Entries from Mt. McKinley
May 22, 2014 - 6:44 pm PT
We had grand plans of moving to
high camp today, and awoke early to clear skies above and relatively warm temps. We started stoves and began the process of packing sleeping bags and organizing gear, but before the water even had time to boil, a cap began to build on the upper mountain and lenticulars formed over Mt. Foraker to our south west. We watched as plumes of snow, sublimating from the west buttress and 17,000' Camp, began to stream to the south.
Better to sit here at 14 camp and drink more coffee, we decided.... Although now we are out of coffee....
The team is in good spirits and we will keep you posted as the situation continues. Fingers aggressively crossed that this weather breaks soon!
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall
On The Map
May 22, 2014 - 6:51 pm PT
We've been in and out of the clouds all day here at our 14,000' camp on
Mt. McKinley. Despite the clouds and requisite light snow, the solar is pumping, and it feels like we're in a greenhouse. We woke on the later side, giving the sun time to make it to us, and ate another big breakfast of hash browns, eggs, and bacon. Anything to get calories in. After a bit of camp tending, we set out for a quick jaunt to our cache at 13,500'. We retrieved all of our food and personal gear, then turned and headed back for camp. The afternoon was for relaxing, drying sleeping bags and clothes, wet wipe bathes, and general self care and rest. More than likely we'll be resting tomorrow and training for the fixed lines.
Thanks for reading,
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
May 22, 2014 - 1:55 am
We are
tucked in tight at 14,200'!
It was a beautiful, clear morning, so we crashed our camp along with a few other groups, cached our sleds and snowshoes (no one was sorry to leave them behind), and once more pointed our feet towards Motorcycle Hill. The going was a lot easier today with the trail that we put in yesterday having had a fair amount of traffic. We passed through a once more windless Windy Corner, and headed for 14,000' with everyone moving well under heavy packs. Mike Walter and team were at 14,000' to greet us, and made our move in easy, helping with water, tent platforms, and a kitchen. We definitely owe them a big thanks. We lose the sun a bit earlier here, and the extra three thousand feet definitely makes itself evident in the temperature. No one needed coaxing to crawl into the sleeping bags and call it a day.
We are psyched to finally be here, in position to set ourselves up for a summit bid. It's nice to check off another milestone too. We'll let you know what adventures tomorrow brings.
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
May 21, 2014 - 11:16 pm
Today we spent a full day rotating through stations of
crevasse rescue and beacon searches. The team did well grasping the concept of producing mechanical advantage and they ran through the drills multiple times. By the end of the day, I think most ended up with an understanding of how the systems work. Clouds are moving in slowly and may linger for a few days here but that won't stop us from venturing out onto the surrounding glaciers. We have one more day here in base camp to prepare for our move north.
Goodnight to all.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 21, 2014 - 10:15 pm
We rested today at the
14,000' Camp, with plans in place to move up to high camp tomorrow and go for the top on Friday. We'll see how that shakes out, as the latest weather forecast is calling for extreme winds up high for the next few days. This is a drastic change in the forecast from yesterday, which called for 10-15 mph summit winds for the next few days. If any body out there can pull any strings with the weather gods, now would be a good time.
We'll continue to keep you up to date with our progress.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 21, 2014 - 7:12 pm PT
The day before flying on to the mountain is always an incredibly full day. At breakfast we discuss our expedition goals, strategy, schedule and everything else under the sun. This is followed up by our orientation with
Denali National Park. And then on to the hangar of our air service where we spend half the day making certain we have everything we need to survive the weeks on the mountain. The other half of the day is spent putting this incredible amount of gear and food in some semblance of order so that when we actually fly on to the glacier we can pick up and go.
It's been a long day, but one well spent. Tomorrow we're all set for the flight on to the mountain. But tonight, a final dinner where we can relax with a burger and a beer. A well deserved treat after such a busy day, and one we'll be dreaming of in the not to distant future.
RMI Guides Brent, Leah, and Nick
May 21, 2014 - 12:28am PT
After yesterday's blustery winds, snow, and ground blizzards, we woke up to silence. No shaking tents, no rumble from the ridge above, just a clear blue sky. Excited to move, we were the first team out of camp, cramponing up perfect styrofoam snow on Motorcycle and Squirrel Hill, then breaking trail through 5 or 6 inches of fluff on the Polo Field. The sun grew strong and bouncing off the fresh white snow, we were soon stripping layers. We cached 10 days worth of food and several gallons of fuel at
13,5k that we'll retrieve in a couple days after we move to 14 camp. It was a perfect day in the Alaska range, and everyone was excited to keep pushing forward. We were back in camp with several hours of sunshine left to dry sleeping bags and clothes. Hopefully tomorrow we 'll be packing up camp and making our way to 14.
We'll let you know how it goes.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Josh Maggard, Robby Young & Team
May 20, 2014 - 10:42 pm PT
Hi Everyone!
We awoke this morning to beautiful blue skies and calm winds. Our team did an excellent job at being efficient and getting ready to make our carry. We left just after 9 am, making us the first party out of camp, which proved to be a clutch move as teams behind us began to stream upwards and other parties reported waiting two hours at the base of the fixed lines to begin their ascent. The carry was a good training exercise and everyone is now more comfortable cramponing on the steep blue ice and working their ascenders on the
fixed ropes. We timed it well, and were also the first group down the lines, putting us in camp early enough to enjoy some rest and relaxation in the sunshine with the boots off!
Tomorrow we plan on resting and rehydrating in anticipation of our move to high camp and summit attempt at the end of the week!
Thanks for following along! We are looking foreword to seeing friends and family soon!!
RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter, Steve Gately, and the Team
May 20, 2014 - 8:29 pm PT
We are closing in on
Talkeetna enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, being driven by our shuttle driver Louisa. It's nice to finally be all together and underway after so much anticipation and preparation.
No lost luggage or late planes. Now all we need to accomplish is to unload our gear at the hanger, check into our wonderfully quirky hotel run by our friends Pam and Al, before heading out for a bite and a beer or two.
If first impressions mean anything, I think were going to have a good time on this expedition.
Cheers!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
May 19, 2014 - 10:20 pm PT
We had the stoves fired up bright and early this morning, preparing for an early start for our carry to above
16,000'. The skies were clear, the air was cold, and you could see snow blowing off the ridges at 17,000' and above. As we left camp this morning the winds were just starting to pick up down lower. By the time we reached 15,000' the winds were howling at 20-30 mph and it was brutally cold (ambient temperature was probably 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit). We quickly turned the ropes around and beat feet back to camp. We arrived back at camp amidst a ground blizzard and we all quickly retreated to the sanctuary of our sleeping bags to warm up.The winds continued into the afternoon before finally easing up. As I write this dispatch from our tent after dinner the winds are dead calm and the sky is clear above us.
Today was a good example of just how quickly conditions can change up here (and just how fickle the weather forecast is). Fortunately our team was prepared for mountain weather and we made the only prudent decision to return to the safety of our camp.
The weather forecast looks great for the next few days (for whatever that is worth), and we're optimistic we will be able to put in a cache up high tomorrow, as always, we'll keep you up to date with our progress.
Cheers,
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team
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Out of coffee?! That is dire news, indeed. I’ll see what strings I can pull for the weather…
Posted by: K2 on 5/23/2014 at 6:22 am
Good luck Dean and all the team.
Posted by: Sheryl Hawkins on 5/23/2014 at 5:00 am
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