Training with RMI Guides Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, and Ross Lindell on the Paradise Glacier the Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise learned alpine climbing techniques, anchoring systems, avalanche forecasting, and crevasse rescue. They put the week's training to work as they successfully reached summit of Mt. Rainier via the Disappointment Cleaver route. The team has started their descent and will return to Paradise this afternoon.
Congratulations team!
The Four Day Summit Climb teams are standing in the summit crater of Mt. Rainier as of 7AM PT this morning. RMI Guides Robby Young and Hannah Smith led their teams to Camp Muir yesterday and awoke them around midnight to start their summit climb. Robby reported a light breeze and a very nice day above the top of Disappointment Cleaver where they were happy to find clear air. After enjoying some time on top, the teams will return to Camp Muir and continue down to Paradise. This afternoon they will enjoy some beverages and a celebration to end their Four Day Summit Climb program.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The Four Day Summit Climb August 8 - 11 left Camp Muir around 2:30 AM hoping the winds would decrease. However, strong winds continued and the teams had to turn around and head back to Camp Muir. The teams are descending early from Camp Muir this morning and we expect them at Paradise around 9:30 AM.
Thursday, August 2 - 5:36 PM PT
We had a great day of training on the lower slopes of the Easton Glacier today. Some clouds moved over at times, shading us from the sun, which was a blessing. We used our type travel segment to move up the glacier and get a view of the whole route. Things look great and we are set for our summit push tonight!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
At the end of this past April, eleven RMI guides came together in Washington to take the AMGA Alpine Skills Course, a prerequisite for the Alpine Guide Course, and a great continuing education opportunity for all of us to remain at the forefront of current guiding techniques. After a winter of far-flung adventures, Dave Hahn, Andy Bond, Mike King, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle, Hannah Smith, Gloria Roe, Nick Scott, JT Schmitt, Alan Davis, and myself converged on Ashford. These courses are an important chance for us to refresh our skillset and learn some new tricks from our peers and the instructors from the AMGA.
Over the course of 5 days at Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park, and on Mt. Erie, outside Anacortes, WA, we reviewed snow anchor construction and multi-pitch techniques for snowy environments, belaying and lowering techniques, short roping and short pitching, and anchor station management. Success in our guiding often lies in not only being able to utilize a number of techniques to manage risk, but in being able to maintain efficiency and timeliness at the same time. As we worked through different transitions, techniques, and scenarios with our peers, we all walked away with a few new tools in our bag and I'm convinced will be better guides for it.
This was a fantastic event for the eleven of us, and many thanks go out to RMI and the AMGA for putting it on. Congrats to Dave Hahn, Andy Bond, Mike King, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle, Hannah Smith, Gloria Roe, Nick Scott, JT Schmitt, and Alan Davis for completing the course!
-- Alex Halliday
Sunday, July 8, 2018 - 3:32 AM PT
The team woke... slowly, at 11,000 this morning. Everybody remarked on the value of low altitude slumber. We ate and determined to get lower in honor of the former “tropical storm” headed our way. By this morning, we were the only team left on Denali. While it wouldn’t be quite “normal” to take on the lower Kahiltna Glacier in July during the afternoon, we decided that a try was in order. The inbound storm was a definite- and it was clear it would be snowing hard for days on end... incompatible with both climbing and flying. So we pulled down Camp at 11,000' by 11:45 AM and got moving with heavy packs and sleds. Conditions were just plain easy to the base of Ski Hill at 7,800'. And then -although we crossed a few spooky snow bridges, things were phenomenally well put together for July 7. We made fine progress to the base of Heartbreak Hill. And although our last 1.5 hours was uphill, it was free of dicey bridges and nervy crevasses. Base Camp was gone at this late date... we passed on to the traditional late season upper strip 20 minutes farther along, reaching it at 7:30 PM. K2 Aviation already had planes in the air for us as they were anxious to beat the storm for our extraction. As we crossed the range, we saw the weather moving in while our ski otters dodged cloud after cloud. We landed in Talkeetna at 9:15 PM and raced to dinner in our mountain clothing, trying to beat closing times in the conventional world. In town, we caught up with all of the neighboring teams from the past three weeks and shared escape stories. We’re all full of amazement and admiration for the mountain that we didn’t climb, but also great satisfaction for the climb that we did have together.
Thanks for keeping track of us... until the next climb.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Saturday, July 7, 2018 2:37 AM PST
Some days you eat the bear...
We’re down at 11,000 ft. We had lofty ambitions this morning but Denali played hard to get. There was a mean wind blowing through much of the night and sadly right through the morning. We waited it out as long as we could but called it at mid day. Tough as it was to let go of the summit, it was pretty obvious that it was out of reach under the circumstances. We broke camp at 17 and got moving down -as did every last climber on the mountain. A storm is moving in, according to the forecasters. For that though, today was spectacular once we were on the move. There is a bunch of forest fire smoke creating a haze, but we still got great views down to the Kahiltna Glacier as we carefully walked the ridge crest, dropped down the fixed lines, dug out our sleds at 14k and pushed on around windy corner with heavy loads. We piled on down the squirrel hills and motorcycle, and came into 11,000 at 9:30 PM. Our tents went up fast and dinner wasn’t far behind. The air down here is chock full of oxygen and it isn’t nearly so cold as we’ve gotten used to. We’ll get some low altitude sleep and plot our final escape to the airstrip soon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
What an awesome team. The best part of mountain climbing is being on the mountain and experiencing nature first hand. We are really proud of you all.
Posted by: Randy Salo on 7/7/2018 at 9:47 pm
Hey gang. Congrats on a great effort. It sounds like Mother Nature was tuff today. I’m glad you’re all well and safely at 11k camp. Enjoy the good air and a safe trip to the airstrip. It was a treat sharing time in the mountains with all of you. Jon
Thursday, July 5, 2018 10:25 PM PST
Today was better weather than we expected -after a snowy and blowy night- it was crystal clear and calm at camp when the sun hit, there was a sea of clouds below. But the winds were blowing up on Denali Pass and the South Peak until early afternoon which discouraged us from giving it a go. We’ve got reason to believe that tomorrow -Friday- will be our day. We chalked up another 17,000' rest day and hope that the extra time up high has made us more ready for success. We’re definitely feeling a little more like our old selves now compared to when we first rolled into 17k.
A short walk from camp to the big drop off and we can look down on the empty camp at 14,000'. The last groups of the season are here now and looking to take their shot tomorrow too.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
I’m hoping by the time I write this comment that you already summited on Friday. However, I’m no stranger to these climbs and understand she could take a few more days if conditions dictate…. All the best Tom. God Speed brother!
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - 9:52 PM PT
We could see forever this morning, and then it got better. The high clouds were gone, the low clouds were gone and the middle clouds were gone. We were up at six and walking by 8:45 in the cool shadow of the South Peak. By noon we’d topped out the fixed ropes and were starting up along the phenomenal crest of the West Buttress. We never got anything stronger than gentle breezes, despite our exposed position. There were a few big smiles as the gang came up past Washburn’s Thumb and began to flirt with 17,000 feet. We pulled into the 17,200 ft camp in mid afternoon, six hours after leaving our Camp at 14,000'. Building camp was hard in the rarefied air, but we got it done and sat down to a six PM dinner in our newest snow dining room. We talked about how a summit day might work tomorrow and how to prepare tonight. We will need to get a little bit lucky on the weather, and everybody will need a good night’s rest... but then if it all works out, we’ll be ready to take advantage. Light, high clouds have taken over the western sky, but the sun is still powering through at 8:45 PM and we can see rivers, tundra, mountains, glaciers and planet Earth for hundreds of miles.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Monday, July 2, 2018 - 10:17 PM PT
A fine summer’s day in the Alaska Range. The gang slept late today, but when we emerged, the views were amazing. We could see clear down to Mt Spurr and the Tordrillos. Some clouds were still playing around the South Peak of Denali and it appeared to be a little windy up that way, but as we had a slow and yummy pancake breakfast, nobody had complaints about the weather at 14,000' Camp. This rest day was just as relaxing as we could have hoped for. Even so, we weren’t totally relaxed... everyone is getting keyed up for the summit bid now. We prepared for moving up tomorrow and we hydrated, rested, ate, read and sorted gear (again). We’ll see what kind of morning we get tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Congrats on your continued progress. I wish you great success as you continue your progress to the summit. I’m doing well and felt immediate improvement as I moved down the mountain. I rested well with no breathing difficulty in Talkeetna. I’m sad I’m not with you guys. I’ll vicariously celebrate thru you!!
Posted by: Jon Hirsch on 7/3/2018 at 3:14 pm
Continued prayers for clear skies and calm winds for your climb higher Tom!!!
Over the course of 5 days at Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park, and on Mt. Erie, outside Anacortes, WA, we reviewed snow anchor construction and multi-pitch techniques for snowy environments, belaying and lowering techniques, short roping and short pitching, and anchor station management. Success in our guiding often lies in not only being able to utilize a number of techniques to manage risk, but in being able to maintain efficiency and timeliness at the same time. As we worked through different transitions, techniques, and scenarios with our peers, we all walked away with a few new tools in our bag and I'm convinced will be better guides for it.
This was a fantastic event for the eleven of us, and many thanks go out to RMI and the AMGA for putting it on. Congrats to Dave Hahn, Andy Bond, Mike King, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle, Hannah Smith, Gloria Roe, Nick Scott, JT Schmitt, and Alan Davis for completing the course!
-- Alex Halliday
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Way to go Renee and Ian! So happy you made it to the summit!
Posted by: Ken & Denise on 8/31/2018 at 3:33 pm
Amazing! Congrats Renee and Ian
Posted by: Greg Milligan on 8/31/2018 at 10:02 am
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