Entries By mike king
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 10,000'
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May 12, 2017 - 9:13 pm PT
Nice day here at 10,000' on the upper Kahiltna Glacier. The team slept in a bit after the hard day yesterday. We kitted up and waddled through a few feet of snow to the base of the ridge for some fixed line travel and snow science. A few of us kept our snow shoes on and put in a track up the ridge of Kahiltna Dome for an eventual attempt early tomorrow if the weather holds. All is well here in Alaska. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 9,800'
All good on the Alaska Mountaineering Seminar front! A cold and clear wake up had us briskly packing up camp and beginning the sun-baked hike up to the base of Kahiltna Pass at about 9,800', where we established our next camp. The way was smooth but hot, and we are rewarded with sweeping views of Mount Capps, Kahiltna Dome and the entire Kahiltna glacier. Some snow is faintly swirling through the air adding to the grandeur of our setting as we prep dinner. Tomorrow we look forward to an active rest day with a whole set of new mountain travel skills to take in.
RMI Guide Jessie Poquerusse & the team
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
May 10, 2017 - 9:12 pm PT
The forecast threatened an 80% chance of more snow but we woke to clear skies. This morning was busy with packing, digging and more packing for our move to Camp 1. We hauled our sleds out onto the main Kahiltna under a hard sun and played leapfrog with a German team. By 5 pm we were cooking dinner outside in great weather. The team suffered under the hot globe with grace and we are going to do it again tomorrow to Camp 2.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
May 9, 2017 10:19 pm
Today was action-packed as we rotated through a series of skills sessions. Sled rigging, avalanche awareness and practice beacon searches, and a more realistic and elaborate crevasse rescue scenario made for a full day of mountain skills. About mid-day we even had the pleasure of clear skies for the first time in a couple days. Dinner burritos and fruit pie to top it off!
RMI Guide Jessie Poquerusse
On The Map
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Today was off to an early start! After a quick breakfast, we stretched our legs heading up glacier to the base of Radio Tower and beyond to the cirque at the base of the East ridge of Frances, where we chatted about glaciology, route planning and navigation. Menacing seracs and at times nearly white-out conditions made the teachings come to life. After heading back to camp and a quick break, we learned and reviewed basic knots and hitches to get us ready for session 1 of basic crevasse rescue. We put to use our anchor building tactics from the previous day and spent the afternoon doing basic rescue drills. Cozying up to burritos was a great end to a long day.
RMI Guide Jessie Poquerusse & team
Posted by: Leon Davis, Jessie Poquerusse, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
May 7, 2017 - 8:40 pm PT
Success on day 2 of the Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Expedition! We started out the day going over the bread and butter of mountaineering, including snow walking, using and traveling with crampons and practicing self arrest. We then progressed into learning about and building snow anchors. After a short rest, the calm morning gave way to snow flurries, which gradually picked up as we learned and began to build a wall or our camp--earning our dinners! Overall, it was a full day of review, learning, and work and we're all happily in bed resting ready for our first jaunt onto the glacier tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jessie Poquerusse & team
On The Map
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Some people spend the day after Cinco de Mayo in bed nursing a hangover. We spent it by packing gear, trading street shoes for climbing boots and flying onto the Kahiltna glacier. Our team arrived prepared and by 2 pm we were stomping out camp on the hill overlooking the airstrip. The team worked quickly and here we are ready for bed at 8 pm. Great weather today and great views of the surrounding peaks.
Tomorrow we will begin our skills training and fortify camp for some potential weather moving in.
RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team
Posted by: Mike King, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
The Mexico team is back safe at Sr. Reyes' climbers hostel after a long summit day on Pico de Orizaba. Following our dusty drive down from the hut we spent the evening cleaning gear and packing for our flights tomorrow. This trip flew by and we were fortunate to have great weather, two summits and a wonderful group of climbers. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King called in from the Orizaba summit!
"This is Mike King with Team Mexico. We are standing on top of el Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America! Light winds and visibility all the way out to Ixta and Popo. It was a great climb. We will check back in with you when we get back down to high camp."
On The Map
We are currently setting up tents at the Piedra Grande Hut on the lower flanks of Pico de Orizaba. The Team had a very productive rest day in Puebla. Several of them took a city tour while some cruised the markets and town square for people watching and amazing food. The view from our hotel roof was a highlight since all the peaks we have been on and traveling near are visible among the colorful backdrop of Puebla's cathedrals and colorful neighborhoods.
The Team is excited for the summit attempt and looking forward to another beautiful sunset here in Mexico. We will hopefully be checking in from the summit tomorrow morning. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Mike King
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Looks fantastic! Congratulations. I wish I still had it me to do this.
Posted by: Duncan Mckinnon on 3/5/2017 at 5:01 pm
Awesome!!!!! CONGRATS!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/26/2017 at 2:53 am
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