Entries from Denali

Wednesday June 21, 2023

Today the team woke up to Groundhog Day!

It has continued to snow but was relatively mild as far as temps and wind go. We masterfully killed a chunk of time in the morning by making a long brunch. After retiring to our tents for the afternoon, we regrouped and planned our potential launch to 17k camp for the next day over some golden, brown, and delicious burritos.

RMI Guide Joey Manship and Team

Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - 10:38 pm PT

Another storm day at 11,000'. Though not the worst storm, mostly cloud and snow without a lot of wind where we are... but of course that is why we are camped here. We did a long and slow breakfast, sipping coffee and telling stories. We hung out in our tents, napping, reading and watching tv and then it was burrito night. We celebrated Mitch's birthday and celebrated solstice in our snowstorm.  We hope to get climbing again soon but we need the storm to move along first.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - 7:19 pm PT

Our night of snow storms was briefly broken by clear skies and stunning views, at least for the 2am night owls. By 7, back to snow and low visibility, thus another rest day.

The team finally woke at a leisurely 8am, and gathered in the cook tent for an extraordinary breakfast. Hard at work, our tireless guides had put together pan-fried breakfast burritos that would give any cafe a run for its money. No cap. Seth may consider an alternate career as Chipotle’s chief burrito roller. Sated and happy, the group later headed out during a brief weather interlude to practice crampon skills. The next days of the climb will necessitate these on the steeper and icier terrain. With no one stabbed or stepped on, the outing was considered a success. Relaxation ensured the remainder of the afternoon as movies were watched, books were read, and an unlikely duet belted out classics by The Who. 

We are well rested and ready to hopefully cache just past Windy Corner tomorrow, and continue our journey upwards.

RMI climber Alex Smith

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 11:52 pm PT

The word of the day is casual. We woke up casually. We ate brunch super casually. It started around 9:45 and ended around 12:30pm. We casually devoured breakfast burritos fortified by wild Alaskan game sausage provided by the legendary Bleys. Food comas quickly afflicted much of the crew. Everyone casually waddled to their tents for the afternoon to indulge in naps and further snacking. Some folks managed to stay conscious enough to read books and watch TV or movies. Eventually the dinner bell was rung and the tents casually began to rustle with life. Dinner tonight is a repeat of a classic - ramen but this time with the addition of some newly acquired Korean spice paste. It added some much needed flavor as our ability to taste is deadened at this altitude. Another weather day has passed uneventfully, but each day we wait we get more clarity about the weather for our potential summit window. Anticipation is slowly growing amongst the team as the day to begin our summit push gets closer.

RMI Guide Jack Delaney and the Bond Girls

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 9:45 pm PT

Snow day at 11,000'.  Thankfully the wind calmed down as we went to bed last night.  Through the night and much of today it was just light snow and a lot of cloud. As we ate dinner and told each other stories in the dining tent, the storm ramped up and now, as we climb in tents for the night, it is officially DUMPING snow.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 8:20 pm PT

After a night of heavy snow we had an awesome breakfast of blueberry pancakes. We then reinforced our camp in anticipation of the continuing storm. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and so I was inspired to write a poem about our adventure. Here goes:

Denali is the mountain, they call it the “great one”.

Here in North America it’s second to none.

To get to the summit, that is our goal. 

Standing so majestic, it captures the soul.

On our way to the top, we have to dig deep.

With courage and strength, a reward we will reap.

On this journey, new friends have been made.

The memories we share will surely never fade.

Each step gets us closer to reaching our dream.

I know we can do it, we have a great team.

Look up to the clouds, the beauty that we see.

Rising so high, its name is Denali.

RMI climber Mark Kulow

Monday 19, 2023

The sun quickly parted from 14,000’ camp this morning and we were then met with slushy snow.  We had a brunch fit for kings as Guide Andy procured brie and other items from descending parties. It added a certain sophistication to our bacon cream cheese bagels.  The day kicked off with a chess open in the main tent, joined by a local chess legend from International Mountain Guides, the team *cough Lenhardt* were humbled by their opponents’ prodigious skill and unassuming demeanor. Nevertheless, Guide Jack, Katharine and our very special Big Strong Andy assembled an impromptu chess board made of duct tape and packaged substances whose legal status is in question back on the lower 48.  The games were played with much merriment and sportsmanship.  For his final act, Guide Joey prepared for us another purloined comestible. The meatballs tasted even meatier as we were not the ones who brought them up.

As the snow falls, the team, hydrated and breathing light, await further developments in weather to allow for progress later in the week. Our pieces continue to act in concert for the real checkmate.

RMI Guides Andy, Jack, Joey and Team

Monday, June 19, 2023 - 10:07 pm PT

At 5 AM there were already some signs of the storm coming in up high but thankfully it was calm where we were. We left camp at 7:30 and gained 1,000' in 90 minuntes.  We put up camp at 11,000' right next to Dom's RMI team and dug in deep.  By midday it was snowing and the wind was coming up.  We sat out the afternoon in tents. Dinner was in our dining tent in reasonably good shelter as it got a bit meaner outside. We saw a number of unsuccessful teams passing through headed down. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, June 19, 2023 - 8:49 pm PT

We awoke early to crisp cold air, and stepped out of our tents onto the fresh snow which was like a field of frozen Baja-blast. We then headed downhill to bring up our cache, The sound of our snowshoes crunching on the ice sounded not too unlike biting into a fresh Crunchwrap supreme. Once we reached our cache we stuffed our duffel bags like they were beefy 5-layer burritos, and then we were on our way back up the “unrelenting” hill to camp. The sight of our orange sleds sliding across the glacier resembling slices of bacon gliding across a skillet. Out in the distance we had a spectacular view of Mt. Denali, a colossal tower of ice and black rock, looking like a delicious Oreo milkshake.

Once back at camp, after a quick meal of smoked salmon and cream-cheese bagels, there was no time to rest as we prepped our  camp for some snowy and windy weather for the next few days, cutting ice blocks and building walls in an assembly line like a bunch of McDonald’s workers prepping the most delicious McDouble….And it looks like this McDouble will be our home for the next few days.

RMI Climber Joey Myers

Sunday, June 18, 2023 - 10:02 pm PT

A much better start to the day today.  We made good use of it and were on the trail by 6:50.  Glacier conditions continue to be excellent with few crevasses. We intended to move to 9,500 ft but the team was doing so well that we pushed on up to 10,000 at Kahiltna Pass. Word is that a storm will hit tomorrow evening. We wanted to be closer to the shelter of 11,000' Camp and took the precaution of sending Dustin, Michael and Sam up with food and fuel to lighten loads tomorrow. They were back in camp at 6pm. We enjoyed dinner together in the dining tent. The fathers on the team told of their children as we marked Father's Day on Denali.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn