Entries By kel rossiter

Hey everybody, checking in from the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier where we are settled into Basecamp after a day of exciting weather. We woke this morning in Talkeetna to a couple inches of new snow on the ground and thought it was going to be another day of waiting around for flyable weather. But when I checked in with K2 at 8:00 they said it was actually clear at Basecamp and that as soon as the snow showers in town stopped we'd potentially be on our way. Well, the clouds broke around noon and our intrepid crew loaded up onto a pair of otters and headed for the Alaska Range. Clouds enroute nearly forced us to turn around but our pilots were able to make it happen and delivered us safely to the Southeast Fork. Some unfortunate planes were forced to turn around after the runway shutdown because of a bank of clouds that rolled in soon after our arrival. These folks eventually made it in later on in the evening when everything cleared up. The views here are breathtaking, if a little humbling. Wish us luck as we head out on the route first thing tomorrow! RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Woke up this morning to snow on the ground and sleet falling from the sky. It turns out that this doesn't make for the safest bush flights or glacier landings so we spent another day hanging out in Talkeetna. We ate a lot of food, hung out some, practiced crevasse rescue, hung out some more, and some of us even drank a couple beers. Tomorrow is calling for more of the same but with a chance of partial clearing later in the day. We have our fingers crossed... More to come as our expedition gets off the ground, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Update 10:34 am PST Billy called from Talkeetna to give us an update: It is snowing in Talkeetna and the team will not be flying today. Update from 5/16/13 at 11:00 pm PST Checking in from a rainy Talkeetna... We woke up early this morning and headed over to the hangar after a quick breakfast at the Roadhouse hoping to finish up our last odds and ends and fly on to the glacier. While we were weighing the last of our luggage for the flight, the K2 staff told us the bad news: snowing at basecamp, flat light, and a low cloud ceiling. Translation: no go for us. So we hung out most of the day today eating food and worrying about what we forgot to pack while the rain gradually built up all day. Unfortunately, it's not looking good for tomorrow either so we may have to organize a pingpong tournament in the hangar. Despite the crummy weather the team is in good spirits and looking forward to our big adventure. We'll check in tomorrow, hopefully from Kahiltna Basecamp. All for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Hi all, today kicked off the official start of the second RMI Denali expedition of the 2013 season! We spent the day dealing with the more unsavory and tedious parts of mountain climbing in our preparation for tomorrow's flight into the range. Namely, we checked (and re-checked) gear, completed our orientation and permitting process with the NPS, and packed up and weighed all of our food and equipment for loading the planes. We enjoyed a team dinner on what is hopefully our last evening in civilization. The team is psyched, strong, and maybe a bit nervous but certainly ready to go - we just need the weather to cooperate tomorrow morning so we can get into Basecamp. we'll see... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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After our beautiful bluebird day on Mount Frances we went to bed satisfied with our climbing. We spent our last full day dialing in rescue techniques and ice climbing in crevasses. Yesterday we woke up early for our flight back to Talkeetna and enjoyed a celebratory toast. A sweet success! Everybody left for home with lots of knowledge on modern climbing techniques and as more experienced climbers. Thank you very much team for the great times in the Alaska Range and I'm already looking forward to next year's Alpine Seminar. All best, RMI Guide Andres Marin

Our attempt on Mt. Francis was great. We were making good time up the southeast ridge until conditions got really icy. We climbed a pitch of ice and then we made a group decision of turning back down. The views, as well as the learning experience, were incredible. Now we are all back in camp enjoying a hot cup of tea. Today we did our last seminar review and will be starting to pack for tomorrow's flight back to Talkeetna. Looking forward to a shower and a big salad. RMI Guide Andres Marin

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Today we put what we've learned the last few days into action. We headed to a crevasse and practiced our rescue techniques using the complete system. Going down in the crevasse was an incredible experience for everyone. It was written all over the team's faces in the great photos and big smiles that made this day just fantastic. We are going to bed early and hoping for good weather for our summit attempt to the East ridge of Mt. Francis. Wish us luck. All best, RMI Guide Andres Marin

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This place just keeps getting better and better. Today we climbed Radio Tower!!! The weather was incredible and the views just fantastic. We climbed this peak via the southside and gained the east ridge to the top. The entire group had the chance to learn a lot and had a great time while climbing our first summit. After a long day we are eating dinner and planning a day of ice climbing and crevasse rescue that we have in front of us. All best, RMI Guide Andres Marin and the Alaska Alpine Seminar

Today we woke up with a blue skies and great temperatures, way different than what the weather was predicting. Quickly we got ready and went for a hike to the Southeast Fork. Learning about glacier travel and the different terrain features with these incredible views is spectacular. What an environment to learn in! While at the glacier we checked our approach for Radio Tower, which we are hoping to climb tomorrow. All and all one more great day in a beautiful place. Everybody in the group sends a big hello, hugs and kisses to friends and family. All the best, RMI Guide Andres Marin and the Alaska Alpine Seminar

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Our trip just keeps getting better and better. Today we woke up with a crispy couple of new inches of snow in one of the most beautiful places in Earth, Alaska. We enjoyed breakfast with our teammates and got ready to learn about snow anchors, belay systems and other technical systems. The weather is little stormy so we decided to stay around camp to train today. After lunch we helped pack the bush plane runway and got to move our legs and exercise for a bit. The group is doing great and enjoy each other's company. Tomorrow we are hoping for a good window of weather to go climb. All best from RMI Guide Andres Marin &the Alaska Alpine seminar

On The Map