Entries By mike haugen
June 22, 2018
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Hannah McGowan, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 10:16 PM PT
After the Hurricane Horiskey beatdown and yesterday’s big move we decided today was a great day to rest and let our bodies begin to acclimatize to the higher altitudes. So we slept until the sun hit our tents and then we enjoyed a hardy meal of breakfast quesos and talked strategy for our cache day tomorrow. Post breakfast we enjoyed an afternoon snooze (have to let the breakfast settle) and then did some organizational prep before rollin on into dinner and a celebration of Josh’s 48 birthday! He had a smile bigger than the solstice sun when we sung him Happy Birthday and presented him with a cheesecake and mini cake complete with a candle. After filling our bellies we dispersed to our tents and are enjoying the rest of solstice snuggled up waiting for our cache day tomorrow.
All is well here with our Super Crew!
Happy solstice everyone!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
June 21, 2018
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Hannah McGowan, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
Wednesday, June 20, 2018 -- 11:14 PM PT
As it turns out, the sun does still exist!! We saw it last night— well actually just the cold sunlight that reflected off the moon— but it was surrounded by bright blue sky and we finally got to see the gorgeousness of the landscape we’ve been inhabiting for days.
We woke in a white out but made the move to
11,000' Camp anyway, with the thought that we must be right at the top of the clouds. Sure enough, we were right! Our new home at 11,000' welcomed us with sunshine to dry out our gear and allow for lounging not in a tent. After a big burrito dinner we are fat and happy back in our sleeping bags, but this time they’re dry and our alarms aren’t set to wake up every hour for shoveling. Much love to all of you who care enough to listen in! Sending special birthday wishes to Cody, Lindsey’s brother!
With love,
RMI Super Crew
On The Map
If you were wondering what kind of scenery you can see while
climbing Denali, don't ask us because we haven't seen anything in days! We are living in a giant ping pong ball where white snow meets white clouds.
We high fived Tyler Jones's RMI team as they made their way down through the muck headed towards Basecamp.
All we need is a short break in the weather and a small assurance that the next camp will not be any worse than here. We are hoping that tomorrow morning gives us what we need.
The team really is in good spirits considering the amount of tent time that has been logged during this storm and we are not even really on the mountain yet! There has been nothing but positivity and hard work from our Super Crew. So proud!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
June 18, 2018
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Hannah McGowan, Gloria Roe
Categories:
Elevation: 9,600'
Monday, June 18, 2018 - 8:18 PM PT
Just when we were beginning to think the worst of the storm had passed, Hurricane
Horiskey came back with a vengeance. We spent the night trying to keep afloat by shoveling every hour on the hour. As the winds increased and the snow continued to fall we rallied the troops and began a train of shoveling in 30 minute shifts. This train of shoveling has lasted all day! And after a brief interlude for a warming Ramen dinner we are back at it. Although Hurricane Horiskey is a bit more intense than we would have preferred we are taking this opportunity to keep our shoveling arms strong and work on one of mountaineering's most important skills, patience. As you may imagine our Super Crew is crushing it and taking the weather in stride. When else would they have a chance to catch up on Breaking Bad or finish the Lord of the Rings Audiobook?? We are crossing our fingers that the weather will mellow a bit come tomorrow but until then continue to shovel as if we were headed for China.
Pray for good weather!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Super Crew!
On The Map
Sunday, June 17th - 7:47 pm PT
Whelp, we’re still posted up at
9600’ camp, but fresh out of tequila and island wear. Every few hours last night we had to call for all hands on deck to keep the blowing snow from piling up and over our tents. The storm took a toll on our kitchen tent, but we still managed to rotate through in small groups for a pancake breakfast. Now we are still listening to the snow and wind tap tap tapping against the tent walls, but we are all snuggled up with dinner and tea in bed. With any luck Hurricane Horiskey will ease up over night, but until it does we’ll be keeping a close watch on the snow accumulation and poised to shovel as much as we need to keep our little camp in good shape. Thanks to the hard workin' bunch of RMI Super Crew 6, we’re warm and the sounds of laughter from neighboring tents often overshadows sound of the wind.
Super Crew 6 would also like to add a shoutout to all the fathers out there! Happy Father’s Day! Much love From our windy, snow covered but Cozy tents to wherever you may find yourself today. Love you all!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 8:47 PM PT
We thought we’d take advantage of the 24 hour light to catch up on our sun tans today and decided to stay put. Between the umbrellas in our Espolón drinks and the Hawaiian shirts, it was well worth it! Alright, I guess that’s only half true- we did in fact stay put, but unfortunately it was hardly a choice- strong winds and precipitation continued through the night and all day. It seems Mother Nature is in a fighting mood! It’s a good thing we built such high walls! Even still, the snow is piling up and nearly spilling over. We’ve got a whole crew of superstars though and we’ve gone all hands on deck to reinforce our camp a couple times throughout the day. Between shoveling frenzies, we spent the day laughing in the kitchen tent, napping, sport eating, and marveling at how quickly our outhouse keeps filling in with snow. Spirits are high despite the hard work required to thrive in conditions like this, and the whole team is currently snuggled up in big sleeping bags and down booties. The storm is forcasted to begin clearing tomorrow, but unfortunately that could mean anything here in
Alaska.
For now rest assured we’re hangin tough and taking care of each other.
With love,
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and the Super Crew
On The Map
When the weather reports we receive include the words gentle breeze, fresh winds, and tail end of a typhoon, you know you are climbing in
Alaska! We had a great trip from our camp this morning with all of our team members handling these heavy loads like champions! Since we always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, we fortified our new camp with large snow walls to block some of the winds that may or may not be headed our way. We were so proud of our walls that Rusty even put his civil engineering stamp on them.
The weather was very good before a marine type cloud layer brought some new snow and the fresh wind we were told about. It already seems to be clearing up a bit. Meanwhile, we are hunkered down eating Tasty Bites and waiting to see if hurricane Horiskey hits us.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Super Crew 6
Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 8:01 PM PT
We had a super early start this morning. We were very proud of Super Crew 6 this morning for getting up and packing up with style so we could get on the trail quickly. I gave them a C+ to their face but it was really an A+ effort. I didn't want them getting too cocky right off the bat!
We had a great walk up the
Kahiltna Glacier through light snow and medium visibility. As we approached camp, the sky started to clear and bit and we have been able to see Denali on and off since then.
We are dug in safely and 7,800' and will make an on the fly decision whether to move up to our next camp based on what the weather looks like when we get up at 2 a.m. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and the Super Crew
On The Map
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - 8:54 PM PT
The mountain weather was kind to us today. After a hearty breakfast at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna, we made our way to the airstrip where K2 Aviation told us we were good to fly. We hopped into our climbing clothes, did our last minute list checks, and got into the planes.
After a phenomenal 45 minute flight over the tundra and into the Alaska Range, we landed on the snow runway that is
Kahiltna Base Camp.
We spent the day taking in the sights, practicing crevasse rescue skills, and preparing for our long, heavy slog to our next camp at 7,800'.
Our plan is to wake up super early and be traveling across the Kahiltna Glacier while all of the snow bridges are very frozen. We also like to travel at night to avoid baking in the heat of the day as all of the white, snowy surfaces reflect sun back up at us. We either freeze or fry in the mountains and the 24 hours of daylight allow us to travel safely whenever we choose based on the temperature.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Super Crew 6
On The Map
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - 9:59 AM PT
Our
Denali Expedition Team is assembled in Talkeetna and ready to climb! After the last hectic few days of travel and packing, we are loaded in the plane and ready to be on our way to the mountain. We are looking forward to the adventure and challenge we are facing. Wish us luck!!!
RMI Guides Mike Haugen, Hannah McGowan and Gloria Roe
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Birthday cake at 11,000 ft - now that is the RMI difference! I’m sure the team is happy to have a little rest but probably ready to be on the move again. Great job, Super Crew.
Posted by: Nancie Summerlin on 6/22/2018 at 10:03 am
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