Entries By zeb blais
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Zeb Blais, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'
On The Map
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Zeb Blais, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 358'
On The Map
To Max and my Dad: Wanted to let you know that although the wifi here is limited, I’m still able to check up on the blog at least once a day. Thinking of you and wishing you the best! Have a safe climb!
Posted by: Ellie on 6/27/2013 at 12:26 pm
Dave Hahn and Team -
Sounds like that warm weather is still hanging around up there. I’ve followed some of the previous RMI teams and they were all hit with hot weather at some point during their climbs.
I bet the lower Kahiltna has opened up quite a bit and you will have a severe zig-zag path through that area.
Have a safe climb!
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 6/27/2013 at 8:07 am
On The Map
Mike King is my nephew and we want to follow him UP!
Posted by: Bonnie Roberts on 6/27/2013 at 8:37 am
Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Zeb Blais, JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Congratulations to the guys from Troop 444! And Sam Glass from Troop 895 of course.
Awesome job!
Posted by: Mello Elout on 6/19/2013 at 9:59 am
Attawaytogo Troop 444, Jay and Jerome! Thanks to the guides for a safe trek. Have a safe trip down.
Posted by: Suzy Arnold on 6/18/2013 at 4:39 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Zeb Blais, Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Woohoo! Yey dad!
Posted by: Jennifer on 6/12/2013 at 6:19 pm
Awesome!!!!! I am so happy that you were able to make it to the top. Thank you to the entire team ... I am sure that it took lots of team work to accomplish your goal! I love you John!!!!
Posted by: Patty Stenderup on 6/11/2013 at 6:22 pm
Posted by: JJ Justman, Pete Van Deventer, Zeb Blais, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Congratulations Lance! I hope you and your team had an amazing climb! What’s next on your bucket list?
Posted by: Pali on 6/8/2013 at 9:15 am
Way to go Lance, congrats to you and everyone on the team.
Jackie
Posted by: Jackie on 6/7/2013 at 6:26 am
Posted by: JJ Justman, Pete Van Deventer, Zeb Blais, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,200'
Good luck on your summit climb. Love you Daddy
Posted by: Z Team on 6/6/2013 at 9:01 pm
Expedition Skills Seminar Team, you are looking good! Best wishes for a summit tomorrow!
Posted by: Joyce Dowell on 6/5/2013 at 5:59 pm
Posted by: Tyler Jones, Zeb Blais
Categories: Guide News
RMI: That night you left Camp Muir with the intention of skiing Liberty Ridge. Were you able to ski that line?
Zeb Blais: The key to skiing big exposed lines is always the snow conditions. When you're looking at skiing a line like Liberty [Ridge] you can only know what the conditions are like when you get there. We were hoping that the north and northeast facing snow would be chalky, smooth, and wind packed, but when we looked at the entrance to Liberty it was clear that it wasn't going to be skiable. The Liberty Ridge Route looked like mid-summer, maybe good for ice climbing, but certainly not skiable. The Liberty Cap Glacier was down to blue ice with lumps of rime glued to it, which I imagine is fairly common since it is so steep, but the skiing below looked the same. Rappelling the Liberty Cap Glacier and skiing the rest of the line did not look like an inviting option.
RMI: What did you end up skiing instead?
Zeb Blais: After realizing that Liberty was not suitable, we turned our focus to the Mowich Face - an amazing, steep face on the northwest side of the mountain. This looked tempting at first, but it was heavily rimed with blobs of water ice. It was not a place to be on skis! We retreated back to the ridge above and decided we needed to focus on warmer, spring like-snow. We decided on the Sickle, a west-facing chute on the Tahoma Glacier. The snow in the Sickle was prime for skiing!
Tyler Jones: On our ski we had nice soft spring snow down to 8,500 feet. From there we were able traverse to our objective for the next day: Success Ridge between the South Tahoma Glacier and the Success Glacier. We spent the night on the ridge, getting some well-deserved sleep, with the magnificent 4,000-foot Success Glacier Couloir above us waiting to be skied. The conditions on the Success Glacier were superb. The snow was firm for climbing and soft for skiing. After the amazing fall line decent, we continued traversing to [the trailhead at] Paradise. As we hit the Nisqually Glacier we added more vertical to our trip and finished at the Nisqually Bridge. In total Zeb and I traveled 24 miles, gaining 19,000 feet and skiing 21,000 feet in 3 days.
RMI: How does being a Guide help prepare you for trips like this?
Tyler Jones: Being a guide helps to develop your intuitive mountain sense, which is very important for making good decisions in the mountains. It is that gut feeling that can make all the difference.
Zeb Blais: Guiding also gives me a good base-line fitness for doing long days in the mountains. Mountaineering is a unique sport that requires specific techniques and fitness to be efficient. The more you do it the better you get!
RMI: What was your favorite part of this ski trip?
Tyler Jones: My favorite part of this trip was seeing a few new places, skiing a new run, and enjoying the views of the Tahoma Glacier from Sunset Ridge.
Zeb Blais: A huge part of the trip was sharing it with Tyler. Moving in the mountains with a partner who you enjoy and trust makes all the difference. There are thousands of big and small decisions to be made when doing a trip like this, from what gear to bring to what line to ski to 'do we go left here or right?' Making these choices and learning from other experienced climbers or guides is always something I enjoy.
Can't forget skiing! Maybe I should have said this first, but the skiing was awesome! Steep, exposed skiing with great snow is one of the most exhilarating things a person can do.
RMI: What adventures do you have planned next?
Zeb Blais: I am guiding a mountaineering trip on Shasta at the end of the month, and then I'll be back on Rainier for the climbing season with a Denali West Buttress trip at the end of June.
Tyler Jones: I am guiding a Denali trip in June. After that I am planning on flying back onto the mountain for a ski trip with my fiancé Laura. After that I will return to guiding on Rainier and the Grand Teton. Then, I am getting married in September!
Great trip guys! Serious vertical.
Zeb let me know if you’re still trying to unload those Spatniks. This is Steve, the splitboarder in Spatniks. We chatted on the way up Ellery Bowl back in April.
get me at stevebrezovec at the jeeeeeeemail dot com
Posted by: Stevee B on 6/19/2013 at 5:50 pm
Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
So happy for your safe journey and for this safe return. It is just amazing!!! Gives me goose bumps…..not just the temperature but the feat by all!!!
See you this summer, Dawn. Be safe.
Ann
Posted by: ann on 1/5/2013 at 6:54 pm
CONGRATULATIONS, Rockacongua!! Knew you guys would crush it!
Posted by: Madhu on 1/5/2013 at 3:39 pm
Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
On The Map
Congrats Josh and Jared! Glad to hear you were able to summit safely! Looking forward to hearing all about it! Cheers and safe travels!
Posted by: Doug & Kelly on 1/4/2013 at 1:44 pm
Greg barber, you rock buddy, what an adventure enjoy, can’t wait to hear the stories.
Posted by: Rick and Tracy finlay on 1/4/2013 at 1:03 pm
The Christofferson family is sending our best to Anders and the rest of the team. We love all the pictures and updates! Looking forward to hearing how you are all doing after carrying all those heavy loads “on your march” today!
Posted by: Judy Christofferson on 6/28/2013 at 5:51 pm
Hahn Team
To Mike & Max - we are grateful to be able to follow you on this blog and will enjoy watching your adventures. Thinking of you and wishing you good weather and a safe climb.
Bill & Caryl Reese
Posted by: Bill & Caryl Reese on 6/28/2013 at 11:48 am
View All Comments