Entries from Mt. McKinley

Thursday, June 6, 2024 6:11pm PDT

Hello readers!

The snow pitter pattered all night. With every tap to the side of the tent snow slides off. It was a winter wonderland. White surrounded us. You could see nothing but white. With visibility being low and tents wet, we decided to lay low and hang tight for the day. The team rested and the snow Fell most of the day. Towards the late afternoon the base of the peaks became visible. An optimistic sign that maybe the weather is letting up. We are Hopeful that we can get still move to 11k camp in an alpine start fashion much like we do on Rainier. So, after dinner we are going to rest a few hours and hopefully the weather is descent, and we can make our move.

Wish us luck and send good weather vibes.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Wednesday, June 5, 2024 - 8:25 pm PT

Good evening everyone. Today we woke to clear skies above with clouds lingering over Denali. So it was go time to get our carry in. We knew the storm would come sooner or later so we got an early start and we walking by 5am. Fueled by bagels, cream cheese, and salmon we made our way up Ski Hill. The cool air felt good to walk in compared to the rather hot and sweaty walk yesterday. After gaining two thousand feet and the beginning of snow flurries, we decided to call 9300' our cache spot. We dug a big hole to fit all our cache items and then scurried out of there before more snow fell. The rest of the day we enjoyed a bunch of tent time which included naps, reading, watching shows, listening to music, and eating snacks. Some of the best sleep comes in the afternoon. Tomorrow we hope to move to 11,000' camp. This will depend on what the weather brings us in the morning. We may need to be patient but that's part of the Denali game. As for now, we are all settling into our sleeping bags as the snow pitter patters on our tents. It's quite relaxing. So goodnight all!

RMI Guide Hannah And team

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Hello followers!

Today was a big day! Skies were clear which meant we would be flying. The team got their last lattes and drip coffees before making their way to the hanger. The pilot told us half the team would fly then he would come back for the rest of us. This gave the team time to get dialed with sled rigging and tent set up before arriving on the glacier and for those on the glacier time to learn too. As always the flight in was amazing. The views are stunning. The peaks of the Alaska Range are rocky and snowy and big. A bumpy landing got the team all safely on the glacier. The pilots are truly amazing at what they do. After some quick work shuffling gear and rigging up we hit the Kahiltna glacier running. Well not running. Slowly waddling in our snowshoes and heavy packs. We crushed the downhill and made smooth work of the uphill. You can tell the team did great training and it sure paid off with the smooth sailing we had getting to camp. It's all a learning curve right now, trying to get in a groove setting up camp. In a couple days we will be smooth as butter at it. Pizza for dinner always makes the heart and stomach happy. Our outdoor seating had amazing views of the surrounding peaks. Tomorrow we will hopefully do a carry to 9,600' give or take. We are hoping the storm stays away or at least gives us the morning/early afternoon. As for now, we are all getting our gear organized and into our sleeping bags for a well deserved rest.

Goodnight everyone!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Tuesday June 4, 2024 3:05pm PDT

Hannah Smith & Team are flying onto the glacier, and will officially start their climb!

Monday, June 3, 2024

Hello readers,

Today was jammed pack with packing and sorting. The team went through their gear making sure they have all the crucial items to safely climb the mountain. Along with those crucial items is 22lbs of snack food. Everyone has a good mixture of salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy items to make them happy on the mountain. Once we knew we had all the right gear, we sorted it into our packs and duffles to be weighed for the plane. We ended our day with some souvenir shopping and a team dinner. The team is excited to get on the glacier and begin their expedition they have been training for. Fingers crossed the weather holds!

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Friday May 31, 2024 7:16pm PDT

On Summit!

Saturday, June 1, 2024 12:55am PDT

Returned to 17,000' Camp safely at 10pm and planning to begin descent tomorrow morning.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 4:15 pm PT

Hello again from 17,000' Camp. The views up here have been rewarding.  Our camp is settled above the clouds and other Alaska range peaks. We went to bed early last night with high hopes of getting up for our final summit push. Unfortunately we awoke to less than ideal winds at camp and windy spindrifts on Denali Pass. We started the day with breakfast and hot drinks in our tents to stay out of the elements and have been hunkered down to avoid the cold winds. We’re patient, we’re staying warm and we’re very motivated for another attempt tomorrow!

RMI Guides Lacie, Dustin, Dan and team

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 9:33 pm PT

We arrived at 17,000' Camp this afternoon and are winding down for the night. Plans to climb tomorrow if winds allow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Monday, May 27, 2024 - 11:30 PM PT

Our descent is well underway. We woke up a bit leisurely this morning and let things get a bit warmer, then packed our belongings and started down the West Buttress. Before long we were in the relative warmth of 14,000', wearing much less than all the 14,000' Camp dwellers themselves. Something about coming down from somewhere that's been - 25 to change perspective. We packed more belongings at 14 Camp, and started down towards 11,000'. We had a plan to see how low we could get. We made it to 11,000' Camp in great time, so the team decided to take a minute to brew up some more water, then keep going to the base of Ski Hill, our first camp of the expedition. We are there now, where things feel truly balmy. We're going to take a quick snooze, then wake up early and walk the last bit to Kahiltna Base Camp, where we hope planes will be flying first thing!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Monday, May 27, 2024 - 7:05 pm PT

The Denali Bingo card formulated by our team.
1. Get uncomfortably close to filling your pee bottle in the middle of the night.
2.Make eye contact with someone from the next camp while pooping.
3. Stand outside your tent for more than 30 minutes because you want to go pee before you get into the tent because once you're in you don't want to come back out.
4. Wear your bootys instead of your boots outside and almost slide to your death (or fall into the kitchen tent)
5. Have more than 5 blisters.
6. Read out loud to your tent mates for entertainment.
7. Read all the books you brought/watch all the shows you downloaded before day 16.
8. Eat 3 servings of breakfast/dinner.
9. Drink your warm food bowl cleaning water (gross)
10. Get very frustrated when you realize that all the music you downloaded on Spotify isn't working.
11. Eat a questionable snack.
12. Get woken up from condensation drops on your face.
13. Dig yourself out of your tent after a storm.
14. Be thankful for all the life choices that brought you here
15. Regret every life choice that brought you here.
16. Taste your last meal in your current meal.
17. Use your pee bottle for warmth.
18. Skip brushing your teeth because it’s cold outside
19. Use pee bottle as spit bottle when brushing teeth.
20. Tent yoga.
21. Finish packing your pack and then fully unpack because your gloves are at the bottom
22. Unusual shaped sunburn
23. Eat a pound of cheese in 3 days.
24. Get blasted by snow in the kitchen tent during an entire dinner
25. Wear the same pair of socks for more than 10 days

Denali bingo brought to you by Sharon and the team. We are all winners in this one!