Entries from Mt. McKinley

Our team is assembled, or bags are packed, and we are ready to climb onboard the airplanes and take off! We spent today going through all of our gear, packing and repacking our bags, and sorting lunch food. With all of the details dialed in, we're going to eat what is hopefully our last dinner in town for a few weeks, and catch some zzz's. Tomorrow with any luck, we'll board the planes first thing for one of the highlights of the trip: the stunning flight into Kahiltna Base Camp. We'll be in touch! RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Josh Maggard, and team

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Ed and the team, Have a wonderful trip and wishing you great weather. So proud of you!

Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 5/16/2015 at 6:28 pm

Following your adventure Brian P. Best of Luck and keep the updates and photos rolling.

Posted by: Faisal M on 5/16/2015 at 5:25 pm

Alaska Alpine Seminar: Elias & Team Climb Lost Marsupial

May 14, 2015

May 14, 2015, 1:45 am PT Greetings from Little Swiss camp! We're "off rappel" for the day... and what a day! Full alpine experience. We climbed the route "Lost Marsupial" on The Throne, one of the MEGA CLASSICS in the area. We had A BLAST and everybody did a great job, but also had the opportunity to experience what alpine climbing is all about. Splitter granite on the crux pitches, snow over the upward traverses in between, and getting out of our comfort zones by climbing with a pack and mountaineering boots. Big dinner followed upon arrival to camp, following the eight full length rappels that took us off the wall, and allowed us to beat the storm that now we are under. We will keep you posted on our upcoming objectives. Best that's from the promised land of climbing that is Alaska. RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos, Sean Collon and team

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Hi Naie & Team,
I bet the night sky up there is pretty incredible huh?
The Kurdish people have a saying, “No friends but the mountains”.
The mountain is your friend too, she will protect you.
Best wishes for a successful climb.
From Jeannie,
currently West Coast of the Southrrn Alps, NZ.

Posted by: Jean on 5/15/2015 at 5:32 am

It sounds like a great adventure! Congrats to Kyle, Paul, and the whole team!

Posted by: Christie on 5/14/2015 at 6:24 pm

Mt. McKinley: Walter and Team Settle in at 11,200’ Camp

May 14, 2015

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas

Elevation: 11,200'

May 13, 2015, 10:49 pm The weather today was a bit squirrelly, but we were able to make it back down to our cached gear at 9,600' and haul it back up to our camp at 11,200'. We're all doing well out here and sitting pretty on the mountain. Our next mission will be to take a cache of food and fuel up around Windy Corner at around 13,600'. We plan on tackling that tomorrow if the weather allows us. Today would have been too windy for a foray to higher altitudes. We're all excited for the next stages of the climb, where we exchange snowshoes for crampons, and trekking poles for ice axes. We're also psyched at climbing steeper terrain and enjoying the ever ever impressive views. That's the news from this end. We'll keep you up to date with our progress. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team.

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Settling in at 11,200’ Camp

May 13, 2015

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas

Elevation: 11,200'

May 12, 2015 11:00 pm PT Hello everyone! We tackled our third day of Mt. McKinley climbing today, which brought us to camp at 11,200'. The team did exceptionally well and we made great time, rolling into camp before it became uncomfortably hot on the glacier. Once here we had a big task ahead of us, constructing tent platforms and a kitchen and bathroom. Thankfully we were able to make use of some old walls and platforms that only required minor adjustment to make them workable for our tents, saving us at least an hour of hard labor. The bathroom and kitchen required the most effort, but the team rotated through the shoveling and we now have a luxurious Posh House dining area which we enjoyed over a filling dinner of mac and cheese with bacon and broccoli. We are all tucked in now, enjoying the last few minutes of sunlight in camp in the comfort of our sleeping bags, looking forward to a nice rest and short day tomorrow. Our plan is to sleep in a bit later than the last few mornings, and then return to our last camp to retrieve our remaining food. We'll check in again tomorrow! RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall and the team!

On The Map

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For Daddy to Be of a Princess…doctors appointment went well and she is growing and perfect! The boys are taking care of Mom.
Thinking of all of you at Camp 11,200 this 48 degree morning from Washington DC…I’m so happy for your progress up the mountain~
Thank you for all the updates…and allowing us to be a small part of this adventure your on. Proud of you and wishing you good weather…Keep moving on up!

Posted by: Dave and Melissa Quantock on 5/14/2015 at 2:28 am

For Eric and all you hockey fans at Camp 11,200’: Rangers just won 2-1 in OT! Stepan nets winner. Tampa Bay series starts on Sat. Keep that Stanley Cup “beard” growing, and keep on chugging Ricky et al! Dad/Alex

Posted by: Alex Alimanestianu on 5/13/2015 at 8:10 pm

Alaska Alpine Seminar: Elias & Team on Belay!

May 13, 2015

May 12, 2015 10:15 pm PT Team is ready for our first objective: tomorrow morning we will be switching to multi-pitch mode and conquer our first big route. We had a great day training on (and summiting) "the Munchkin." We spent the day on its south ridge and east face rehearsing for steep snow and technical rock. Everyone is doing great and we all look forward to checking in with more accounts from the outstanding routes we are about to tackle. Good evening! RMI Guides Elías, Sean, Andy and the team.

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Awesome job you guys! Paul you are amazing!!!

Posted by: Merilee Jopson on 5/14/2015 at 9:58 am

Congratulations to everyone! Very exciting to get the updates. Wish I was there!!! Good luck!

Posted by: Leo Wright on 5/13/2015 at 12:17 pm

Alaska Alpine Seminar: Elias & Team First Full Day on the Pika Glacier

May 12, 2015

Elevation: 5,600'

May 11, 2015 11:00 pm PT Greetings! Warm temperatures, clear skies and pristine snow is what we enjoyed today. Our first full day in the Pika entailed a thorough review of our different anchors, crevasse rescue systems and scenarios, and a tour of the glacier to check the approach to our upcoming routes. Keeping a close eye on the ravens, whom are after our kitchen and tents, we enjoyed a massive production of tortellini at dinner. This will fuel us for our first objective tomorrow, when we'll try our first summit while mastering transitions, protection and descents on rock and snow. Best regards, RMI Guides Elias, Andy, and Sean

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I’m so proud of your adventurous spirit. Your trip looks amazing! I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get home.

Love you so much,
B

Posted by: BC on 5/13/2015 at 8:44 am

Hope the good weather continues..enjoying your Blogs.

Posted by: JH on 5/12/2015 at 7:52 pm

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Tackle Ski Hill

May 12, 2015

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas

Elevation: 9,600'

May 11, 2015 9:10 pm PT Greetings from the Kahiltna Glacier! Our team is making steady progress, and we're currently at our camp at 9,600'. The weather has been beautiful since we were able to land on the glacier on Sunday. The climbing is strenuous, as always, as we carry heavy backpacks and pull full sleds. This morning we tackled "Ski Hill", our first real significant incline, followed by rolling glacial terrain until we reached camp. Camp is all set up and we are busy cooking dinner. We'll try to rack out early tonight for some well-earned rest. Tomorrow we plan to make a cache of equipment here, at our current camp, in order to lighten our expedition loads. Then the plan is to then move up to the 11,200' camp; we'll come back for the cached gear the following day. That's the plan at least. Our plans are always at the mercy of the weather in the mountains. That's it for now. Everyone is healthy and in good spirits. We'll touch base again tomorrow, hopefully from 11k camp. RMI Guide Mike Walter and the team

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Fly on the Glacier

May 11, 2015

Posted by: Billy Haas, Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter

Elevation: 7,800'

May 11, 2015 12:51 am PT Hi everyone! We finally had a break in the weather and were able to fly on to the glacier this morning. After days of waiting in Talkeetna, we were all eagerly anticipating our flight this morning. We took off just after 9 am, and once on the glacier we packed and organized our gear quickly in order to make the most of the day. We are now snug in our tents at the base of Ski Hill (7800') after a long but satisfying day covering the relatively flat lower glacier. Our group climbed strong, and tomorrow we're looking forward to moving camp farther uphill. It's nearly midnight and we've all had a big day, so we're going to get some rest and we'll check in again tomorrow! RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall and the team

On The Map

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Hey Eric - So exciting to follow your adventure. We are looking forward to hearing about it from you in person. Good luck! XOXO Kathy & Casey

Posted by: Kathy Mangan on 5/28/2015 at 9:52 am

Received a surprise cell call from son Eric last night at 10:15pm EST from Camp 2 (9600’) and he sounded pumped. Great to hear your voice my boy!! (No details as call dropped after 10 seconds.) They’re on the move!

Posted by: Alex Alimanestianu on 5/12/2015 at 6:40 am

Alaska Alpine Seminar: Elias & Team Fly to the Pika Glacier

May 11, 2015

May 10, 2015, 9:28 pm PT We woke today in Talkeetna to beautiful weather and were able to fly on to the Pika Glacier before noon. We spent the day building the camp that we'll be calling home for the next week, and also had time for some avalanche education and training. For now, we are in and out of light clouds and snow, but things are relatively calm, temperatures are mild and all of us are excited to be in Little Switzerland after a weather day in Talkeetna. Fingers crossed for blue skies in the coming days! RMI Guides Sean Collon, Elias de Andres Martos and Andy Hildebrand

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Praying for all!
Spoke with Phillip and Christy last evening. Phillip sent me a picture of he and his girlfriend.

Love You Brian

Posted by: Duane Mycroft on 5/12/2015 at 6:18 pm

The trip looks beautiful! We admire your courage. Be safe and enjoy a trip of a lifetime!

Posted by: Ken and Pam on 5/12/2015 at 8:56 am

Alaska Update: Improved Weather - Teams Fly To & From Talkeenta

May 10, 2015

Posted by:

May 10, 2015 11:50 am PT RMI Guide Leon Davis checked in from Talkeetna. The weather improved this morning allowing RMI Mt. McKinley May 5th Team led by Mike Walter to fly to Kahiltna. This same plane then loaded Leon and Team to fly from Kahiltna Base Camp to Talkeetna. The Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Alpine led by Elias de Andres Martos was also able to fly from Talkeetna today and have been flown to the Pika Glacier to start their expedition.

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Looks amazing Jimmy. Be safe and keep warm and dry. Have fun.

Posted by: Edguardo on 5/12/2015 at 11:06 am

Mike: All the best for a fine climb…You are a great leader…All the best and God bless you and your crew…Walter from IN….

Posted by: Walter Glover on 5/11/2015 at 6:29 am