Friday, May 31, 2013 at 1:30 pm PT
We have made our first move up the mountain to the base of Ski Hill at 7,800' on the main Kahiltna Glacier.
Since our arrival yesterday we enjoyed a great first feast of totally loaded quesadillas and snoozed up just a few hours of rest before the 2am wake up. We organized our literal mountain of equipment and food in to individual group loads for what will hopefully be our only single carry. This mean we won't have to carry all our equipment at once but rather double carry, stashing equipment high and gaining fitness through mileage with manageable packs. Mileage is what we will need as the days grow harder and longer the higher we climb.
The arduous loads were all near 100 pounds each. Every climber on our team did a fabulous job getting the heaviest day of the trip over with. We are now truly underway and five miles closer to our goal of reaching "The High One" Denali.
We hope to carry equipment to around 10,000' tomorrow and return to recently renovated camp at 7,800'. We are going to catch some midday ZZZs and hide from the sun!
Will check in tomorrow,
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Hey Lori, Thank you for the post card. :) You all are amazing! Climb safe! Hugs from Maggie and Casey.
Posted by: Casey Hansen on 6/1/2013 at 5:10 pm
Robin and Team
Mexican food @ 7800’... who would of thought…. What? no Subway?? :)
Hope everyone has a good climb today. You are all in my thoughts and prayers
today for a continued good safe ascent and good weather.
Eagerly looking forward to your daily blogs and new map locations.
Stay warm and stay safe.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Hey everyone, this is Billy. I'm checking in here with our group. We are at 11,000' part way through our descent. After our big summit day yesterday, we packed up our camp at 17,000' and then moved on down. Brent Okita's crew was kind enough to cook us up some dinner at the 14K Camp, and we continued on down to 11,000', where the crew is all, actually snug as a bug, in their sleeping bags out in the open because it is so warm compared to where we've been living. We plan on getting up in the middle the night tonight and making a run for the airstrip hoping to get a flight off tomorrow sometime before the weather takes a turn for the worst. We'll give a shout when we reach Basecamp. That's all for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Awakening the crew just before 9:00 a.m. to enjoy a breakfast of blueberry pancakes in our posh house as the sun warmed up camp was a real treat. We knew the noon hour was upon us and a few clouds began to gather around camp. We booted up to walk to the Edge of the World, a place from which you can look 7,000' down to the NE fork of the Kahiltna. From here we were treated to dramatic views of a vertical world, in fact, you could even see our very first camp of the trip, a place we past through, which seems so long ago, but in fact was only eight days ago. Some swirling clouds added the drama of being there.
The rest of the day was spent rebuilding our latrine with blocks cut from the snow to protect us from the weather. And later, we welcomed our other RMI team down from 17,200' camp after their summit day yesterday.
Tomorrow we'll be carrying a load to above 16,200', perhaps as far as 17,200' camp. It'll be a big day for us but we'll do fine. Of course, the first time up the fixed ropes is always a bit of a challenge, but this rest day has been good for us, mentally and physically to get ready for it.
We'll let you know how it goes. Until then, we'll just end with another birthday greeting: Nic, Happy Birthday from Dennis and the team.
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tyler and Garrett checking in from RMI Denali Expedition Number 4. Yesterday afternoon found us in the ranger station getting some good details about the route, our responsibilities on the mountain, and what we can expect to see as we climb higher. Interestingly, we also were reminded that this year is the 100-year anniversary of the first ascent. While we have the benefit of fancy new gear and a century of knowledge, the actual climb of Denali remains as challenging as it was in 1913, and our team is ready to tackle that challenge.
We landed on the glacier today, and we're currently camped out in Basecamp. The mostly clear skies and warm temperatures make it hard to believe we're almost at the Arctic Circle! Because it's so warm here, we won't be heading out for our first camp until later tonight (more like early in the morning) so that the snow will freeze up and make our walking a little smoother.
Everyone is excited to have gotten a smooth start to the trip, and we're hoping the weather continues to hold. We'll check back in tomorrow, keep it dialed in for more!
RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Garrett Stevens
I feel like I should be up there with you! I’ve been following Logan and Brent and they have been having great climbing conditions so far. I hope it holds together for you.
By now you’ve probably learned that James Choo and I were tentmates on Aconcagua. He’ll carry his weight-you can depend on him. Fred Klingbeil was also in the tent with us and I see he has posted on the blog and is following along. Hi Fred!
My poor substitute for Denali this year is going to Elbrus in July. I was on Kilimanjaro this past February. I’ll be at Elbrus with Casey and he and I were also at Kilimanjaro.
Good luck and climb safe. I miss you guys. XXOO
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 5/31/2013 at 11:06 am
have an excllent trip and we’ll see if we can get the elmendorf guys to give a gentle flyby
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 10:41 a.m. PT
Hi, this is Billy checking in. We are back in camp safe and sound from our successful summit bid. We got 100% of our team to the summit of Mount McKinley today, aka Denali. We are back in camp. Everyone's hanging out, rehydrating, eating some delicious freeze-dried meals, and hopefully going to get a great night's sleep before we gear up to head down and head home. And that's all for now. We'll check in again as our descent continues.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Billy Nugent calls in from High Camp after successful summit.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Today we awoke to another beautiful day at 14,000 camp on Denali. Feeling better about the altitude we cruised down to our cache and back in no time. A cloud rolled in and brought light snow this afternoon which has surprisingly been a welcome change to the hot temps and our sunburned lips from these past few days. We were able to do a little practice with fixed lines in preparation for the real deal in a couple days. Everyone did great, even with monster lobster gloves on! Tonight, Gerald treated us to duck burritos, with duck that came all the way from New Jersey, also a welcome change then to "chicken", resembling tuna from a bag. A shout out to Emma Rose, happy birthday!
RMI Guides Leah, Logan, and Brent
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Greetings from beautiful Talkeetna, Alaska! The team arrived yesterday afternoon with big bags, bigger smiles, and high hopes for our Denali expedition. After a round of introductions, we hit the road and headed north from Anchorage. We stopped for last minute food and supplies in Wasilla, and pulled into town about 8 o'clock last night. We transferred all our luggage into the hangar, had dinner, and headed to bed in anticipation of an early start today.
Our morning started with a delicious breakfast at the roadhouse, and rolled right on into a massive gear sort/pack session at the hangar. The team gear piles started out big but have been trimmed down to nice tight kits for the mountain. This afternoon will be occupied by our briefing with the Park Service and a final round of packing, so we should be in great position to fly tomorrow morning (provided the weather cooperates, of course).
Blue skies and sunshine prevail today, so keep your fingers crossed that the high pressure will hold for tomorrow. More to come, stay tuned!
RMI Guides Tyler Jones & Garrett Stevens
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Hey everybody this is Billy here. I'm with Kel, Levi and the rest of the gang checking in from 17K Camp, high on Denali. We had a beautiful day today and it was actually pretty darn hot for our move up to high camp. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon cutting blocks and fortifying our spot. We're hoping to take a crack at the summit tomorrow. The weather forecast looks perfect. We'll call in tomorrow hopefully check in, from the summit perhaps, and then once again once we get back to camp safe and sound. That's all for now, talk later.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Update: 5/29/13
For the last 20 minutes, the shadow of the upper mountain has been creeping across 14,000ft camp. While its never dark here, the temperature drops significantly when the sun slides out of sight. We are now warm and safe in our sleeping bags, and ready to rest after a long day in the sun.
This morning we awoke at 11,000 ft to a crisp clear morning. After only three days at 11k, the place felt like home. All our team members sat in their preferred (and now regular) locations in our dinning shelter. And after an oatmeal breakfast everyone returned to their respective tents on well worn paths.
We then disassembled camp. What had been a home, dissolved into a series of tools and pieces of fabric. After an hour, we were ready to leave. Snow walls proudly protected our empty camp as we headed to 14,000 ft.
The route was familiar - we took the same route to cash gear yesterday. The team climbed even stronger today. Moral was high and the views were spectacular. As we neared 14,000ft, the sun was directly overhead. While Denali can be a harsh wintery environment, it can also feel like a solar oven. The glaciers act like mirrors and there is no shade. We left camp bundled up and arrived dropping with sweat.
We made our way to an old campsite at 14k and refurbished it. We leveled existing tent platforms, dug out a cook shelter and made ourselves at home. From our new home, we have a clear view of the upper mountain. All afternoon we watched climbers and skiers high above us.
We are all excited to get up high. But we also know that there is work to be done. We must train, collect our gear from 13,500 and bring more gear up high. For now, sleep is a priority. We've earned it.
RMI Guides Logan, Leah and Brent
Hey Jo (Gerald) awesome following the trip sounds like going well and weather treating you right stay strong bro. See you soon
Mike
Posted by: Mike weber on 6/2/2013 at 4:55 pm
Hey Betzalel and Ayla,
Gavi and I just wanted to tell you that we are so proud of you guys, and amazed by your adventurousness (if that’s even a word). We are def stalking your blog and can’t wait to see you summit! Also, we heard you guys got the go-pro - so sorry we didn’t get around to getting it for you, but don’t worry we’ll get you an even better wedding present! Anyway, hope you are doing well, missing you tons!!!!!
Monday, May 27, 2013
At 6:00 am few climbers are stirring, preferring to crawl out of their tents when the sun is a little closer to chasing the cold shadows of the night away. But we had a big day ahead of us, and knew we would be comfortable having breakfast and hot drinks in our Posh tent.
A skiff of snow barely covered the tents and the gear we left outside, and a few more clouds lingered around for a short while after we lit the stoves, but the sun was also out and we knew it was going to be good enough to make our carry up to 13,500'.
The crew was super quick getting ready this morning, eager, and certainly a little anxious about the climbing to come. After all, it was to be the steepest terrain we've been on. And as I suspected, everyone climbed well. A very slight breeze kept us comfortable until the last fifteen minutes when the wind stopped and things got hot. We got to our cache site at 2:00, a very respectable time by any measure. Everyone was tired but smiling and happy. The descent was just as smooth, allowing us to enjoy a few hours of well deserved R&R before dinner.
Our plan for tomorrow is to move up to 14,200' camp if we're all feeling good in the morning. Otherwise we'll take a rest day. If we do move up, we'll definitely be taking a couple of rest days there, which are key to our acclimatization to the elevation of camp.
After dinner we read all your posts! Thanks so much for the kind words and well wishes. It was another bright spot to an already good day.
Until tomorrow!
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
Hey Derek,
Mate we are all following the climb here at DAL3, steamy Darwin,Australia. All those shuttle runs paying off now!! Good luck , be safe mate.
Posted by: Gareth on 5/28/2013 at 10:53 pm
Jeff (dad)
We love reading about your day. Keep it up!
Love Kenny, Alex and Sophia
P.S. I got a hit today dad - Alex :)
Posted by: Veronica Hooper on 5/28/2013 at 10:11 pm
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Hey Lori, Thank you for the post card. :) You all are amazing! Climb safe! Hugs from Maggie and Casey.
Posted by: Casey Hansen on 6/1/2013 at 5:10 pm
Robin and Team
Mexican food @ 7800’... who would of thought…. What? no Subway?? :)
Hope everyone has a good climb today. You are all in my thoughts and prayers
today for a continued good safe ascent and good weather.
Eagerly looking forward to your daily blogs and new map locations.
Stay warm and stay safe.
Happy Trails to you…
Matt
Posted by: Matt Prosser on 6/1/2013 at 12:12 pm
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