Entries from Mt. McKinley
June 4, 2014 - 9:30 am PT
Just spoke with
RMI Guide Brent Okita and they are leaving high camp for their summit bid. His words on the weather this morning: “Massively glorious day on
Mt. McKinley!”
Good luck to the team as they ascend to the highest point in North America!
On The Map
June 4, 2014 - 12:53 am PT
The winds have finally abated now that we're in our tents here at
17,200 ft Camp. For much of the day we we're climbing head on into the breeze, making for an uncomfortable climb to camp. But we're psyched now. Tomorrow promises to be a great day, and given the fact that we had to ascend less than 1000' we should be in good shape.
It was unfortunate the Buttress was so windy because it was such a beautiful climb and day.
Wish us luck with the weather and perhaps our next chat will be from the summit.
Good night from chilly 17,200' camp.
RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick
On The Map
June 3, 2014 - 7:55 pm PT
Wow, it's nearly dinnertime and the team finally has a few minutes to check in. We have had a busy day. Despite a slightly ominous forecast, we awoke this morning to clear skies and no wind. Things looked favorable for us to move some group food up to a higher site. We ate a leisurely breakfast of bagels with bacon and cream cheese before loading up on a four-hour walk up to the cache site.
This cycle of carrying gear up high, then returning back to a
lower camp to sleep is crucial for our acclimatization. It exposes the body to a new altitude, but gives it time during the night to rest and recoup. We will be repeating this process with each of our higher camps.
RMI Guides
Eric Frank,
Geoff Schellens and the Upper West Rib team
On The Map
June 3, 2014 - 5:36 pm PT
Yesterday's icy winds gave way to calm, clear skies overnight. The temperature, however, was quite chilly when we woke for breakfast. The hot coffee and tea started warming folks up, and a couple of bagels with cream cheese topped by delicious smoked salmon rounded out this morning's feast.
We packed up the kits for the carry and were walking shortly after the sun broke in camp. Temperatures climbed quickly and soon we were sweating under the loads, but within three hours we had buried our cache at 10,000 ft. We passed a ton of teams as we returned to camp - let's just say that we were happy to be heading down while the rest of them were baking on the way up.
So now we're poised for a move to the next camp at
11,200 ft and looking forward to making more progress on the mountain. That's all for now, stay tuned for tomorrow's tales of wonder from the frozen north land!
RMI Guides Garrett, TJ, Bryan and the team
On The Map
June 2, 2014 - 11:16 pm PT
With things looking up for us, we got up early and packed camp this morning. With full packs and a lot of excitement to be moving again, we headed once more up towards the head wall and the
fixed lines. We were not by any means the only group with this idea though and a train formed pretty quickly. As we worked our way up the lines in traffic the wind started to pick up, at first just occasional gusts that swirled through the basin, then becoming steadier, stronger, and carrying snow with them. By the time we reached the col at 16,200' conditions had deteriorated significantly. It was a frustrating decision, but this was the type of weather that was too much for us to continue on in, and we decided quickly to turn back down the fixed lines to 14,000' camp, out of the winds.
Once camp was reset, we had a tough team meeting over dinner. We've invested a lot of time, energy, and sacrifice into this endeavor, both on the mountain and all of the preparation and training, but we've been here for a long time, and it's time to think about heading down. Everyone agreed that tomorrow, we will pack camp again, but this time will turn our boots downhill and head for the airstrip, home, and families. The team has worked so hard, and come together so well, and it's a disappointment for all, but with any luck we'll be at the airstrip tomorrow, and fly in the evening or next morning.
Thanks for reading, and we'll see everybody soon.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and team
On The Map
June 2, 2014 - 9:56 pm PT
We woke up early this morning, broke camp and set off down the southeast fork of the
Kahiltna Glacier. By 7:00 AM we turned to the north and began making our way up the main flow of the Kahiltna, snowshoeing through some of the towering mountains of the great Alaska range. We arrived to the 7,600' camp at the base of Ski Hill at 11:30 AM with a light wind helping to keep us cool during the heat of the day. The afternoon was spent snacking, drinking water, and napping. We just finished a delicious burrito dinner and are enjoying the views over a cup of hot cocoa.
Good night everyone and thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
On The Map
June 2, 2014 - 9:30 pm PT
Comfortably nestled in our sleeping bags we've been listening to the winds flapping the fabric of our tents since we put them up.
Our morning started well with clear skies all around us, except for the cloud cap over the summit. But the entire
camp at 14,200' was stirring since this was one of the nicest days we've seen for a while.
The team did great breaking camp and we were the first guided group out of camp, a nice position to be in given the madding crowds that were right behind us. Everyone did well going up the fixed lines, though we could certainly feel the loads we were carrying. Unfortunately, the winds came up at the top of the ridge and didn't relent further up the Buttress, so we decided to dig in for the night here at 16,400' instead retreating all the way back to 14,200', or pushing in a head wind up to 17,200' camp. With a well secured camp here and dinner in our bellies we're looking forward to some rest and an easy day up to 17,200' camp tomorrow.
As I finish this post it seems like the winds might even be abating some. We'll touch bases again tomorrow from 17,200', hoping for some nice settled weather for a change.
Good night,
RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick
June 2, 2014 - 8:41 pm
Today we made our first and heaviest move of the entire trip. We mounted our packs with big sleds dragging behind! Traveling down the Southeast fork of the
Kahiltna Glacier, we departed base camp in cool conditions early this morning. We then met a brisk wind as we rounded the corner on to the main fork of the glacier. As we ascended the wind continued to increase, biting with cold that gave a taste of the temperatures we'll encounter higher on Denali, the Great One. Our crew did very well for our first real day of travel making great time to our camp at 7,800'.
We built camp in short order and napped a few hours of the afternoon away hiding from the breeze and the intense sun rays! The dinner of soup, mac and cheese with bacon and a variety of cookies was welcomed by all, and the team continued bonding over stories from our varied and interesting backgrounds.
Tomorrow, with the weather playing out in our favor, we will carry food, fuel and other supplies up hill and establish a cache near 10,000'. All is well here as we let the evening rest settle in. Stay tuned for more updates...
RMI Guides Tyler, Garrett, Bryan and the team
On The Map
June 1, 2014 11:47 pm PT
It has been a perfect rest day for us. Not perfect climbing weather, but plenty nice at camp to enjoy the day. Although many climbers took advantage of the relatively good weather to go for
17,200' camp, many others were suspicious of the cloud cap over the summit that threatened winds on the Buttress. In fact, no guided groups went to 17,200' today. But we had no such decisions to make. Instead, we slept in until 9:00 then, as we've done before, and feasted on a sumptuous brunch of smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese. What decadence!
The guides had some chores and logistics to sort out, then we took the short tour east to the Edge of the World to take in the view from 14,000' overlooking the Northeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, and affording views way down the glacier to where our very first camp of the expedition was.
We've done a lot of climbing since then, and have developed as a strong team caring for the well being of each other as much as ourselves. It's nice seeing the kind of support these guys give each other.
Tomorrow brings us our biggest challenge of the trip, and everyone shares the mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness. We got through the headwall and fixed lines yesterday, but the Buttress itself is another beast. As is ascending the 3000' to 17,200', a new altitude record for many of us.
That this part of the route is the guides' favorite part attests to the aesthetics of the climbing, and I think the team will get excited when they get on it.
We're looking forward to a good, hard day. Because it will be a long day for us, which may even be followed by another even harder day (the summit?), this may be the last post of any length for a while.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guides
Brent Okita,
Leah Fisher, and
Nick Hunt
Sunday, June 1, 2014 11:34 pm PT
The best laid plans are always subject to change. Our first view out of the tent this morning was of blue sky, but when we turned our gaze towards the summit, we found a large lenticular cloud spinning over the mountain, with jets of snow shooting up into the sky. Needless to say, we spent another day in camp. Our prospects look good for tomorrow, with a favorable forecast of high pressure for the next several days. We've said this before, and some are wondering how much longer we can wait; the team made the decision today that Tuesday would be our definitive up/down day. On the plus side, a slew of independent climbers made the
jump to 17,000' today despite the winds, so that should alleviate some of the congestion tomorrow.
We redecorated our posh tent today with a sun painted in Gatorade, a hockey player's face (looking towards the Stanley Cup), and the quote "we're doin' it". Spirits are still high despite the waiting, and we have a lot of hope that tomorrow will deliver for us. For now: off to bed to rest up for the fixed lines and West Buttress tomorrow!
RMI Guides
Pete Van Deventer,
Robby Young,
Josh Maggard, and team
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Miss you Daddy Love you, cant wait to see you again
Posted by: Kaylee on 6/4/2014 at 10:20 pm
Fantastic!! What a thrilling accomplishment for the team! Your sisters send y’all a salute from a view of the ‘teeners’ in Co
Posted by: Deb on 6/4/2014 at 7:22 pm
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