Entries from Mt. McKinley
From 14k camp on
Denali's West Buttress, it is only a short walk to one of the best views in the entire range. The perch is called "The Edge of the World". The plateau on which camp sits falls away dramatically. Nearly 5,000 vertical feet below lies the infamous Valley of Death. This afternoon our team walked to the edge of the world and took turns getting belayed out to the edge to take in the view. This afternoon the valley floor was obstructed by clouds which would sporadically rise to engulf us, but several times we were able to glimpse parts of the wall thousands of feet below us.
The weather in camp has continued to be squirrelly. Last night we were buffeted by winds up to 50mph from various directions. Thankfully, we had already built a few snow walls to protect the tents, but the incessant flapping on nylon all night has convinced us to build more. The snow is falling fast now as we settle in for the night when we rise we will just see what the day brings.
RMI Guides
Tyler Jones,
Eric Frank and
Logan Randolph
On The Map
Last night as we were drifting off to sleep our first big storm with high winds and some snow hit us out of the blue. Even with the protective walls around our tents the winds were strong enough to buffet them and make you wonder how much stronger the winds would need to be to collapse them. But we had done everything right and all the wind served to do was keep us from sleeping as well as we might. Oh, and I guess it kept us from the
summit once again.
My biggest concern was for our Posh tent that relies on a single pole to support the paper thin fabric of the body. But, thankfully, besides about 600 pounds of Snow drifted onto one side, the thing held up well. So, we're still in business with our dining/cook tent. And a good thing that was when Kristen brought out her deck of cards for a few afternoon games of poker.
Just some routine maintenance around camp, shoveling, repairing sagging walls, had us out for a little while after poker, but we're all back in the tents relaxing and even getting in a little sleep.
All for now from 17,200' (where we're waiting patiently for better weather to find us)
Until next time,
RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Lindsay
P.S. As I send this a few hours later the latest weather forecast indicates that Tuesday or Wednesday may bode well for an attempt. That's good because that's about how much food we have left for up here. But we'll have some major trail breaking to do given the snow, It'll be a du challenge.
On The Map
A big aloha from
11 Camp!
We woke to our first clear morning of the trip, with brightly colored lenticular clouds stacked over Mount Forraker. It was cold and clear in our neck of the woods and we traveled well on our way to our cache at 10,000 feet. With slightly lighter loads we dispatched the final hill into camp and moved right in to camp. Now we rest during the heat of the day and recover after a great, but tough day.
Tomorrow, if the weather permits we will retrieve our cache and ready ourselves for life higher up.
Take care everyone,
RMI Guides
Jake Beren, Elias de Andres Martos, Thomas Greene and Team
On The Map
Well, we're still here at
17,200', day 7 up here and no summit in sight. In my 22 years of doing this I've never stayed here over seven days. I guess there's a first for everything.
But the team is still strong and committed to tagging the summit despite our little weather delays. And it's still only day 17 for us, so we're still well within our time frame for these trip.
This morning was nasty, so we relaxed in our tents until 11:00am and had the brunch that has become all too familiar these days. At that time the wind and snow abated somewhat and I entertained for the first time doing an evening climb of sorts. With a bit of a cloud cap over the summit conditions were not ideal, but we had been having some rather consistent clearing in the afternoon and evenings, and with daylight throughout the evening, late starts are not unheard of.
So, we set out for the summit knowing full well that if we encountered worsening weather we'd simply turn back. The important thing for us was to get in some walking to maintain out strength, acclimatization, and mental health.
The route that we had punched in the day before was gone, so we had to plow through 1-2' of snow to establish the route. Luckily the snow was quite stable and allowed us to reach almost 18,000' before I made the tough call to turn back in the face of some increasing winds and certainly not improving conditions.
But, we had reestablished the route and gotten in a little exercise. And everyone had climbed well! We'll be ready when the weather gods finally allow us to climb.
Back at camp over dinner we discussed just how long we might stay here at 17,200' waiting for our opportunity. Wednesday seemed like a date that would be reasonable to make our last day here. We have food and fuel to go beyond then, but for those of you wondering when your loved one will be coming back, I would say a few days after that would be reasonable. That being said, we do have some on the team that are willing to stay on beyond then. And for them, I guess I'd have to say that I too would be willing to stick around.
But... Let's not go there quite yet.
Kristen would like to wish Billy a happy birthday. And Gary would like to send Angela hugs and kisses from 17,200' camp.
All for now. Thanks for reading our dispatches!
RMI Guides Brent, Leon , Lindsay and the rest of the team
On The Map
This morning we were prepared for a day in camp as visibility was poor and the winds raged off the ridge of the
West Buttress. We enjoyed a long and delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon and three cheeses on a bagel accompanied by fresh coffee. Our meandering discussion spanned many topics and ended with a break in the snow and wind.
Ten minuets later we sprung into action, prepping our packs for a carry up onto the West Buttress proper to 16,200'. We dropped our food, fuel and other supplies for our summit push. We are now set for a move up to high camp in a few days or whenever we get a break in the winds and unstable weather.
With an evening arrival back at 14k camp, we plan to recover and rest in hopes of going upward soon.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
On The Map
Do two times constitute a trend? Probably not, but today did share a few similarities with yesterday. We woke to a little squirrelly weather with a few inches of snow on the tents and it was unclear whether heading up was a good idea or not. We watched the skies and eventually decided to move. As we climbed into the whiteout above camp and onto
Ski Hill proper, the snow stopped and we enjoyed pockets of visibility. It was downright hot as we pulled into camp with an excellent down glacier view. We were able to go down to baselayers as we built camp and as soon as we finished setting up shop it began to snow. Now we are enjoying a hot beverage before some Tortellini a la Thomas for dinner. Tomorrow we'll see what happens in the sky and hopefully move to 11 camp.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
Howdy from 14k. Today we got up and planned to carry food and equipment up toward high camp at 17k. We woke up early and the air was warm with patches of blue sky showing through. While we got our morning chow the snow and wind started slowly picking up. As we walked the first hour to 15k and the base of the classic headwall of the
West Buttress, the wind and snow intensity increased and visibility dropped to just a few feet.
With these conditions and the risk of avalanches increasing, we opted to descend in hopes of better weather in the next days. The team spent the majority of the day lounging in tents. Our decision to turn around was verified as we heard the constant roar of avalanches in the distance and saw 8 new inches of snow accumulate throughout the day.
Dinner tonight will bring a nice meal and psych to the team. In the mountains we must have patience and wait until we have an opportunity for safe passage. For now we gain strength and acclimatization through rest and light exercise. When Denali allows us an opportunity to go higher, we will be ready.
-
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Day 6 at
camp 17! Woke up to a foot of fresh powder around noon. Had a late brunch of leftover cereal, oatmeal, and soup. After some posh time we hit the shovels and dug out our tents. The rest of the afternoon we'll be reading and eating, two of our favorite pastimes in the comfort of our tents. We're cautiously optimistic that tomorrow will bring a summit bid! We're in good spirits and have plenty of resources to stick it out for another couple days!
-Kristen and Gary
On The Map
When we woke early this morning we weren't sure what the day had in store for us. The cloud deck dropped during breakfast and no one could really tell if it was raining or snowing. We returned to the tents to wait for a trend to emerge and in about an hour made the call to try to leave basecamp for higher pastures. We had perfect conditions to make our way to the base of Ski Hill and set up camp at the confluence of the Main and Northeast Forks of the
Kahiltna Glaciers. As soon as camp was buffed out, it started to snow and we are enjoying a little siesta before dinner.
If the weather is cooperative we will move higher tomorrow to get within striking distance of 11 Camp and the upper mountain.
Hope all is well down South!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
It doesn't always happen like this up here, but when you can fly out of Talkeetna at 9 am, just like you
planned, it is a real sweet start to a trip. We landed on a warm glacier and spent the day settling into our new pace on the mountain. Building camp, rigging sleds, reviewing some techniques and most importantly checking out the views. It is stunning here and perfect weather for starting this adventure. If it holds we will wake up and head towards 7,800' camp at the base of Ski Hill tomorrow, testing our new knowledge and taking our first literal steps.
Til then,
RMI Guides
Jake Beren,
Elias de Andres Martos,
Thomas Greene and the gang.
On The Map
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Reading your experience gives me confort because I know you’re being secure, and I envy the stunning views you have from that elevation. Bonne nuit Nicô!- Hélène
Posted by: Hélène Larocque-Nolin on 6/11/2012 at 7:06 pm
Thanks for the updates! Hopefully the weather will be in your favor in the days ahead! Michael stay warm and strong and I can’t wait to see the pictures from the edge of the world!!
Posted by: Scott on 6/11/2012 at 6:39 pm
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