Entries By ben ammon
Friday, June 8, 2018 - 3:15 PM PT
The clouds cleared after dinner last night with expansive views of the lower Kahiltna Glacier. We were able to see the descending RMI Group after their successful summit and glean some route info. With the surrounding peaks providing the backdrop, we set off at 5:30 AM for 9700' on the glacier. The route ascends
Ski Hill, think fun blue run at a resort. Our goal was to cache food and fuel to make the move to Camp 2 lighter. We took a lot of breaks to take pictures and not over do it after yesterday's heavy day.
We are all back in camp at 7800' drying our boots and enjoying the heat on the tents. The plan is to eat, sleep then move to 11,200' tomorrow. We'll take advantage of the cooler temps and leave before 5 AM. The route is in incredible shape with lots of snow and a well traveled route. The climb doesn't get easier but these first 5 days of getting in position to climb above 11,200' are tough on the hips, feet and shoulders. Still keeping our fingers crossed while we listen to bush planes fly overhead.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
We all turned in early last night with an anticipated 2 AM wake up call. The guides woke at 2 only to see snow, wet tents and zero visibility. Ear plugs back in and snooze until 4:30 AM. The clouds had thinned out, snow was drier and still falling but the saving grace was we could see the lower skies of Mt Francis and the airstrip markers.
The Team got ready to go after a quick breakfast and hot drink. The walk down heartbreak hill with big sleds and breaking trail through new snow went surprisingly well. No one broke down and asked to return to Talkeetna so we walked into the thick clouds, think if you were trapped inside of a ping pong ball. There was a faint trail from the teams who arrived late in the night and all of a sudden there was nothing. We plodded through the snow and up the main fork of the Kahiltna Glacier navigating by GPS and the occasional bamboo pole that is placed for just these conditions.
Wet snow was falling but not a trace of wind. Sweaty with sore hips we rolled into camp as the cloud bank lifted just enough to see camp at the base of
Ski Hill. We are all tucked in our tents and resting up for our carry day to 9600' tomorrow. Our hope is to travel early when the temperatures are cooler and place our cache of food and fuel. Everyone is dry, warm and re-hydrating after a tough day. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 - 7:21 PM PT
This is Mike checking in from Talkeetna, Alaska. The Team arrived with all bags in tow and in high spirits. We spent the day packing and sorting our gear and food that we’ll depend on for the next three weeks. The weather is beautiful here in town and with an estimated 100 climbers heading towards the summit of Denali today. We hope the pattern holds so we can fly in tomorrow morning.
There are some itchy feet and anxious minds amongst our group, which is to be expected. They have been training and dreaming of this expedition for a long time now. There is nothing like getting into the Alaska Range on a ski plane and letting all of life’s little pressure points disappear.
The trade off is that when we drop out of society, we loose the convenience of that part of our lives. We will be hauling 22 days of food, fuel and equipment (100+ pounds per person) up the
Kahiltna Glacier causing very real pressure points. We will be checking in each day and keeping our fingers crossed for sunshine and light winds.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Mike King, JT Schmitt and Ben Ammon
The Four Day Summit Climb June 23 - 26, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with cold temperatures and slight winds. RMI Guide Tyler Jones and team were on their descent by 7:15 am and returning to Camp Muir. The team will take a short break to eat and re-pack before continuing their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
RMI Guide Ben Liken and the Four Day Summit Climb team June 17 - 21, 2017 made their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning but were forced to turn around at 13,800' due to high winds and icy conditions. The team is making their way back to Camp Muir where they will take a short break and re-pack their gear before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
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Following your climb as Scott’s mom is a life long friend. Scott I hear my son tell her baseball players “you have the best equipment money can by, you have the talent and are physically fit, s just .....hit the f——-g ball. I think you have all those things and more so jus climb the mountain. May your God be with each of you and keep you safe.
Glenda Bemis
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Posted by: Glenda Bemis on 6/10/2018 at 4:38 pm
Climb on Scott!
Posted by: Chris Beaudette on 6/9/2018 at 10:56 am
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