Entries By joe hoch
June 7, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Thursday, June 6, 2019 10:06 PM PT
Greetings from 14,000’!
For the first time all trip, the weather was better than forecasted! We took full advantage early this morning, walking into the clouds for only a brief time before we were basking in the sun above 12,000’. It was a smooth move day up here to 14 Camp. We arrived early afternoon with plenty of time to completely set up camp, take naps, and then indulge in a veggie curry dinner. It was great to see our RMI friends JM and company as well as a plethora of other guides from other walks of life. It’s truly a city of friends up here at 14 Camp and our team is ecstatic to be here, especially given the squirrelly weather we’ve had over the last week. We’re all in the sleeping bags now, as it gets cold quickly up here; but we’re amped and ready to go back and pick up our windy corner cache tomorrow morning and be reunited with all of delicious lunch food and larger huge variety of meals. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.
Robby, Nick, Joe and Team ‘Clean Plate Club’
June 6, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 9:30 PM PT
We had it all today. Sunshine, snow, raging snow, more sun, and even some thunderstorms...aka thunder snow. Regardless, our team snuck in our carry to Windy Corner at 13,000’. Progress! It was really nice to make some progress after a couple days of rest here at
11,000' Camp. The forecast is calling for more of the same for remainder of the week, so we’ll do what we’ve been doing everyday, we’ll wake up and stick our heads out of the tent early, and see if the mountain will allow us to make our move to 14,000’ Camp tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team Mountain Zen
On The Map
June 5, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 9:29 PM PT
The mountain was surly this morning. Winds were cold and strong when we woke up to attempt a carry to a cache at 13,600’. So we did what all smart climbers would do, and we stayed put and enjoyed warm down sleeping bags and snack food. We put in some serious chill time today, while the mountain continued move the air around until early afternoon. We are definitely feeling rested at this point after two full rest days here at 11,000' Camp, and are looking forward to getting up and attem and moving uphill tomorrow if the improved forecast comes to fruition. Not only are we rested, but we’re also full of macaroni and cheese and bacon from this evenings dinner. Here’s to putting that fuel to work tomorrow!
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team ‘All the Cheese’
On The Map
June 4, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, June 3, 2019 - 9:11 PM PT
And on the sixth day, we rested. Boy it felt good to just stay in one place for a day. We woke up to some winds and a little bit of snow, and we were due for our annual rest day here at
11,000' Camp, so we took full advantage. There was no up and attem this morning, as we let our bodies sleep, and waited until 9am to indulge in a eggs and hashers feast. We had a little bit of sun midday, but most of the day the mountain seemed to spit snow and coat us in clouds as we practiced some climbing skills that are pivotal for the coming days. Not much else to report from a day of rest, and that’s a beautiful thing. We’re hopeful to carry tomorrow to a cache site at 13,600’, but the mountain will make the call in the morning.
Until then, stay tuned.
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe, and Team Tasty Bite
On The Map
June 3, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Sunday, June 2, 2019 - 10:07 PM PT
11 Camp is now officially home! We back carried this morning and finally brought all of our food and gear to camp. It’s a short saunter down to our 10,000’ cache and we make quick work, two hours round trip to be exact. After some afternoon naps and much needed rest this afternoon, we were back up and attem for dinner. The Sriracha Ranch Chicken wraps were a home run! Our 5 star meal was followed up for 5-star views when, for the first time all trip, we finally had a break in the snow and had views of the incredible mountains surrounding us here in the
Alaska Range. It was a day for the books. We’re settling into the routines of expedition life and all is well. Tomorrow, we have our sites set on shuttling some gear up to a cache at 13,600’, but as we do here in Alaska, we’ll pole our heads out of the tent in the morning and see what Mother Nature has in store. Until then, keep it classy out there in the real world.
RMI Guides Robby, Joe, Nick and Team Sriracha
On The Map
June 2, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Saturday, June 1, 2019 - 11:00 PM PT
And the train keeps on rolling! We were up and attem early again this morning, rolling out of bed at 530 am and on the trail by 730 am with all of the remainder of our food and gear on our backs. We spent about 6 hours breaking trail from 7800’ camp all the way to
11,000’ Camp, without a single other climbing team in sight. The snow and clouds kept us cool, and allowed us to make efficient work of the climb. We made it to “11” camp just in time to see our fellow RMI teams led by Mike Walter and Steve Gately before we got down to building camp, which should be our home for the next few nights. Tomorrow, we’ll ‘back-carry’ and finally get the rest of gear up here at 11,000 and be all set to start setting our sites on some of the more fun climbing of the trip. Until then, keep it real out there in the real world. We’ll keep you updated on our progress.
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team Trail Break
On The Map
June 1, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Friday, May 31, 2019 - 9:41 PM PT
What a great day it’s been! We were optimistic when our alarms went off at 4 am that very little snow slid off the top of our tent. The snowfall forecasts under produced and we were up and attem and out of Camp by 6:30 am getting a carry and cache in at the
10,000’ corner. Light snow and clouds kept us cool and happy all day, and despite the lack of views, we were treated to some amazing light on the surrounding glaciers off and on all day. We made it back to camp in time for some afternoon naps and finished our day with a Nick Scott Quesadilla Fiesta for the ages. Gourmet salsas, perfectly hydrated beans, and chicken pepper combos were the rage. Seconds were in high demand. Good conversations were had and then it was time to hit the hay for what looks to be a good day to move camp to 11,000’ tomorrow.
Until then, have a great night and we’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team Quesadilla Fiesta
On The Map
May 31, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
Thursday, May 30, 2019 9:33 PM PT
Hello Loyal RMI Blog Followers,
Greetings from 7800’ Camp, aka Camp 1, here on the Kahiltna Glacier. We’ve made the move! After a 3am wake up, our team got up and attem and we were making the first steps of our expedition by 5am. It was an absolute perfect morning for the move up the Kahiltna Glacier. The route was in perfect condition after a solid overnight refreeze, and the temps were ideal for hauling 100 lbs of food and gear across the Alaska wilderness. We made it to camp 1 in great style, pulling in this morning around 10:45. An early arrival allowed us ample time to build camp, settle in for some afternoon naps and enjoy an early dinner of tortellini and the Denali delicacy, Grandma’s Cookies. We’re tucked in the bags now, and hoping for a carry to 10,000’ tomorrow. It appears some snow is on the way for the weekend and into next week, so any chance to make some progress we will gladly take. We’ll keep you in the loop!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch and Team Parmesan Cheese
May 29, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 7:19 PM PT
Greetings,
We’re in! Our pilots nailed a short lived window this morning and the team is all currently on the SE Fork of the
Kahiltna Glacier. Despite numerous cloud layers abundant throughout the Range, our amazing K2 pilots made it happen! With a little bit of a late arrival, we’ve opted to hang tight here at Base Camp today, and travel during the cooler hours of the night and early morning tomorrow, and hopefully make camp across the way at 7800’ Camp tomorrow. We’re excited to be here in the Alaska Range, and we’re stoked to get the ball rolling tomorrow as we begin a grand climbing adventure.
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team
On The Map
May 29, 2019
Posted by: Robby Young, Nick Scott, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 11:21 PM PT
Hello all!
Greetings from the climbing capital of Alaska...Talkeetna! Our RMI team arrived safely yesterday evening and has been putting in the work and the time to prep for the
extraordinary climbing adventure that lies ahead. The team spent a long day today checking our climbing gear, organizing food, and assembling and packing our kitchen for the weeks ahead. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Talkeetna which certainly helped with our productivity and motivation as we look forward to a possible flight into the Range tomorrow morning. We spent the evening enjoying the last of our creature comforts and indulging ourselves on our favorite foods from Twister Creek in downtown Talkeetna. We’re optimistic for the weather tomorrow and we’ll keep everyone in the loop on our progress throughout our expedition.
RMI Guides Robby,
Nick,
Joe and your favorite Denali Team
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So glad weather improved! Good luck all! Step safe
Posted by: Susan Moore on 6/7/2019 at 9:18 pm
Baldock…. go get it! DAs Office following you guys up!
Posted by: Marja on 6/7/2019 at 4:20 pm
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