Entries By eric frank

Today we awoke to 6 inches of new snow at 14k camp. We have continued to eat well. Today our breakfast consisted of egg, cheese and bacon burritos. Over the course of the morning the clouds dissipated and the wind calmed down a little. Eric and I decided to head up and move the cache we previously left at 16k, up to our high camp. We also added an extra food bag and fuel can to our supplies up high. With Brent Okita and team up at high camp for the last several days, waiting for their window to summit, they offered a big helping hand. Thanks Brent, Leon, and Lindsay! Due to high winds in the morning, they volunteered to walk down from high camp and help Eric and me carry our whole cache from 16k to 17k. We can not thank them enough for their help! Our efforts were somewhat tiering, but will allow the team to move more smoothly to 17k when weather allows. Rather than stopping at 16k and schlepping our cache and our full camp kit to 17k, now the team will be able to conserve energy by smoothly moving to 17k. Upon our return to the team at 14k, we discovered that our third guide, Logan, had rebuilt our snow kitchen and cooked up a nice dinner. What a pleasant surprise. The crew is in high spirits and getting anxious to move to higher ground and make a summit attempt in the next few days. The ground work and logistics are in order. We just need a few nice days to execute our plan. We look forward to moving into more inhospitable environments and nearing the top of North America. Our careful planning has paid off and all our ducks are in a row. The team had a nice moral boost with an afternoon reading of all the positive vibes from the blog comments. Thank you all! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

From 14k camp on Denali's West Buttress, it is only a short walk to one of the best views in the entire range. The perch is called "The Edge of the World". The plateau on which camp sits falls away dramatically. Nearly 5,000 vertical feet below lies the infamous Valley of Death. This afternoon our team walked to the edge of the world and took turns getting belayed out to the edge to take in the view. This afternoon the valley floor was obstructed by clouds which would sporadically rise to engulf us, but several times we were able to glimpse parts of the wall thousands of feet below us. The weather in camp has continued to be squirrelly. Last night we were buffeted by winds up to 50mph from various directions. Thankfully, we had already built a few snow walls to protect the tents, but the incessant flapping on nylon all night has convinced us to build more. The snow is falling fast now as we settle in for the night when we rise we will just see what the day brings. RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Eric Frank and Logan Randolph

On The Map

This morning we were prepared for a day in camp as visibility was poor and the winds raged off the ridge of the West Buttress. We enjoyed a long and delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon and three cheeses on a bagel accompanied by fresh coffee. Our meandering discussion spanned many topics and ended with a break in the snow and wind. Ten minuets later we sprung into action, prepping our packs for a carry up onto the West Buttress proper to 16,200'. We dropped our food, fuel and other supplies for our summit push. We are now set for a move up to high camp in a few days or whenever we get a break in the winds and unstable weather. With an evening arrival back at 14k camp, we plan to recover and rest in hopes of going upward soon. RMI Guide Eric Frank

On The Map

This morning we awoke to 6 to 8 inches of light fresh powder. We didn't allow this to stop our momentum. With calm winds and overcast skies we decided on a carry for today. We cached a portion of our gear at 10,000 feet with the intention of lightening our load when we move to 11,000 feet. We are now back at our camp at 7,800 feet hiding from the sun, rehydrating and relaxing. For the past two days we have seen many climbing teams from all over the world. This trip of a lifetime is well underway and the team is climbing strong. As the winds pick up here at Camp 1, we are headed out to tighten up our camp and build some wind walls. Cheers for the team. RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

Hello! It’s Tyler,Eric and Logan checking in after a long day of work in Talkeetna. Yesterday we had a sunny drive through the Alaskan scenery before arriving in Talkeetna in late evening. This completed a long day of travel from our various home bases to our soon to be new home on the “Great One”- Denali. This morning the team met for breakfast at the Roadhouse Restaurant to officially start the program. After chatting about the day, we walked across the small town of Talkeetna to K2 Aviation. As planes took off and landed around us, the team spread out clothing and equipment in the airport hanger and consulted endless checklists. As we made our final gear selections, the hanger was buzzing with excitement. After an afternoon break for pizza and salad, we all headed to the National Park Service headquarters for an orientation meeting. We chatted about the importance of keeping our impact low as we climb and live in the park for the next few weeks. After the orientation, we spent some time working on rigging sleds, setting up tents and building other skills. At noon the hanger looked like a yard sale; clothing and gear scattered everywhere. By the time we left for dinner, all of our ducks were in a row. We now have duffels and packs neatly stacked in the front of the hanger. We are ready to go and eager to get on the glacier.

The weather is forecasted to change around here in the following days but today was one of the hottest days we've had. Lenticular clouds continue to be impressive. We spent today playing inside crevasses and went ice climbing. Everyone had a blast. The glaciers are an enormous amount of ice up here in Alaska. Researchers currently on the glacier conducting some studies have found the depth of the Kahiltna Glacier to be about 500 meters deep. As we climbed on the walls of the crevasses peering down into the dark black hole beneath us, we felt small. So long from the Kahiltna. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

The objective for the day was Kahiltna Dome. We woke up early and quickly prepared. An hour's walk took us across the glacier to the first hill, and warm morning sun. Unfortunately several stretches into the climb we encountered challenging conditions and decided to head back to our camp at 9,500 ft. The team broke camp in an impressive hour and a half and then made the 9-mile trip back to basecamp. Throughout the walk back, we saw lenticular clouds forming hanging over peaks in the area. Despite the sunny weather, they let us know that keeping our Gore-tex in the top of our packs was a good idea. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

Hello all. We moved our camp up to about 9,600 ft. Temperatures were perfect for us during the walk. It just started to get hot as we pulled into camp. Everyone did great today. We built a fortress of a camp constructed with cohesive blocks of snow. We used them for walls around our camp to shield us from the wind. Light snow began falling this afternoon but we are hoping to wake up to blue skies and stable weather for our climb on Kahiltna Dome tomorrow. That's all for now. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

This morning we woke to clear skies and chilly temperatures. After warming our hands with breakfast and hot tea or coffee, we packed up camp and tied into our ropes to leave the basecamp area. The goal for the day was moving to 7,800' camp on the main flow of the Kahiltna Glacier. We enjoyed pleasant temperatures and excellent conditions on the glacier, enabling us to make the trip in just under five hours. As one of the first teams to arrive for the day we were able to move into some pre-dug tent platforms. The peaks surrounding us are shining in the sun and shimmering blue ice is all around. Quite the view from our new home. The weather forecast is great and we are looking forward to our next few days. RMI Guides Eric Frank, Jason Thompson and the AK Seminar team

Well hello all. Last week temperatures were frigid. I am happy to say today was downright balmy. We'll take it. We spent our entire day today going over some critical information. Laying the ground work for crevasse rescue. A lot of information was downloaded and everyone seemed to grasp the concepts. Knots, anchors, rappelling into a crevasse, self extrication from a crevasse were some of our topics on this beautiful day. Kahiltna Base Camp is getting busier by the day. More and more climbers are showing up to head up Denali, other friends are finding success on various routes on the Mini Moon Flower and the North Buttress of Mt Hunter with this current stretch of superb weather. Word on the street is temperatures are about to get really hot the next few days. We will let you know how that plays out. Everyone is doing great and says hello. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map