Entries from Mt. McKinley
Woke up today to splitter (blue) skies and warm temps! The original forecast was for a snowstorm to hit the range sometime today but it didn't appear that way to us this morning. The incorrect forecast was great news for us and we were able to push a load of supplies up around Windy Corner this afternoon. The crew made it back down to camp at 11,000' in time to soak up a bunch of afternoon sun. Needless to say our tans are coming along nicely with all of this good weather. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we plan on picking up camp and heading up to 14,000'.
The team is climbing great and in great spirits! Wish us luck on a big day tomorrow...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
We spent today resting at the 14,000' camp on
Mt. McKinley, getting stronger for our impending move to high camp (17,000'). The weather today was pretty mild for this time of year, with light snow showers throughout the day. The weather forecast looks pretty good, with similar weather on tap for the rest of the week. Everyone is doing well, and we'll likely take one more rest day here at 14,000' before moving up to high camp.
We'll keep you posted.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 22:
Resting here at 11,300' on
Mt. McKinley... Not much to report other than worsening weather through the day today and that while hanging in the posh (cook tent) the team was able to solve most of the world's problems. We broached the taboo subjects of politics, religion, economics, ancient societies/civilizations, space exploration, extraterrestrial copulation, ancient ruins, plate tectonics, coral atoll nations and the rising sea level, doomsday cults, classic car restoration, moral bankruptcy, and escalating health care costs just to name a few. Currently it's snowing moderately but fortunately without wind. A good day to rest after all. Hopefully we get a small break in the weather tomorrow so we can push a load of food and fuel up around Windy Corner which will put us in position to move up to 14k camp.
Ciao,
RMI Guides Billy Nugent,
Geoff Schellens and
Gilbert Chase
May 21:
After an uneventful night we awoke to more mostly sunny weather with some high cirrus clouds. The plan was to sleep in a little and enjoy the first morning of the expedition where we didn't have the chore of breaking camp. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon on toasted bagels with cream cheese and then geared up for our walk down to the cache at 9,600'. After less than four hours we had retrieved all of our groceries and returned to camp at 11k. After eating dinner and hanging out, the glacier in camp suddenly settled sending a large shock-wave through the ground, needless to say scaring the crap out of everyone. I've never really felt a glacier do that before, pretty wild. Tomorrow calls for a rest day which might be good timing with the weather as things seem to be slightly deteriorating. There are some lenticular clouds forming on the peaks across the Kahiltna which may be indicative of some moisture on he way.
Will check in tomorrow from our rest day...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang.
May 20:
Hi everyone.
Today was another great day of unbelievable weather for our push up to the 11,000' camp. We left behind a cache at our previous camp at 9,600' of mostly food and fuel (alongside some miscellaneous personal items) and thus enjoyed a significantly lighter move than the loads from the previous two days. After a little bit of digging and improving of an abandoned camp we moved in and enjoyed a great tortellini dinner.
Hoping for a smooth first night at a new elevation,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Today was a crucial day for us to get in position for a summit bid. We carried a couple of days of food plus some personal gear to the bottom of
Washburn's Thumb at 16,800'. This cache is an integral part of the strategy of climbing this mountain. Once in place, we can wait for a weather window to move up to camp at 17,000' and then summit. It now becomes a waiting game for us as we need a good forecast for a string of a few days.
It was also a great day for us to practice our climbing skills because the real climbing on
Denali starts above 14,000'. We got to practice using the fixed lines up to 16,200' to attain the West Buttress. From there, we were greeted with beautiful views and climbing on a thin, rocky ridge. The buttress is the namesake of the route, the reason people come up this way. It requires great attention, but affords amazing climbing and vistas. Everyone did a great job with these 2 new challenges. We even had some members of the group attain new personal high marks!
Now, we're back at camp ready for some rest. We are playing the waiting game now, holding out and hoping the mountain will give us the weather window we need. But the forecast looks pretty good, and we're patient, stubborn, and well prepared. 14K Camp is a great place to get strong, and with a rest day tomorrow we definitely won't be getting out of sleeping bags until the sun hits us.
Bringing back an old feature to the blog: the stoke meter is all the way up at a 9.5 right now!
RMI Guide Maile Wade and the southside dwellers of 14K!
On The Map
The weather is forecasted to change around here in the following days but today was one of the hottest days we've had. Lenticular clouds continue to be impressive. We spent today playing inside crevasses and went ice climbing. Everyone had a blast.
The glaciers are an enormous amount of ice up here in
Alaska. Researchers currently on the glacier conducting some studies have found the depth of the Kahiltna Glacier to be about 500 meters deep. As we climbed on the walls of the crevasses peering down into the dark black hole beneath us, we felt small.
So long from the Kahiltna.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
On The Map
Hello everyone from the 14,000' camp on Denali. We're taking a
rest day today, in order to acclimate and get strong for our forays up higher on the mountain.
After a breakfast involving lots of coffee and the universal favorite--bacon, we spent some time finishing off our snow walls at camp. The rest of the day was spent preparing gear for caching up high on the mountain tomorrow, as well as lounging around, reading, and eating.
We're planning to carry supplies up high on the West Buttress tomorrow, in preparation for our move to high camp and subsequent summit bid. We'll be in touch again soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
The objective for the day was Kahiltna Dome. We woke up early and quickly prepared. An hour's walk took us across the glacier to the first hill, and warm morning sun. Unfortunately several stretches into the climb we encountered challenging conditions and decided to head back to our camp at 9,500 ft. The team broke camp in an impressive hour and a half and then made the 9-mile trip back to
basecamp. Throughout the walk back, we saw lenticular clouds forming hanging over peaks in the area. Despite the sunny weather, they let us know that keeping our Gore-tex in the top of our packs was a good idea.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
On The Map
Today's walk was pleasantly uneventful and brought us from Camp 1 at 7,800' up to Camp 2 on top of
Ski Hill at 9,600'. Clouds came in and out along with some intermittent flurries which broke up the heat from the direct sun. Walking temperatures were actually much more comfortable than yesterday's constant, direct sun. The team dined on some delicious cheese quesadillas with grilled onions, peppers, and chicken before retiring to our tents. It pays to be in the sack before the shadow and chilly temperatures descended upon camp. High pressure is supposed to build again for tomorrow and we aim to take advantage by pushing our camp up to 11,000' before crummy weather sets in half way through next week.
All for now,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
We had a great, mellow day today at the 14k foot camp. After going back to our cache at
Windy Corner, we spent the rest of the day building snow walls around our camp to protect us from any wind. We also spent time making our cook tent more comfortable, as well as creating a luxurious bathroom (the little things make a big difference up here!). Now we're getting ready to feast on some tasty chicken quesadillas, with fresh veggies (to be honest, the fresh veggies froze on day one of the trip...but they are thawed out now, and they will be delicious).
We're planning to take a full rest day tomorrow, in order to acclimate and get strong for carrying supplies up high on the
West Buttress. The weather has been nice and sunny with virtually no wind, and we hope that it persists as we prepare for moving up to high camp and on to the summit.
Thanks for all the blog comments. We'll touch base again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Hello all. We moved our camp up to about 9,600 ft. Temperatures were perfect for us during the walk. It just started to get hot as we pulled into camp. Everyone did great today. We built a fortress of a camp constructed with cohesive blocks of snow. We used them for walls around our camp to shield us from the wind.
Light snow began falling this afternoon but we are hoping to wake up to blue skies and stable weather for our climb on
Kahiltna Dome tomorrow.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
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Hey SENIOR! Haha good luck on the mountain must be freezing up there while its a horrible 100 degrees back in Tucson :b. Well I drove my bros to pinetop without crashing I think Im ready for my drivers test! Anyway God bless you SENIOR everyone misses you down almost 14,000 feet! From the JUNIOR
Posted by: Junior on 5/25/2012 at 7:31 pm
I love you so much, mom. I was crying about it five minutes ago. Maybe Im on a sugar high from mission carnival. Sherman
Posted by: Sheena on 5/25/2012 at 6:48 pm
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