 hours, spent nearly an hour on the summit and came down in just a couple more for a respectable round trip under 11 hrs.  The conditions swung between sunny and calm, breezy and cloudy and everything in between... all at temps of about -20 to -25 Fahrenheit, so our rest breaks were short and business like so as to keep fingers and toes flexible.  We enjoyed views of the tall and jagged peaks to Vinson’s north, and when the mountains were obscured, the sculpted cloud formations covering them were spectacular.  On top of Antarctica’s highest mountain, the team lucked out with calm and sunny “gloves off” conditions for photos, fist bumps and flag waving.  By 8:30 PM the gang was all back together at high camp.  We spent a few hours brewing up, eating, drinking and laughing.  A most memorable New Years Day was had by all. 
Best Regards
RMI Guides Dave Hahn

On The Map

We woke to the same thick blanket of cloud concealing the mountaintops and the sun and the blue sky.  The good thing was that blanket held in a little more heat than normal, so getting started wasn’t particularly mean and cold.  We ate breakfast, caught the forecast passed on from the meteorological folks at Union Glacier, and debated what to do about it.  Our decision, since we had no sign or signal that the wind was blowing, was to push up into the cloud and make our move to high camp.  It took until 1:00 PM to bust camp and be packed, but that worked just fine.  There were occasional snowflakes falling, and we were certainly on the lookout for deteriorating weather, but all-in-all, conditions were stable and we pressed on.  We took a short break at yesterday’s high point and then moved higher up the steep snow slope without much at all for views.  It was a little like climbing inside a milk bottle.  Our boldness was rewarded when we topped out the ropes to find calm and easy conditions (although still cloudy) on the plateau.  We pulled into high camp at 6:30, for a respectable five and a half hour push to 12,500 ft.  The gang found it tough going... it worked us in about 12 different and mean ways, but everybody set to building camp with good energy and enthusiasm.  By that point we’d put on all the big and puffy clothing -down coats and down pants- which seemed just right for our cold new home.  We filed into ALE’s good, strong cooking and dining tent and had a deluxe session of hot drinks, dinner, and strategizing for tomorrow.  We hope the calm holds and that we can take a good shot at the top to start 2020 off right.  
All of us want to wish our friends and loved ones the very warmest and best wishes for their own celebrations.  Happy New Year!

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map