Entries By jake beren

June 16, 2017 11:35 pm PST

Well everyone, we hung on as long as we could at 17 Camp.  We woke to high winds and blowing snow and waited patiently for them to dissipate. They did not. After dragging our feet in vain, still hoping for some workable weather, we finally began our descent back to 14 Camp. Arriving around dinner time, the team wolfed down what could (hopefully!) be our last Mac and Cheese meal for a while and racked out for what will be a few short hours before we head downhill for this season.
While we did not stand on top of Denali this year, we are lucky to have tried and happy to be heading home none the worse for wear. It has been a real treat to all climb together and we will be checking in from further down this beautiful mountain. Wish us good luck and fair winds on the last legs of our adventure, it ain’t over yet…

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

June 15, 2017
Hello from 17 Camp, this is Jake Beren calling in for RMI’s Denali team.  We woke this morning to high winds up high and quite cold temps again. So we decided to pump the brakes and cross our fingers for tomorrow. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but we are hoping to give her a go tomorrow. So that’s it from 17 Camp, a little bit more of the same, but we’re all happy, healthy and hanging tough up here. So we’ll give her a shot tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Bye.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

June 14, 2017
Greetings from 17 Camp. Today high winds and low temps provided a combo that will keep us from climbing Denali for another day.  But our fingers are crossed that tomorrow may have something better in store for us, so please do the same down in the south land.  Hopefully we will be calling you with a little bit different news. For right now the team is doing 17,000’ Camp, we are hunkered down, being patient, full bellies, happy, healthy and hoping to go for the summit soon. That’s all for now.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

June 13, 2017
Hello, this is Jake Beren calling in from 17,000’ Camp on Denali. The team made it up today, it was pretty windy in the morning but the wind tapered down, and we were able to make it up to camp safely.  Now we are snuggled up with full bellies and hot drinks.  We are just going to wake up in the morning and see what the mountain offers us.  Wish us luck!  We need some low winds for our summit bid.  We are prepared to spend a few days up here but we are hoping not to. That’s all from 17 Camp. Hope everybody in the lowlands is doing well.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

We woke up in the wee hours of this morning, hopeful to see our summit window open up. The weather, however, had a different idea. As the skies became cloudier and the snow began to come down, we decided that another slow morning was in order. We gorged ourselves on bagels and plenty of bacon while we sipped our coffee. The afternoon was filled with lots of rest. We are steeling ourselves for a move up to 17k tomorrow, if the weather forecast holds true. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to the chance to move closer to our summit goal. Thanks for keeping up with the team!

We will check in tomorrow, hopefully from our new camp at 17k!

RMI Guide Jake Beren & Team

June 11, 2017
Today was another rest day here at 14,000’ Camp. After a long brunch and some wall renovations, our team settled in for a little rest.  By the afternoon, some visibility presented itself and our team geared up for a stroll to the “Edge of the World,” a vantage point where you can peer nearly 7,000 feet down to the lower Kahiltna Glacier. It is a truly stunning view and a treat to see a little bit of this amazing Range after living in a snow globe for a few days. With any luck this week will offer us a few days of decent weather to venture higher. The team is ready and when it is safe to climb, we will be happy to do so.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

June 10, 2017 7:46 pm PST

Today we may very well have nailed it. Waking early for an extended weather viewing to establish any discernible trend, we left camp with reasonable visibility. The team did great as we broke trail up to the base of the fixed lines. We rested at the base of the lines as the weather slowly deteriorated and our friends from RMI 4 joined us in solidarity on a fitness walk. Once we were a big party and the cache was established, we descended back to 14 Camp for some rest before dinner. The winds and snow picked up nearly as soon as we got home and we are now poised to go to 17K once the weather allows. It has been pretty squirrelly in the weather department lately, but the team is hanging tough, waiting for our time to shine.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

June 9, 2017
Today we enjoyed a little bit of sleeping in before a solid brunch. The weather has been persnickety of late, but our team is handling the storm well, fortifying camp at 14,000’ and swapping stories in our cook tent. Naps are a big part of the downtime as we wait for a chance to move higher.
Yesterday we went for a training mission to hone our skills for the fixed lines and everyone did a great job, passing their rope skills test with flying colors. Cross your fingers for some good weather for us!
RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

June 7, 2017
We are writing from our newly built snow fortress at 14,000’. After a leisurely wake up time and a hearty brunch of bagels and smoked salmon (with capers!), we set our sights on fortifying our camp with some snow walls. The team worked seamlessly to make a solid camp that can withstand wind and blowing snow. With our work for the day out of the way, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our cozy tents.
Our bellies are filled with a delicious dinner of chicken quesadillas, and we are looking forward to some more technical training tomorrow. Good night from 14,200 feet on Denali!

RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

Jake Beren & Team checking in. We moved to 14.000’ Camp on Denali yesterday. Today we are busy building walls and fortifying our camp and getting settled in. We will spend tomorrow training and are enjoying the thinner air.

All is well!