Entries By nick sinapius
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Ben Thorneycroft, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - 10:27 pm PT
11,200’ is our new home! We weren’t entirely psyched when we woke this morning as there was a thick cloud bank and ripping winds where we needed to go. We did a partial pack and stalled and waited. As the sun climbed and warmed our camp, the clouds began to rise, and the wind began to die. That was enough for us - we pulled the rest of the camp down, loaded up sleds (all have names, goose and Tinkerbell are a few) and started uphill.
We had as smooth and steady of a climb as we could wish for and rolled into 11k this evening after a 7-hour walk. We are happily dug in and working towards dinner. Tomorrow we’ll go back to retrieve our cache which is a short day, and then be set to keep looking uphill.
RMI Guides Pete, Ben, Nick, and Team
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Monday, May 12, 2025 - 7:45 pm PT
Snow has been pattering on the tent walls most of last night and all day today. It was an easy decision to sit tight, in the white world that we woke up in. We lingered over breakfast burritos, then spent the day reading, watching movies, stretching, and chatting. Camp was calm and quiet as everyone else did the same. The forecast looks like snow tails off and things get clear tomorrow so we are hoping to make our move to 11,00' Camp in the morning. All in all, everyone appreciated the rest day.
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and team
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 10,200'
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Monday, May 12, 2025 - 12:17 AM PDT
Today showed us the dichotomy of weather in Alaska. After a cold windy walk yesterday, today’s carry to 10,200' was calm and HOT. We had a pretty leisurely start this morning after getting to bed late last night. Folks enjoyed the sleep, and woke up surprisingly (to them) recovered and feeling well. We left around noon and made good time up to the cache site, dug a hole to hide some things in, and then turned back to our home, enjoying the lighter-weight, downhill walk as the light got long. We got back to camp a bit before it went into the shade and plowed through some burritos as a reward. Sounds like we may see snow tomorrow, so what we do tomorrow will be a gametime decision in the morning. We would like to say Happy Mother’s Day and so many thanks to all the incredible mothers in our lives who give us so much support as well and who let us be in this incredible place!
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft, and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Sunday, May 11, 2025 - 1:19 AM PT
The starting horn sounded! It was a beautiful morning in Talkeetna and the pilots at K2 were psyched to get going. We loaded the planes and were in the air a bit before 10 am. The flight in was one of the best I’ve ever had. As clear as could be, calm, and the pilots made a couple turns and loops to bring the big three (McKinley, Foraker, and Hunter) into profile. Once on the ground, we unloaded everything and watched as the planes climbed back into the sky. That turned out to be a small hiccup, as our cooktent hadn’t made it off the plane. We stalled for a bit as a result and it came back to us via a scenic flight. Reunited, we tossed on packs and left base camp, as heavy as we will ever be on this trip. As we got to the base of heartbreak hill, a decently strong wind greeted us head on We ended up walking into that the whole way, a bit unpleasant but nothing more. It was a small taste of what Alaska can brew up for weather. Now we are tucked into camp at the base of Ski Hill, glad to finally be on the move.
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
It was a pretty full day, prepping everything for a few weeks of glacier living and making sure we get it right. We started with an orientation from the Park Service this morning, before diving in to unpacking our kits, and repacking them for the flight to base camp, where we will unpack them again, to pack for climbing. It's a lot of shuffling but we're feeling confident that everything is set to go. And everyone was buoyed as the skies were clear as could be all day. These clear days are when Denali (McKinley) shows off, encased in white and gleaming brightly on the skyline. Weather continues to look good for tomorrow, so we are prepped to fly first thing and get this expedition truly underway!
RMI Guides, Pete, Ben, Nick, and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
The team all made it without snags yesterday, and we hit the ground running, packing into the shuttle and heading for Talkeetna. After dinner, we ambled down to the river - the mountains were socked in but the icebergs floating by provided the ambience. The amble then magically led our feet to the doors of the Fairview, for a quick pint and an acoustic rendition of despacito. Then to bed in the arctic daylight. We’ll pack tomorrow and things look good for flights on on Saturday!
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Good luck on this climb of a lifetime!
Posted by: Maxine Hill on 5/10/2025 at 7:47 am
Keep her lit!
Posted by: Sinead on 5/10/2025 at 2:26 am
Posted by: Seth Burns, Alan Davis, Nick Sinapius, Will Ambler, Josh Geiser, Claire Pennell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Seth Burns and Alan Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Thanks to the recent route work by many of our RMI Guides the team had a great route and were on the top in five and a half hours. The team enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and clear skies. The team is back at Camp Muir where they will spend one more night and descend Sunday Morning.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius, Steve Gately, Hannah Blum, Ben Thorneycroft, Rosie Hust
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,100'
The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Same Marjerison and Nick Sinapius turned at 13,100' on their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team climbed into a cloud camp with low visibility and unstable weather. They are back at Camp Muir and will descend to Paradise soon.
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Nick Sinapius, Hannah Blum, Dylan Anderson, Charlie Harrison, Rosie Hust
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Nick Sinapius reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team is in route to Camp Muir where they will spend another night on the mountain before starting their descent.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Joey Manship, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft, Mac Nolde, Avery Stolte
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 1 - 4 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & Joey Manship reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 4:30 am today. The teams are currently working their way back to Camp Muir with sunshine and blue skies. They will continue their descent to Paradise later this morning.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Yaasssss! Way to go Jared and team!
Posted by: Julie B on 8/4/2024 at 10:52 am
go Jared! woot
Posted by: Brandon der Blatter on 8/4/2024 at 10:48 am
Good luck Pete and Brian Hill! All of Louisiana (and a small part of South Carolina) are hoping for a safe and successful climb!
Wishing you the best,
Andrew
Posted by: Andrew James on 5/14/2025 at 11:56 am
Kiss the mountain air we breathe!
Get it fellas. Take her down.
Posted by: JP Love on 5/14/2025 at 6:17 am
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