Entries By mike king

Elevation: 9,700'

Hello all! The team is here at camp 9700' poised to go for the summit of Kahiltna Dome if the weather cooperates. Everyone did well getting here and fortifying camp was a great team effort. As we finished our dinner clouds started in from the southwest, obscuring views of Mt. Hunter, Denali and the Kahiltna Dome itself. But we are ready and excited for whatever happens. In the pre-dawn we hope to be walking toward Kahiltna Dome's East Ridge. Good night everyone! RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King & Katrina Bloemsma

On The Map

Alaska Seminar: Davis and Team On The Move

May 23, 2014

Elevation: 7,880'

May 23, 2014 - 7:18 pm PT Our first night away from the airstrip here at 7,800' and it's under beautiful clear blue skies. The winds above 14,000' are moving hard but here it is calm. We walked 3.5 hrs north on the Kahiltna Glacier to the base of Ski Hill and occupied some vacant sites. All told a pretty relaxing afternoon after adjusting to our pack & sled loads. Tomorrow we will gain 2,000' to our next camp at 9,800' which puts us near the base of Kahiltna Dome's east ridge. Good night friends and family! RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Freuen uns über die täglichen Berichte. Wünschen dem Team und insbesondere Katharina weiterhin schöne Tage und viel Erfolg. Beste Grüße aus dem wolkigen Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Papa, Karin & Lexi

Posted by: Joachim Schmitt on 5/24/2014 at 11:39 pm

Grandma (Dorothy) wants to say good luck to you Bob and Nikki, and also to the rest your expedition, and god bless. I also wanted to say climb high, and don’t die, and happy anniversary to you two! It’s a great way for you to celebrate it.

Posted by: Michael Lowry and Grandma on 5/24/2014 at 8:01 am

Alaska Seminar: Davis and Team Train near Mt. Francis

May 23, 2014

May 22, 2014 - 9:32 pm PT Another pleasant day today, albeit cold and cloudy. This morning we went for a walk out of base camp toward the east ridge of Francis. We passed the large granite face of Francis, and through old icefall debris, up into a small cirque. Great views of Hunter and Base Camp from this small snowy cove. Once back at camp we rigged sleds and packed gear for our departure tomorrow up to Camp 1. The team is excited to venture out and experience another part of the Alaska range. Until tomorrow... RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

Alaska Seminar: Davis and Team Learn Crevasse Rescue

May 22, 2014

May 21, 2014 - 11:16 pm Today we spent a full day rotating through stations of crevasse rescue and beacon searches. The team did well grasping the concept of producing mechanical advantage and they ran through the drills multiple times. By the end of the day, I think most ended up with an understanding of how the systems work. Clouds are moving in slowly and may linger for a few days here but that won't stop us from venturing out onto the surrounding glaciers. We have one more day here in base camp to prepare for our move north. Goodnight to all. RMI Guide Leon Davis

Alaska Seminar: Davis and Team work on Glacier Travel

May 21, 2014

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

May 20, 2014 - 11:57pm PT Today was a glorious day full of sun and cooler temperatures. We left camp early this morning and headed west, down to the main flow of the Kahiltna glacier. The team got first hand experience of how we move across such massive fields of ice and the views both up and down glacier were amazing. Felt like we were in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Our objective was a small formation called the pizza wedge and as we got closer the crevasses got bigger. So big that our desired approach was cut off by a 200' wide crack over a mile long. Despite being rewarded with great weather and cooler temps, this years snow isn't making things easy. So we trekked back to camp and resumed training for a full day tomorrow of crevasse rescue and beacon searches. All is well and beautiful here! RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

That looks like such an amazing experience. Have fun and stay safe, Wendy.

Posted by: Chris Bertran on 5/22/2014 at 6:49 am

Hey Dad,

I hope you’re having a great time! It sounds like you’re doing some pretty awesome and intense stuff! We hope you and your team have a great next few days and stay safe. Love you.

Love,
Linds, Ryann, and Mom

Posted by: Lindsay H on 5/22/2014 at 5:00 am

Alaska Seminar: Davis and Team Build Camp

May 20, 2014

May 19, 2014 - 11:14 pm PT Hi Everyone, We had a pretty busy day here on Kahiltna's SE fork. Consistent and gusty winds from the north had us building a fortress of sorts around our tents and kitchen. There was some time in the morning for basic skills training in groups but by early afternoon the whole team went into wall building mode. It was pretty amazing to see how well everyone cooperated and their work ethic was close to exhausting. So much so that a small news team noticed the action from below and came up to video everyone working and interview a few folks. So tune in to KTVA Alaska 11 News on their website and you might see a friend or loved one on TV! Tomorrow we are going for a day mission across the Kahiltna toward Mt. Foraker. Stay tuned for more good news tomorrow! RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

What beautiful surroundings! Im at the beach with our daughters but we are checking on Chuck and hoping for the best for his adventure!
lori Harrelson

Posted by: Lori Harrelson on 5/21/2014 at 7:09 am

Thanks for blogging this trip! My husband is there and our boys and I look forward to your daily notes and photos to track daddy’s climb! Good luck and God bless!

Posted by: Brooke Q on 5/21/2014 at 1:43 am

Alaska Seminar: Davis and Team Fly onto the Glacier

May 19, 2014

May 19, 2014, 1:05 am PT Hello all - Our team is just crawling into their sleeping bags here at Kahiltna Base Camp. Our pilots at K2 Aviation found a way in between a few windy spells and at 5:45 pm we touched down in sunny cool weather. By 9:30 pm we were having dinner and very happy about making it onto the Kahiltna glacier. Many of the team could barely hide their enthusiasm from the moment they boarded the plane until we crawled into our sleeping bags for bed time. All is great! Goodnight friends and family - RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King and Katrina Bloemsma

On The Map

Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Prepare to Fly

May 18, 2014

May 18, 3:27 pm PT Greetings friends and family! The second Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Expedition team is here in Alaska and almost ready to fly! Most of our gear is packed and weighed and now we are waiting for departure time. We have a few hours to go so we are setting up tents and prepping for our first night onto the glacier. Fingers crossed for an on time flight! RMI Guide Leon Davis and Team

Mt. Rainier: May 14th Summit!

May 14, 2014

Posted by: Brent Okita, Tyler Jones, Chase Nelson, Mike King, Nick Hunt, Ben Liken

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

Camp Muir reported that RMI Guides Brent Okita, Tyler Jones and the Five Day Summit Climb Team reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier at about 7am this morning. The team reported clear skies and absolutely beautiful climb weather. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir. We expect them back to RMI Base Camp this afternoon. This is the First Summit of the our 2014 summer season! Congratulations Teams!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Great Job? How was the trail up? Going up in June!

Posted by: brandon on 5/15/2014 at 8:59 am

Congrats…2 weeks till my climb, hoping the streak will continue!

Posted by: Dan on 5/14/2014 at 3:01 pm

Mt. Rainier: The 2014 Season Begins!

May 12, 2014

Posted by: Brent Okita, Tyler Jones, Ben Liken, Nick Hunt, Mike King, Chase Nelson

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,060'

RMI Guides Brent Okita and Tyler Jones are leading our first 2014 Mt. Rainier Summit Climb! The team is doing great and had beautiful weather on their ascent to Camp Muir today. Tomorrow the team will go on an acclimatization hike and get ready for their summit bid on Wednesday.

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Best of luck with the summit bid! Please post more pics! My kids want to be inspired by their Uncle Chris. We love you Uncle Chris!
Love,
Your Sister

Posted by: Jennifer Ward-Maseda on 5/20/2014 at 7:27 am

Wish I could be there with all of you,...someday, I will go.
Be careful and have a great time!

Posted by: Deblan on 5/13/2014 at 5:16 pm