Entries from Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

May 9, 2017 - 6:26 pm PT Yesterday's light snow increased in intensity over night and turned into a full on powder day today. We woke to dig out the tents around 4:30 am an they were nearly buried again by 10 am. We have received over three feet of snow overnight and it is continuing as I write this. So, we spent the day resting and enjoying one of our favorite rest day activities: digging out camp. We actually needed this rest day, so the snow comes at an opportune time. We would like it to stop though, so we can make our carry to Windy Corner tomorrow. Right now that doesn't seem to be the case, but better weather is forecast for later in the week. Everyone is doing well and enjoying some down time. We'll let you know what tomorrow brings. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hey Robby,

Given the down time at 11K, hope you found a cribbage partner. Looking forward to seeing your pics when you get back. Good luck to you and the team.

Art
Elevation 644’ !!
Northbrook, IL

Posted by: Art Muir on 5/10/2017 at 10:00 am

Hi Mike, Thom, Todd and David, I am so regret I missed this time. Best wishes for you guys with a good weather window. Dr. David, don’t bend your phone again and shoot some great pictures. I have been thinking what you guy’s schedule this year. I am so jealous!!
Be safe and good luck!!!

Lei from Albany, NY

Posted by: LEI WU on 5/10/2017 at 7:35 am

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Retrieve Cache Below 11K Camp

May 8, 2017

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

We slept in this morning and then enjoyed a breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and smoked salmon. Then we headed back down glacier to retrieve the cache we left there two days ago. It was a warm day with light snow and no wind. Now that we have all of our supplies with us at 11k, we'll start to strategize our move to the upper mountain. The next move for us is to carry supplies up around Windy Corner and establish a cache at around 13,700'. We're still not sure if that will happen tomorrow or if we will take our first full rest day. Weather will certainly play a role in that decision. We will let you know what we decide and touch base tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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...don’t sleep in too long DWH! love you and am so proud of you! - mom sends her love as well! Prayers for a safe summit AKS

Posted by: Ann Kathryn Hines-Scott on 5/10/2017 at 3:37 am

Beautiful sky! Hope the rest of you got out of your tents to see that glorious sight!

Posted by: Nancy Hines on 5/9/2017 at 6:29 pm

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Move to 11,200’ Camp

May 8, 2017

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

I'm writing this dispatch from our new home at 11,200'. Everyone did great on our move today, hauling our sleds and heavy backpacks up 3,400' from the base of Ski Hill. The weather started as mostly cloudy, then transitioned to white out conditions where you could not differentiate sky from glacier. We flew on instruments most of the day today. There was also snow and drifting snow that made the climbing even more challenging. Everybody climbed strong and came into camp in style. Tomorrow we sleep in and rest a little bit and then head back down to 10,300' to retrieve the cache that we left there yesterday. It should be a much easier day than today. We'll check back tomorrow to let you know how it goes. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

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Thanks for the update! Glad to hear all is well. Keep up the good work everyone, and remember the power of meditation, David!
P.S. The wheelbarrow is now full of gray, moldy peanuts, being nibbled on by squirrels who are sneaking into the garage…what should I do?

Posted by: Nancy Hines on 5/8/2017 at 9:09 pm

Way to go Rue and team!!!! #beastmode

Cheers,
Cindee

Posted by: Cindee on 5/8/2017 at 7:14 pm

Denali Expedition: Mike Walter & Team Fly in to Base Camp

May 6, 2017

Elevation: 7800'

May 6, 2017 11:34am PST We had perfect weather yesterday that made for smooth flights from Talkeetna to the Kahiltna Glacier in two of K2 Aviation's ski planes. After a couple of hours sorting gear and digging our Base Camp cache, we donned our backpacks and started pulling sleds en route to our first camp. Beautiful weather continued the entire day and we're now at 7800' at the base of "Ski Hill". After a solid night's rest, we have the stoves back up and rolling for breakfast. Our plan today is to carry a cache supplies (mostly food and fuel) up another couple thousand feet and then return back to this same camp tonight. We'll keep you posted on our progress. RMI Mike Walter & Team

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Mike, Thom, Todd and Dave—

Reflecting daily on your climb and remembering our adventure last year. Wishing you strength, good health and excellent weather during your climb. Eat! Get those calories! Stay strong. It’s is an outstanding achievement, give it your best and come home safe.

From Brussels, Belgium.

“DOK”

Posted by: Kevin on 5/7/2017 at 12:48 pm

Hi Todd, Thom, Dave and Mike.

Following your progress, climb strong and safe. Hope you have fantastic weather this year.

All the best

Rogan Davies

Posted by: Rogan Davies on 5/7/2017 at 8:53 am

Denali Expedition: Mike Walter & Team Ready in Talkeenta

May 5, 2017

Elevation: 348'

Thursday, May 4, 2017 7:20 pm PT Well, RMI's 2017 Denali season has officially started. Our team all assembled in Anchorage yesterday and we traveled north to the town of Talkeetna. Talkeetna is quite sleepy this time of year, but it'll be a different story in a few weeks when we return from our expedition. The town will be abuzz with tourists and climbers looking to see the majesty of the Alaska Range. Today was spent at the K2 Aviation Hangar, meticulously preparing and packing our equipment for the next few weeks on the mountain. Tomorrow (weather permitting) we'll be flown on to the Kahiltna glacier by single engine airplanes to start our expedition. It's important that we have our gear dialed before we get dropped off in the middle of the Alaska Range. Every one is stoked for the journey ahead of us. We know there will be a lot of hard work ahead of us, but it will certainly be rewarding. Thanks for checking in. We'll be sending frequent updates, so be sure to check back soon. Hopefully our next dispatch will come from the beautiful austerity of the Alaska Range. RMI Guides Mike Walter, Robby Young & Lucas Haaland

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Safe travels and have fun!! Doing it in beast mode Rue!!! Good luck to you and your entire team.

Cheers,
Cindee

Posted by: Cindee on 5/5/2017 at 7:59 pm

With you in spirit. Hoping for great weather. Cheers.

Posted by: Chuck H on 5/5/2017 at 2:00 pm

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Down and Out in Talkeetna

July 11, 2016

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith

The longest day is finished. We "woke" at 10 PM at 11,000 ft, broke camp and hit the trail by midnight, bound for basecamp. Heavy packs and sleds and miles of glacier later, we pulled in to what had been basecamp three weeks ago. That is all gone now though with the finish of the climbing season. We saddled up one last time to go thirty minutes more for the "upper strip" -a better stretch of late-season glacier, and then two beautiful K2 Aviation Otters came in to fetch us. We were back in Talkeetna by 10 AM and eating drinking drying sorting and celebrating for the next 24 hours... Oh yeah, and showering and sleeping too. It was a fine finish to an excellent climb. Thanks for following. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

My son Trevor climbed w/him years. He said last night that he had been notified that David died. Is this true

Posted by: Ruthie Bohnert on 7/29/2016 at 12:25 pm

Congratulations once more, Dave. This was a tough one I bet. Great following you from a distance.

Posted by: Chuck Roberts on 7/11/2016 at 10:11 pm

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Arrive in Talkeetna

July 10, 2016

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith

RMI Guide Dave Hahn just checked in with the RMI Office. His Denali team was able to take advantage of a good weather window and fly off of the Kahiltna Glacier this morning. The team arrived in Takeetna at 10:00am AKDT. The team will spend some time celebrating their success before catching flights home tomorrow. Congratulations to Dave and team, and to all of the RMI Expeditions Denali teams for a successful 2016 Denali season!

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Rest Up at 11K Camp

July 9, 2016

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith

Elevation: 11,200'

Saturday, July 9, 2016 - 8:46 p.m. PDT As planned, today was something of a forced rest day at 11,000 ft. By virtue of our having slept through the night here -which we certainly needed- the next option would have been to travel the lower glacier in the heat of the day... Or to rest up and aim for going out tonight when it gets cold and the glacial surface is frozen and safer for travel. We are all about option two. So the team woke late and folks talked about having gotten a real night's sleep for the first time in weeks. We ate long slow breakfasts and then went back to sleep. It is possible that this will be our last full day in the park, so many took longer looks than usual at the ice and rock cliffs surrounding and towering over us. At first the sky looked threatening, as if it might get to snowing again, but by dinner things had changed back to calm, sunny, blue skies... making us all optimistic about smooth travel out the glacier and the chance for prompt flying from the mountain tomorrow morning. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Descend to 11K Camp

July 9, 2016

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith

Elevation: 11,000'

Saturday, July 9, 2016 - 2:23 a.m. PDT Yesterday was an unlikely summit day. There were clouds everywhere and breezes blowing... But we'd begun to think we wouldn't get anything better. So we went for it, leaving high camp at about 10 AM. Right out of camp though, we were breaking trail... And it went that way all day. Slow going and strenuous climbing. But it mostly went our way. The winds died just before we reached Denali Pass. It was a cold day - by July standards- but our team dealt well with the challenge. Sadly, we never got much in the way of views due to the clouds, but when we topped out at 7:15 PM, no one seemed overly concerned with the things they might have seen on a better day. We made it back to high camp at midnight and had a late late dinner. Breakfast this morning was a rolling thing, with folks wandering through the kitchen one by one as they woke. It was a stunningly nice day... Clear and sunny the way it never seems to be anymore. But we could not have known such a fine day was coming... The forecasts didn't hint at it. In any case it was good for descending. We dropped down the crest of the West Buttress, the fixed lines and the snowy hills above 14 camp. It took time to reorganize there and then we set out for 11,000ft. The route was barely recognizable as there'd been huge snow and plenty of avalanches. We were sinking in deeply and engaging in a great sled rodeo on the steep side hills, but we kept on trudging and finally reached our old home at 11,000ft. We look forward to some deep sleep and recuperation here -6,000 ft below our last home. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Summit!

July 8, 2016

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith

Elevation: 20,310'

Friday, July 8, 2016 - 3:19 a.m. PDT Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling in from 17,000ft on Denali. We summitted today. It was a hard day- 14 hours out there, mostly due to new snow. It was a difficult day to guess what the weather was going to do. We spent a lot of it socked in cloud and light snow, but the good thing was we didn't have much for wind. So it was a hard day, but we're all safe back at high camp. We'll let you know a little bit more about it in these next couple of days. Bye for now. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls in after their successful Denali summit.

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Congratulations on making it to the summit! Michael Waters, I am so excited to hear about your adventuring when you return :) I hope you logged that EarthCache @

Posted by: Megan Brown on 7/8/2016 at 10:29 pm

Was never a better feeling to hear your voice last night David, from the top of Denali! All your hard work has paid off, what an adventure you’ll have to remember for the rest of your life. Hats off to you and an obviously strong & determined Team 8, so proud for you and that moment. A huge thank you to Dave Hahn and the rest of his team for making your wish to summit this mountain a reality. His expertise & knowledge is immeasurable, how awesome is it to say you’ve summited Denali with such a respected and admired mountaineer! Now we’re all ready for you to safely travel home so we can hear all about it, love you long time!!

Posted by: Sondra Schnautz on 7/8/2016 at 9:18 pm