Entries By miles watson
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 8:57 pm PT
Not much action for us today, big storm hitting the mountain. We were watching the weather from 3 AM, hoping for a chance to sneak up to 14 Camp ahead of the incoming storm, but ultimately we decided there wasn’t a sufficient window for doing it safely. After five days of walking and carrying loads, we rested today and watched it snow and blow. We sat a little long following meals and told each other stories in the dining tent. Forecasts suggest the storm will be with us tonight and tomorrow as well. We can wait.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 13,000'
Monday, June 22, 2026 - 9:48 pm PT
Our crampons were crunching snow just after 8 this morning as we got going up Motorcycle Hill. An hour of climbing got us to the middle of Squirrel Hill, where we had great (and new) views of the Peters Glacier and the NW Buttress of Denali. We had some steep hills to muscle up before reaching the relatively flat terrain at the start of the Polo Field below the end of the West Buttress. An hour of gradually steepening climbing then got us to the relatively flat terrain at the start of the Polo Field below the end of the West Buttress. An hour of gradually steepening climbing then got us to the pass at Windy Corner. There, at about 13,300 ft we chose to cache our food and fuel. The weather stayed more or less stable -there was no wind at windy corner- but clouds were increasing and we were getting intermittent snow showers. The team had a smooth descent to 11k with lighter packs and sleds. The afternoon and evening were mostly cloudy back at camp, but we enjoyed a few sun breaks too. We hope to move up to 14k tomorrow ahead of a forecasted storm. Fingers crossed.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
Sunday, June 21 - 6:45PM PST
We didn’t get up in the middle of the night! It was wonderful to sleep until the civilized hour of six AM. Being higher up the hill at 11k means we don’t have to work so hard to avoid heat. We set off on our “back-carry” at 8 AM, snowshoeing down the hill to our cache at 10k. We collected our food and fuel and made it back into 11camp by 10:30. The team sheltered from the sun until 3 and then we assembled to review crampon footwork and handling an ice axe, both of which will be useful tomorrow as we transition to steeper terrain. It began to snow -gently- as we finished training and set about packing for tomorrow’s carry.
- RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Saturday, June 20 - 7PM PST
At 2AM things didn’t look so great… there were big clouds and it was spitting snow on our 8K camp. After a cup of coffee, everything looked better and we rallied the team for moving day. We were on the trail just ahead of 5 AM and moving well in the cool shadows. Before long we were up Ski Hill and pulling on to the plateau at 9500 ft. We took a break near our 10K cache and then rounded the corner bound for 11K. The last hill was bigger and steeper but our team was firing on all cylinders and we cruised into our new home by 10AM. It took about 2.5 hrs to hammer out tent sites and a kitchen and dining tent but it then felt pretty good to move in to shelter from the intense high altitude sun. After a few days down in the valley of the Kahiltna, it is a thrill to be looking out at the Alaskan tundra to the NW and back down to 17,400 ft Mount Foraker to the SW. The end of the West Buttress is gigantic above camp. We may actually get a thunder snow shower after dinner this evening as the cumulus clouds have been building and rumbling.
- RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
This is an exciting climb and I look forward to reading the updates every day. A special callout to Jodi V. for taking on this challenge. I know that Jodi will have a lot of success and many stories to tell after this adventure.
Posted by: Bruce Dewar on 6/23/2026 at 5:52 am
This is an amazing climb. I love reading the updates every day. What a challenge! Thinking of Jodi V every day and the rest of the team!!
Posted by: Cathy Emerling on 6/22/2026 at 7:44 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 8,000'
Friday June 19th - 6:30PM PST
Perfect day for climbing to the head of the Kahiltna Glacier. We woke at 2:30 AM, happy to find that we had new neighbors -Dan May’s RMI team, fresh from summit success, had set up next to us in the night. We congratulated them (although they were still trying for a little sleep) and set out on our carry to 10,000 ft. Conditions were excellent for travel, the surface had frozen up just right and our sleds were gliding effortlessly… except for when we were going uphill, which was most of the time. We traveled well at any rate, reaching our target elevation before 9 AM, just as the first rays of sunshine were creeping over the end of the West Buttress. We dug a deep hole in the snow and cached food and fuel. The walk down was relatively easy with light packs. Looking South we could see all the way to the Tordrillo Mountains on the horizon. By late morning we were diving into our tents to beat the midday heat. We hope to move up tomorrow.
-RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 8,000'
June 18th - 7PM PST
We started stoves at 12:30 AM today and hopped into our climbing boots. Conditions looked to be perfect. It was a clear night and the glacier surface had frozen up just right to make walking and sled dragging easy. Or easier, at least. As expected, it took a good while to get geared up, to break camp, get breakfasted and rigged for glacier travel. We were moving by 3:45 and watching the first sun way up on Mt Foraker’s 17,000 ft slopes. In contrast, we were still in deep shadow as we worked along the immense Kahiltna glacier. By a little after eight, we’d already reached our destination for the day The base of Ski Hill at 8000 ft. It took a few more hours to build a secure camp and then we made good use of it, diving in tents to avoid the midday sun. We will carry a load up the glacier tomorrow and return to this camp. All are feeling strong and enjoying the scenery.
-RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Go Jodi V!!!! Woohoooo, so amazing!!
Posted by: Cathy Emetling on 6/20/2026 at 3:17 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,300'
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - 9:24 pm PT
Just like clockwork. We ate a great Swiss Alaska breakfast, walked to the hangar, put on our boots and flew in to Kahiltna Base Camp. It was a stunningly beautiful flight. There were some clouds but our pilots found ways between them and put the ski equipped Otters down as gently as possible onstunningly beautiful flight. There were some clouds but our pilots found ways between them and put the ski equipped Otters down as gently as possible on the SE Fork. We were on by 10 AM which made for an easy day of building camp and conducting a review of glacier travel techniques. We are surrounded by gigantic cliffs of ice and rock and by glaciers stretching for miles. The guides served up a phenomenal burrito feast in our dining tent and the team turned in early. We intend to get up in the middle of the night to go climbing.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Very excited to hear about this adventure! Stay strong and keep us updated. Sounds like an amazing beginning! Go Team!!!
Warms regards, Your MA & NH friends!!!
Posted by: Katie Cochran on 6/20/2026 at 7:41 am
Good luck to the entire team during the expedition. I hope the weather and environment are consistently favorable!
Posted by: Bob Jordan on 6/19/2026 at 7:46 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Will Ambler, Jack Ritterson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 - 11:11 pm PT
As expected, today was a busy one. We talked over our priorities and strategies. We sat with the National Park Service rangers for our required orientation. We dialed personal gear, group gear and food quantities. We packed and prepped and checked our systems. Then we went into town, relaxed and ate pizza. We are ready. We hope to fly in first thing tomorrow morning.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Custom Expedition June 15, 2026
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Ben Ammon, Josh McDowell, Dylan Anderson, Miles Watson, Kat Porter, Sean James
Categories: Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,640'
The Four Day Climb (June 2-5) led by Joe Hoch and Ben Ammon turned at the top Cathedral Gap (10,640’) early this morning due to strong winds that were making climbing and continuing uphill very difficult. They are back at Camp Muir and plan to descend from Paradise later this morning. They will be back in Ashford this afternoon.
Way to hang in there team!
Posted by: Mike King, Avery Stolte, Miles Watson, Dylan Anderson, Nina Bridges, Julian Kral
Categories:
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Mike King and Avery Stolte and the Five Day Climb Teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:50am this morning. Mike reported a chilly morning with light winds. Both teams are on their descent back to Camp Muir and will head back to Paradise tomorrow.
Congratulations!
Thank you for the updates and perspectives. Such an amazing journey that only few will ever experience. Keep up the GREAT work.
Posted by: Bob Jordan on 6/24/2026 at 5:00 am
Exciting! Sending positive vibes to the team and a special hello to Jodi V!
Posted by: Dawnelle Sohl on 6/23/2026 at 6:57 pm
View All Comments