Entries from Mt. McKinley

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 9:21 p.m. PDT

Day 1

Today we awoke to blue skies, so we rushed to the hangar, where we played the ‘hurry up and wait’ game. We got the text around 11 a.m. that we were flying on! We all rushed back to the hangar and lathered ourselves in sunscreen and smiles. We had moments of doubt about flying on, but climber Patti insisted we all share a piece of her Kendal Mint Bar. This famous candy delight was brought to London with the intention of being consumed before Denali. The treat is a ritual Patti practices for every climb. Alas, we are here at the airstrip, where we will sleep for the night. While enjoying our expansive views and the roars of the mountain, we enjoyed a delicious pad Thai dinner. Tomorrow, we plan to make our first big move to Camp 1!

RMI Guide Jackson Breen & Team

Bonjour from 14 Camp!

Sorry, the Canadians are taking over dispatch today. A chilly night left us happy, we slept with our toques and mitts on. We snoozed as best we could and waited for the sun to kiss our tents, giving us a minor reprieve from the chill. We wished for breakfast to be a couple of bacon and eggers but started with oatmeal before heading out for a rip up the fixed lines for some high-altitude poutine or Timbits. Travel was reasonable, as we were expecting a 50-degree sheet of ice worthy of rolling a few rocks or firing a few biscuits. Fortunately, someone spilled a couple of jugs of maple syrup on it, and travel was a bit tackier than expected.

The entire team made it to the top, reaching 16K, and when we unclipped, the clouds parted. The shamrock Sherpa thought he saw a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and Nick was given his brief moment in the sun. We all enjoyed the stunning views from the roof of North America. After a few snacks, we headed back down a run more suited for a toboggan, back to a sunny camp. We bumped into a couple of fellow Canucks on our descent, shared a couple of “Oh hey, buds,” and the secret Canadian wave. We are now hoping for the storms to stay away, as we have a rest day tomorrow and our ultimate decision on Friday about whether to go up or head out.

We miss you all, and God save the King.

From Nikki’s Champions Group

Friday May 29, 2026 12:58am PDT

We have ascended to 17 Camp. It is cold and windy but we are all tucked in safe and sound for the night.

RMI Guide Jack Delaney & Team

Hello friends and family! This is Karen (in the yellow jacket from the latest picture) and I’ll be taking over the daily dispatch from Nikki tonight (Hi Mom and Dad!!).

We woke up to silence which usually means no/little wind. I strained my ears to hear what I call the “meeting of the minds” aka Nikki, Rosie, and Nick deciding what the plan is for the day. At around 8:30am we got the call “hots and breakfast in 10min.” IT WAS A MOVE DAY, WOOHOO!

After a nice oats and blueberry breakfast we started to pack our bags and decide what food we wanted to cache just below 14k camp. Nikki came around and asked everyone if they wanted to add the most important piece of gear, GLITTER! At around 10:45 am our bags were packed, our faces full of glitter, and we were off like a heard of racing turtles.

We climbed Motorcycle hill then Squirrel hill, then crossed the Polo Fields before a break to put our helmets on before rounding Windy Corner. To my disappointment, I didn’t see a single motorcycle, squirrel, or person riding a horse, but it’s ok because there was also a lack of wind at Windy Corner. When the sun peaked through the clouds, the views were breathtaking up there.

After 4 hours of hiking, we arrived at our cache site around 13.5k ft. After our cache, we were off, back down to camp at 11k. We took some time to chill before a dinner of creamy potato soup with chicken sausage. If weather allows, we will head to 14k camp tomorrow!

With that, I leave you with tonight’s Haiku:

Move day, move day, yay!

Rope teams so strong as we go.

Champion leads all!

Karen, RMI Guide Nikki Champion, and Team  

Well it’s safe to say no one expected that we would make 11k camp our home for 9 days but the mountain is our mistress and the weather has the final say. Finally our patience paid off and the weather was ideal for moving to 14k camp.

This morning we packed slowly, waiting for the sun to hit camp and raise the mercury to positive digits. It took a significant effort to dig up and breakdown camp since we had weathered multiple storms here. Our team wasn’t the only ones prepared to move in the good weather. Almost the entirety of camp emptied out and ascended up the mountain, either to move to 14k camp or to cache supplies to prepare for their own move in the following days. It’s safe to say we were in and out of conga lines of mountaineers all throughout the day.

When we finally rolled into camp - the team was tired but elated to finally be at our new home. The mantra was slow and steady as we built camp in the thin 14,000 foot air. The ambient air temp is chilly willy as we snuggle into our large down sleeping bags and think warm thoughts. We will not leave these cocoons until the sun hits our tents tomorrow.

Cheers,
Jack and the Team

Windy Corner

By: Joanie Mayer Hope

11,000 Camp — Denali

On a mountain in the snow

Narrow cliff and rocks below

Waits a dreamer with a heavy heavy load

Shrouded summit in the sky

In the journey is the why

In the marrow of this life is sacrifice

Chorus

There is a place called Windy Corner which few will ever see
A passage from what was to what someday may be
Up at Windy Corner, steady steps gentle strength
Silhouettes of seekers, embrace the loss of living

Windy Corner is the place

Of acquiescence & of grace

Dare to fail, live to die, alone & loved

You must give all to get there

But but you may not succeed

Reckoning of wonder, earth’s breath under your wings

Chorus

There is a place called Windy Corner which few will ever see
A passage from what was to what someday may be
Up at Windy Corner steady steps & gentle strength
Silhouettes of seekers embrace the loss of living

Bridge

If the end of life is death

What is the meaning of success?

The legacy we leave

The sparks of joy we manifest?

The pain we heal?

The love we feel?

Adventures breached

Or summits reached?

The courage to jump fully in

Be naked in our humanness

Final Chorus

Up at Windy Corner steady steps & gentle strength
Silhouettes of seekers embrace the loss of living

Tonight’s haiku brought to you by Jaylynn:

Snow wind clouds and more

Forever stuck at camp 2 

Please let us leave soon

This morning we woke up more optimistic, there was no snow falling from the sky, and the tents were quieter than past mornings As the stoves were rolling, we paid attention to the winds up high. It was obvious that snow was moving, so we waited to see how things continued. Would the winds die down, or continue? As we ate our oatmeal the winds only continued, we continued to wait and watch. By noon, the winds still hadn't backed off, and our call for the day became obvious. Yet another weather day at 11 camp.

We settled into our tents for the afternoon, played some more card games and took some naps until our big evening of pizza!

Tomorrow we shall try again to carry!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion & Team

May 23, 2026 - 12:50am PDT

And so, it begins.

After another Talkeetna morning cursing the clouds, we distracted ourselves practicing crevasse rescue, anchor systems and running belays. By noon there were glimpses of hope in the eyes of the pilots, a potential clearing in the evening. Our tender hearts had heard it before, so we kept doing what we do best: hacky sack and repacking. At around six our pilot came in with confirmation that it looked good enough to give it a shot! Our eager crew sprang to life, called our loved ones and loaded the planes. To our surprise lots of the range was visible in the setting sun, with a few dark clouds wisping with the wind. We flew down into the Kahiltna with little turbulence and landed at base camp. Stunned by the magnificent views that peaked in and out, we set up a hasty camp with smiles on our faces. We are all happy to be here and ready for the challenge ahead!

RMI Guide Ben Thorneycroft and Team!

Day 10 - Strong Winds and Snow Persist

Today is another weather day, so the blog is about birds.

Birding is the act of intentionally wandering around outside and looking for birds. People who engage in this hobby are called birders. There are many types of birding, some enjoy seeing local birds that are native to where they live, others enjoy making a life list of all the unique birds they’ve seen in their life, and for some - the most extreme birders their goal is to complete “A Big Year”. There are many types of Big Years but the most popular and competitive is The Lower 48 American Bird Association Big Year. The Big Year starts on January 1st each year and ends on December 31st. The goal during this time frame is to see or hear as many unique birds as possible in the contiguous United States and up to 50 miles offshore. There is a fantastic documentary about this competition available for free on YouTube called “Listers”, I highly recommend you give it a watch. 

Now here is a list of bird facts that I can remember to spice up the end blog…

• The Loggerhead Shriek is a small carnivorous songbird that uses thorns of plants and the spikes of barbwire to impale its prey.
• The Golden Finch is the state bird of Iowa.
• The Common Murre is a pelagic sea bird that can dive upwards of 300 feet below the surface.
• Horned Puffins nest on sheer ocean cliffs and lay eggs with a flat side on them, so the eggs don’t accidentally roll out of the nest.
• Blue-Footed Boobies have one of the top 5 funniest bird names.
• Bald Eagles have been known to sink their talons into fish that are too large to fly away with and are unable to release their talons, so they are pulled underwater and drown.
• Roadrunners are one of the few known predators of rattle snakes.
• At least one songbird dies every year on the West Buttress route of Denali.
• Varied Thrush can sing through two sets of vocal cords simultaneously, allowing them to sing incredibly complicated bird songs.
• Marbled Murrelets nest dozens of miles from their ocean habit, exclusively in old growth forests near rivers. This allows their chicks a higher survival rate due to the fact old growth offers more protection for nesting and when they’re pushed out of their nests to learn to fly, they plop into the river below.
• Red-Winged Black Birds are territorial and have been known to attack elementary school students walking to their friend Andrew’s house.
• The Steller Jay was the key to the first Russian expeditions knowing they had made it to Alaska as the Blue Jay family of birds is endemic to North America exclusively.
• And finally contrary to popular belief, the mosquito is not the state bird of Alaska, it is in fact the Ptarmigan.

Cheers,

Jack and the well-rested team.

Thursday May 21, 2026 - 9:44pm PDT

Welp, we woke up to drifting snow, heavy winds, and the sun outlook of yet another weather day. Today haiku was brought to you by Adam, because it was his favorite day ever.

Wizards of the stove

Waving wands of ice and snow

What will you do next

Adam’s favorite day ever consisted of his two favorite meals. The day started with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the day wrapped up with Zatarain’s (Jambalaya). The in-between times were filled with cribbage, rotating in your sleeping bag like a hot dog in a gas station and some more story times. The snow continued to fall throughout the day.  We are still set up to carry to 13.5 whenever weather allows.

Check in tomorrow!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team