Entries from Mt. McKinley
Yesterday's carry to 14,000' left many members of the team knackered, so today is a very relaxing rest day in our well-appointed camp at 11,000'. A leisurely morning was the main agenda, with coffee, bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon on the breakfast menu. A pan of hash browns and cheese is on deck for the afternoon snack.
The posh house, our group meeting location, kitchen, and dining room is in heavy use today, with its many panel seams radiating out from the center pole like the legs of an octopus. Under its protective canopy we've been solving the various problems of the world and making sure we stay hydrated. Team members drift in and out, while conversation and laughter drifts across camp.
Fortunately the light snow we have had the past couple of days is tapering off, and the sun is working to dry out our moist sleeping bags and tents. We are conserving our energy for tomorrow's move to 14K camp, which will put us over the halfway mark and in good position for the higher reaches of the mountain.
Climbing a mountain like Denali is a long process, and taking time to get to know one another is a big part of that. Today's rest is allowing the team to strengthen our group dynamic, and get to know each other more intimately. What started as a group of strangers more than a week ago is quickly morphing into a solid team of friends, ready to tackle the rest of the "Great One."
But we'll leave the hard work for tomorrow, and enjoy the down time today. Stay tuned for more!
Dan, Robin, Jess, James, Lori, Justin, Tyler and Garrett
On The Map
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
We were excited this morning as we awoke to a windless day which followed an equally windless night, a far cry from our first night here. With the sun just lightly obscured by some high clouds things looked reasonable for a summit bid. It was even relatively warm at camp, though our team mate from the South might well disagree with that assessment.
We knew today was by no means a sure thing, and went into it with our eyes wide open. And, as you might have guessed by now, we did not tag the summit today. But we did get to
Denali Pass, 18,400', which was a huge accomplishment! Unfortunately, the weather up over the summit was not particularly inviting, and we had a light but annoyingly cold wind at the Pass where we are obliged to take a break after over two hours of climbing.
So, we spun it. But we all got so much out of it. The route had quite a bit of snow on it so it was good to kick in the trail. Also, just doing that first part of the route will help everyone the next time we go up it. And, that could well be tomorrow.
Some people suggest that tomorrow might be the nicest day of the period. We're definitely ready for a return to beautiful blue skies, even though the weather forecast reads: more of the same, that is low pressure bringing with it snow and clouds.
The team is ready to go back up tomorrow.
And so am I!
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
On The Map
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Today we woke to a calm, warm and partly cloudy morning at our 11,000' camp! A 7am wake up had us working our triceps downing a cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. Then the hard work with the legs began for our 3,000' climb. Starting with the grind of
Motorcycle hill where the ridge provides amazing views of the Washburn wall and Father and Sons wall. Both walls are enormous, sporting 8,000' of vertical relief. With strong efforts by all the team we continued up through Squirrel Hill, across the Polo Fields with the magnificent end of the direct West Buttress looming above. Our ascent around the infamous Windy Corner was just a cool light breeze, a welcome reward. The crew arrived to the 14,000' camp in good shape and we dropped our supplies for the coming days. It was the longest and most work of our trip putting in 7 hours on our feet. The descent was smooth with new blown powder covering the trail, making for soft crampon walking back to the rest and relaxation of the tents for a while before we move in to the disco circus tent we call our living room and kitchen for a very well earned quesadilla extravaganza. We plan to take a day of rest tomorrow and count on our recovery at this lower altitude with continued acclimatization to be hugely beneficial to our success up higher on the mountain. That's all - got to go now, catch you all on our rest day tomorrow!
RMI Guides
Tyler Jones &
Garrett Stevens
On The Map
Monday, June 3, 2013
Our first encounter with snow and wind came after we hit the sack last night. Comfortably tucked away in our well anchored tents, and snug in our mounds of down that encapsulate us each night, we knew we weren't in any danger, and by Denali standards our visit with foul weather was fairly mild. But the winds still kept many of us up more than we would have liked.
So, when I checked the weather at 7:30 and didn't like what I saw, I don't think there was a one of us that missed hearing my wake up call for a
summit bid. An hour later the winds calmed and things did look better, but not perfect, so I let the team sleep in.
At breakfast we all confided that we were happy that the day did not turn out good for the summit. Even some of our studs of the trip admitted to feeling the altitude and having some fatigue left over from yesterday's efforts.
Our morning was spent building up walls to protect us from the annoying wind, then by lunch we were back in the tents enjoying the incredible warmth that the suns rays produce at this elevation. Even though outside it was chilly, inside our watch thermometer got as high as 113 degrees. OK, it was measured at the ceiling and we had all the doors closed, but though a little excessive, the heat felt wonderful soaking through our bodies.
Right now the weather looks good. The ominous cloud cap that had settled on the mountain for most of the day has disappeared and I am more optimistic than I have been. The forecast remains the same, for whatever that's worth.
I think we're all thinking that it might just happen tomorrow, but who knows. All I really know is that we're all ready if the day dawns fair. Which means that I too should probably get some sleep.
Goodnight from 17,200' camp.
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
On The Map
Monday, June 3, 2013
Today was a day of light work and much chilling. We were able to sleep in later than any other day so far, which is always a nice treat i
n the mountains. We did get some fresh snow overnight, so we spent the first few minutes of the day clearing off tents and backpacks. But by 9:30 we were all feasting on righteous breakfast quesadillas filled with fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, melted cheese and topped with hot sauce, which fueled the crew for our back-carry.
We headed back down to our cache and retrieved all our gear, and began the grind back to camp. While the oblong sleds dragged a little in the new snow, we were still able to complete the trip quickly, and before 1 o'clock we were back in camp. Now we are enjoying all the delicious lunch food we had cached, gorging on tasty morsels.
The team is currently resting and getting ready for a hard day of work tomorrow. We're planning to carry a load up to 14K' camp, and the stretch of mountain between here and there will be the most difficult terrain so far. While it may seem like mountain climbers have some strange fetish for being cold, smelly and sore, there is no substitute for the reward you feel at the end of hard day of climbing. We'll check back in tomorrow with an update, so until then keep sending positive energy and wishes for high pressure!
RMI Guides Tyler, Garrett, and the Crew
On The Map
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The weather has finally changed. No more perfectly sunny , windless days. Instead, this morning we saw some clouds both below us and above. But they were fairly light clouds and the winds remained calm. A change none the less. After sixteen days of perfect weather these clouds might seem ominous, but in reality the weather was fairly nice. So, we picked up and moved up to
high camp at 17,200'.
Gambling on the weather is one of those things that is just a part of mountain climbing. Do you stay or do you go? Given the relatively benign weather forecast I opted to take advantage of a nice day to move up.
An early start allowed us to reach camp by 3:00 where we were able to have our pick of walled tent spaces. We were even able to dig in the Posh House. After a little while some snow started falling and we figured we'd just have a simple dinner and allow the team to eat in the comfort of their tents. After all, we had had a big day with heavier packs that our previous climb and folks could feel the effort. But, not this team. It's impressive that when offered room service at 17,000' everyone of the team chose to get together for dinner.
No, today there was no singing, but everyone was in good spirits and hoping to get a good nights sleep. Our plan is to check out the weather in the morning and go for it if things are good. Otherwise, we'll have a good rest day.
It's great to be in position for a summit bid finally. All we need now is one good day.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
On The Map
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Today we woke to a splitter red sky, the most beautiful morning of our trip. As the saying goes, though: red sky in morning, climbers take warning! The weather continues to cloud up and a few snow flakes have fallen between breaks in the clouds. This change is rather abstract compared to the last few week of very high pressure over the region. With an early start the
team climbed well for 5 hrs. We now find ourselves enjoying some well earned down time back in the tents eating, drinking, sleeping and chatting. Most importantly hiding from the seemingly gorilla strength sun rays in our new home at 11k. Tomorrow we plan to sleep in, have a deluxe breakfast, and retrieve our luggage just a short way down the hill. Each of our team members want to say hi to family and friends; we are doing great and love you all! We'll check in after our grocery shoppe and petrol refill.
RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Garrett Stevens
On The Map
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Just knowing that today we had absolutely nothing to get accomplished gave us all that sense of ease and happiness often felt on the first day of a great vacation. Breakfast (yes, smoked salmon, bacon, fried bagels and cream cheese) didn't even start until the sun had warmed up camp, and lingered almost to lunch.
We relaxed outside in the sun and inside away from its strong rays. Some got horizontal and read or napped, while others of us hung out in the Posh talking about everything from music and movies to food, wine and other delicacies.
Those of us with FM radios gave a brief news summary, and like many discussions of any depth, eventually the tide of our conversation turned to politics. But with such a nice group of folks who are fast becoming good friends, the talk was of a healthy sort and not the ugly type seen all too often elsewhere.
I don't know if it was the Indian cuisine we had for dinner or what, but dessert was accompanied by song, poetry, comedy and a lot of good natured ribbing. The day has ended all to quickly, we all agree.
We ended our day by listening to the evening weather forecast, which has been calling for an end to the incredible high pressure we have been enjoying and calling for clouds and some snow, but all with fairly light winds. I've certainly heard of worse forecasts, so we'll just wake up in the morning and see what we see. If the skies are anything like they have been, we'll break camp and retrace our tracks back up the fixed lines and
West Buttress, having the added confidence that comes with having climbed it once before. But we'll need good weather to tackle that climb again. Otherwise, another day or two here will only make us stronger for the summit later.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
On The Map
Saturday, June 1, 2013
This morning we got up at 4 am as planned to carry our first load of luggage up towards 11,000'. Breakfast was a quick affair of granola cereal and bars, and by 5:30 the team was underway. Our slow, steady pace helped us gain elevation, while the moderate breeze blowing down the glacier kept anyone from overheating. The peaks of the Alaska range glowed at the tops as the sun crept higher in the east, lighting the summit ridges of
Mt. Crosson and Kahiltna Dome. Looking back down the main Kahiltna Glacier at our breaks, we were treated to a morning view few people get to enjoy: snow, ice and rock in every direction, sculpted by nature into a cathedral worthy of reverence.
All too soon we arrived at our cache location, but we enjoyed the acclimatization benefits of working a little bit at 10,000'. The crew all worked well and within minutes we had safely buried all our gear and turned back towards our warm tents at 7,800'. The pace was quicker as we dropped back down, and we were soon dropping our packs and crawling back into our tents to avoid the ruthless solar radiation. The team is now focused on rest and rehydration, preparing for our move to camp at 11,000' tomorrow.
We'll keep you posted as we continue to climb higher, stay tuned!
RMI Guides Tyler, Garrett and the Crew
On The Map
Friday, May 31, 2013
Excitement, trepidation, anxiousness and a whole slew of other emotions ran through the team last night and this morning as we prepared to make our carry up the
fixed ropes to 16,200' and beyond. How would we do on terrain steeper than any most of us have yet tackled? How would we do with the altitude? Everyone had similar questions that only time would answer.
Our day started in the early morning before the sun hit camp. Temps were probably around 0-5 F. But we knew we wanted to avoid any traffic jams on the fixed ropes if possible. And an early start would help insure a smooth ascent.
An hour and a half and 1,200' above camp the sun finally warmed our bodies. It amazes me still how in a five minute period it can go from bitingly cold to almost sweaty hot. With the fixed lines above we were psyched that we would have warm conditions to deal with them.
We all progressed well up the lines, so well that everyone wanted to continue further up the West Buttress to make our cache.
With climbing conditions on the ridge in great shape our progress was good, and before we knew it we were less than an hour from 17,200' camp. Although a challenge to climb at that altitude, everyone was up to going all the way to camp. Most people find just getting up to 16,200' challenge enough. But around 3:00pm we were there!
What made this day so especially memorable was the fact that this was the first time in my twenty three Mt. McKinley expeditions that the entire team had made it all the way to 17,200' camp.
We're back at 14,200' camp now and are looking forward to another well deserved rest day. After dinner we enjoyed reading all your blog replies. Thanks so much for all the support!
Good night from 14,000'
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
On The Map
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So glad to hear the weather has improved and the sky is being kind to you guys!Hope the spirits stay high and every one stays safe. Love you Robin.
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa on 6/7/2013 at 9:10 pm
Thinking of you, Lori. Thankful for these e-mails, I look forward to them each day. Met Wendy by chance at Culvers, special. Keep having good weather, and good luck to you all. Mom
Posted by: Fern Hansen on 6/7/2013 at 7:22 am
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