Happy Fathers Day from our Denali crew! We're just checking in from our new home at 11,200'. We moved up here yesterday in nice weather, but shortly after we arrived the winds picked up and it started to snow lightly. The gusty winds and snow continued thru the night, but it seems to be calming down this morning. We're not too concerned though, because we are planning to take a full rest day today. We deserve it after 3 hard days of carrying heavy packs and pulling sleds up to 11k.
We enjoyed seeing Tyler Jones and the RMI June 5th Denali crew here at camp as they are descending after a successful summit. They are eager to get back to base camp and fly back to Talkeetna. But unfortunately the current weather is making them drag their feet and hang here in camp.
We'll be in touch again soon...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
This message is from ontario canada. we’re so proud of you ashley and so happy you and your team are safe. a moment in history for you all!!!! congratulations!
with love anick
We awoke today to subzero temperatures at 17k camp and are now enjoying the thick air at 11k camp. After a quick breakfast, the team packed their belongings and headed downward. Despite some fatigue from our successful summit bid yesterday, the team safely negotiated the descent to 14k camp. There, the team was met by another RMI team. Jake Beren and team topped off our bottles with water and our stomachs with warm quesadillas. After this hour long break we headed down to 11k camp.
While the air was thick and warm, Denali was quick to remind us that we aren't out of the woods yet. While snow fell and wind blew around us we consolidated our left over meats and cheeses for a quesadilla smorgasbord. We enjoyed these tasty morsels until we were full, then ate some more. Then we had dessert.
We are now snuggled into our sleeping bags, staying warm and hoping to fly out tomorrow. While we are all set to walk to the runway, the weather is not ripe for a speedy flight to Talkeetna. We are still at the mercy of the big one, Denali.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Today we enjoyed the luxury of waking to the sun on the tents, avoiding the early morning cold. Once up and fed, we took a fantastic walk to THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. Perfect views of the lower Kahiltna Glacier 7,000 feet below our perch and we all took turns peeking over the edge and snapping a few photos. Don't worry friends and family, we were on belay the whole time.
For the afternoon we rested and welcomed the RMI 4 team after their stylish send on Denali yesterday. Nice job everyone!
Then it was back to work, setting up a fixed line practice and trying as many variations as possible to prepare for the cache tomorrow. Now it's dinner time, catch y'all tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Congratulations team! Good luck on the descent as well.
Posted by: AK on 6/21/2012 at 12:43 pm
Hey paps!!!!!!!!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!! There is a pecan pie waiting for you at the summit, so scurry on up there and get your butt back home!!!
Miss you! Cant wait to fatten you up when your back with all our celebratory dinners!!
Love, Sarina
Posted by: Sarina Karwande on 6/17/2012 at 1:50 pm
Last night, after the snow firmed up enough for efficient travel, we packed up camp and moved up to our new camp at 9600'; this included tackling Ski Hill, our first big hill of the trip. Everyone did a great job hauling sleds and heavy packs up to camp. We slept in this morning (8 hours of sleep!) and had a relaxing brunch in our newly constructed cook tent. We are planning to lounge around a bit, rehydrating and resting, in preparation for our next move up to 11,200'. The weather is nice right now, with partly cloudy skies and a moderate wind out of the north. We'll be in touch again soon, hopefully nestled into a cozy camp at 11,200'.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Wishing everyone a continued safe hike. Please pass on to Dr. Riester that we wish him a wonderful time, and a continued safe adventure. Keeping everyone in our prayers. Enjoy the beauty of nature !!!
Posted by: Lisa VanNostran on 6/19/2012 at 7:22 am
Wow, and we are going to be in the 90’s in Vermont.
Have a wonderful time and we will watch for news!
Posted by: Helen and Toons on 6/18/2012 at 12:02 pm
Today was our time to shine; it was our 16th day on the glaciers of Denali and our opportunity to take a shot at the top of North America. Early sun on the tent at high camp, coupled with the solstice less than a week away had the guides up starting the stoves by 7:30am. With the winds moderate and temps near -15F we stalled our departure for the summit bid until 9:45am with the thought of summiting during Alaska's peak heat of late afternoon. The wind and cold had us in full equipment. We wore face masks, goggles, mittens and climbed in our heavy weight parkas a good portion of the climb.
The guides stressed many times of the importance of self care and the critical nature of getting frostnip or frostbite. All of us had cold hands, feet, and faces a number of times throughout the day, but all of us took responsibility for keeping close eyes on each other and managed to keep the cold injuries at bay.
The climb took our team 7 1/2 hours to reach the summit. Our time plan was perfect as the summit provided some the the lightest winds of the day allowing us to spend just over thirty minutes on the summit expressing emotion, embracing our team mates, and snapping photos of an unforgettable 360 degree view of central Alaska. Given the conditions our team made great time, though we all had to dig deep in our reserves to make an uneventful descent back in our high camp- 11 hours after our departure. Hot drinks, a warm meal and memories from our summit push ended the evening with high stoke and excitement to get down and reunite with our friend, families and loved ones. Every member of the team would like to thank all of you for your support, love, and compassion in letting us fulfill a dream.
Tomorrow we plan to disassemble our high camp and move down the picturesque West Buttress. We will be recovering our cache at 14k and, if weather and energy allow, a descent to 11k for a well deserved rest in what now has become the low country. We look forward to the thick air.
RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Eric Frank & Logan Randolph
Congratulations Team!!! i know it must feel terrific to view 360 degrees from the summit! Can’t imagine the rush! Michael, we look forward to hearing all about it. Mom & Dad
Posted by: Eual/Paula Conditt on 6/17/2012 at 4:45 pm
I am super psyched for you guys. You kick ass Larry!
Climbing consistently gives you opportunities to improve, especially on Denali. A summit day is possible only after weeks of getting in position. During those weeks we are dedicating ourselves to improving all aspects of our game.
This morning we took the lessons of yesterday's approach to go pick up our cache at Windy Corner. Getting ready in the cold morning will pay off as we move higher. The crew did well on the back carry and the little bobbles in our rigging were addressed when we got back with everyone taking a little time to do some homework dialing in their cold weather systems.
Tomorrow we will rest here at 14,000', reviewing fixed lines, running belays and if we have some visibility, taking a short cruise to THE EDGE OF THE WORLD for some views. Then it all depends on the weather, but the team is feeling great.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Happy Fathers Day Jim! Hope you are having a fun adventure. Halsey: sunscreen!!! Give each other a hug for us. Love Anne and Jack
Posted by: Anne on 6/16/2012 at 11:36 pm
Ross and K,
Keep plugging away! Take some pics tomorrow at the edge of the world. Been thinking of you guys today, hope all is well with tent life and the elements. Try to keep everything dry! A dry hand is a happy hand. Your in the middle of it, enjoy the views. -Dave
Hello from the Kahiltna Glacier. We had beautiful weather yesterday and were able to fly in to Base Camp. Thanks to K2 Aviation and our turbine Otter pilots Jeff and Randy for a great flight. The weather was warm and sunny at base camp, and we took advantage of it by lounging around! (we needed to wait for the air and snow temperatures to cool down for safe and efficient travel conditions).
By the time we left camp, at around 11pm, the conditions were perfect for walking, and stayed that way all the way to the base of Ski Hill at 7,800' where we made our camp at 4 a.m. Now we're enjoying bagel and cream cheese with smoked salmon for brunch. We're planning to continue with our nocturnal ways and move to 9500' tonight.
Ciao for now,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hey everyone,
It's Tyler and team on the summit of Denali. Pretty nice weather, little bit of breeze and quite a cold day. Everybody is in good shape. We are going to spend a few minutes on top taking some pictures and then we will be headed back down to high camp and we'll let you know when we get back.
Thanks for all your support. Talk to you soon.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
RMI Guide Tyler Jones calls from the summit of Denali.
We are on the Mountain!
After landing at Basecamp our team loaded our sleds, grabbed our packs and we were on our way. We moved during the night to 7,800' on the Kahiltna Glacier, located at the base of Ski Hill. Everyone is doing well. The weather has been beautiful- nice and warm during the day and good travel conditions at night.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Waking to perfect conditions, clear and near windless, we decided to saddle up and move on up to Genet Basin and make a new home at 14,000 feet. Our hard work yesterday really paid off, leaving us with a perfect trail to camp. It was even downright hot as we pulled into camp and we found a great camp left to us by our friends now living at 17,000 camp. Thanks.
It was still tough, but our team held together well and turned in early for some much needed rest. Tomorrow we will most likely retrieve our cache and spend the afternoon relaxing and preparing for the fixed lines higher up. Cross your fingers for some high pressure. A week would be plenty.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
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Hope you guys brought plenty of crackers
Posted by: Tony on 6/20/2012 at 10:52 am
This message is from ontario canada. we’re so proud of you ashley and so happy you and your team are safe. a moment in history for you all!!!! congratulations!
with love anick
Posted by: anick mohan on 6/19/2012 at 6:58 pm
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