Entries By dustin wittmier

Hold onto your hats it's windy,

The wind started last night and persisted through the day. The frost in the tents showered down onto our sleeping bags as the tent made a crinkle noise. The snow that had fallen got picked up and tossed into the air creating a snow tornado. It looked magical in a way but our sleeping bags looked better. Its easy to hunker in the tents when outside isn't too pleasant. You can hear the wind up high. It sounds like a waterfall. Luckily at our camp it's only blowing in the 20mph range. As dinner wrapped up the wind and snow caused quite a scene. A scene not too fun to go to the bathroom in. All around the snow whips around. We all waited for a lull in the wind to hustle to our tents and the bathroom.  The discomfort is comical and creates some good laughs. If you can't find the funny in the misery than you are in the wrong place out here. Tomorrow is also suppose to be windy so we will hunker in again. We are optimistic that this weekend will be our move date to High Camp. For now, we lay in our tents listening to the snow pitter patter and the tent crinkle in the wind.

Mother nature calm yourself,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 - 9:54 pm PT

Hello hello,

There isnt a lot to report today. It was another chill day, hanging around our camp. We watched other teams do their carries or move into camp. More teams have arrived at 14,000' Camp. Everyone is trying to get in a good position for the next snow storm. During dinner the winds picked up and snow began to fall. The sound of the snow on the tents is a nice lull to fall asleep too. More snow is expected for tomorrow, so we will be hanging around camp again. Still patient. Still waiting. But our time will come. For now we are all snuggled into our sleeping bags, warming up our sleeping space.

Goodnight all,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Tuesday, June 22, 2021 - 11:22 pm PT

Hi,

Patience and more patience. Every day we look at the forecast and wonder how accurate will it be. Is the weather system going to happen or will it be nice out. Its a part of expedition life that is difficult. When do we move? Is this our time? Does it get better or worse? But no one truly knows. Its all in retrospect that we deliberate the decision and know the answer. So we wait. We wait for a forecast that is better than marginal. We have plenty of food and fuel to see if the winds will get better in the next handful of days. Patience is key. In due time it will be our moment, so we wait.

Good night,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Howdy all,

One of the most important traits to have in expedition style climbing is patience. Patience to wait for a window that will give you the best odds to reach your goal: to safely summit the mountain. We are currently testing our patience waiting for the best opportunity for the team to move to 17,000' Camp and go for the summit. Rest days or waiting days can get long and can be quite boring but they are necessary. The down time can be hard and your mind can drift to family and friends and your life back home, but its important to keep your head here and in the game. Lots of tent time, snacking, reading, and Netflix occupy our time. We did get to greet a RMI team who came down from 17,000' Camp after a successful summit. It was fun seeing friendly faces and hearing about the route. It makes us that more excited to get up there. In due time it will be our turn. Till then we wait.

Till tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Good evening,

What a day, what a day! One step closer to the summit! Today started rather frigid. The clear skies made for a cold morning. Our toes and fingers were screaming for warmth. But as usual once the sun hit camp, everything warmed up. The classic freeze or fry. It was a productive day, that started with a refresher on fix line travel then followed by a carry to 16,200'. Getting our gear up there sets us up for a move to 17,000' Camp when the weather looks good. We are going to be patient and wait till it looks good and then go for it. Tomorrow will be a rest day. The team is pretty good at chilling which is good on expeditions. Keep your warm toes and fingers crossed for good weather for us in the coming week!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

What a day,

Clear skies greeted us this morning creating a very brisk morning. Once again camp was quiet with the cold. As the sun broke over the mountain and warmed camp it became alive. Teams started moving around going various directions whether it was heading toward 17,000' Camp or going down to the 13,500' cache. For us it was going down to our 13,500' cache. We made fast work grabing our gear and getting back to camp. After a lunch break we went for a walk to the Edge of the World. You can see all the way down to our first camp at 7,800'. Its a long fall over the edge but makes for great hero shots. Everyone got belayed onto the rock (much like the rock from lion king) and got great photos, ice axe in hand, big smiles and thousands of feet of relief below them. As for tomorrow we are in a holding pattern with weather and logistics. No matter what we end up doing tomorrow it will be a good day and is all apart of our journey to the top.

All the best,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Thursday, June 17, 2021 - 10:02 pm PT

Howdy all,

The snow continued through the night and into the morning. A layer of frost coated the under side of the fly. Every time you hit the tent to knock the snow off, the frost fell down onto our sleeping bags. As the sun came out and warmed the tents, the ice melted and the frost turned into little water drops. Due to the snowfall and wet tents, we opted for a rest day to allow everything to get dry. Snow fell most of the day, sometimes while sunny others fully cloudy making for a very white scene. But later in the day the clouds cleared and the views were amazing. Having such great views makes being patient worth it. The temps bounced from chilly to very hot in the tents all day. One could swear it was 100 degrees inside. They say its freeze or fry out here and we can all feel why. Tomorrow's weather looks good, so we will be going to our cache at 13,500' to grab our stuff. Its exciting to be reunited with your snacks you parted ways with at 11,000' camp. Sleeping bags are calling our names.

Till tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Wednesday, June 16, 2021 - 9:49 pm PT

Good evening,

We woke today to snowflakes dancing their way to our tent making a pitter patter noise. It was a calm morning with fluffy snow. The clouds rolled in and out throughout breakfast making it a touch and go if we were going to pack up. But then as we finished our cereal and hot drinks, the snow dissipated and blue sky was showing. We broke down camp and hit the snowy trail. Heavy packs and heavy sleds weighed us down but we pushed forward. It was a tough day but we rolled into camp as more snow began to fall. Seeing the tents at 14,000' Camp as we crested the last hill was a marvelous sight. It might as well had been a cheeseburger and beer. Once the camp was established we all crawled into our new home and dried our gear. Some good ole Annie's Mac filled our tummies before we all went back to our sleeping bags for what we all hope to be a great night sleep. As the weather remains squirrely, we will decide what our agenda for tomorrow will be. Could be a back carry or could be a rest day.

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Tuesday June 16,  2021 - 8:30 pm PT

Good evening,

Higher and higher we go! We continued moving gear uphill today. We left camp in the morning and made our way up motorcycle hill. It’s a rather steep hill, very much in your face. But with good cramponing and pressure breathing we made it to the top. Next, we cruised up squirrel hill, across the polo fields, around windy corner to our cache site. Some firm snow made digging our deep hole difficult but the effort is worth it so the ravens don't get at our food. The team is feeling good and looking great. We are all very excited to move to 14k camp tomorrow. There is a weather system possibly hitting the mountain Wednesday night so it will be nice to get out of 11k camp and up to 14k camp in case it produces a bunch of snow. Plus, a new scenery and home will be a fun change as well. It’s the little things that bring you joy on mountain.

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Hey-O,

A day of rest and preparation was what we needed. We started the day with a casual breakfast of breakfast burritos and coffee followed by a lot of down time. If we weren't napping, eating, or reading we were going through our gear and food separating it into piles, one that would stay with us and one that we would cache higher up. It is always a hard decision trying to decide what food to part ways with but it is always a fun moment when you are reunited in a couple days. Later in the afternoon we reviewed some cramponing techniques before heading to dinner. One of the highlights of the day was the evening entertainment, watching skiers manage their sled down motorcycle hill...lets just say there were some wipeouts but the skiers were all good sports as they skied into camp knowing they were the reality TV show of the night. As the sun started to hide behind some swirling clouds the temps dropped and it is time for bed. Tomorrow we will carry to 13,500' to off load some of our gear to make our move to 14,000' Camp lighter.

Till tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team