Entries from Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,600'

We woke in the shadow of Denali, but the skies were clear and promised sun. Bagels and lox got everything started, and since the sun was shining we made hay. We grabbed 34 bags of food, 17 days worth, and a bunch of gas and moved it all uphill to 10,600 or so, just below 11,000' Camp. The loads were heavy and Ski Hill made us work for it, but compared to yesterday, the loads didn't even compare. Today's work set us up well to move to our 11,000' Camp with reasonable loads and establish our new home! 7,600' Camp has been fun, but we are ready to move on. Loaded quesadillas for dinner have us feeling the oncoming food coma, so for now, over and out from the Kahiltna glacier. RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Jenny, and the team

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G’day from Sydney Australia,It’s 20degC and we feel cold !Well on schedule so far- hard work but hopefully enjoying the experience in particular such surroundings.In retirement we feel part of the adventure but without the pain thanks to the regular messages from Mark and Rachel and the great RMI updates - especially the photos - keep safe - we are with you all in spirit.

Posted by: Philip and Yvonne Calvert on 5/19/2017 at 12:14 am

Hi all!
Pete Bilodeaus sis here… Just wanted to say hi! Looks like beautiful weather and unbelievable scenery! Love the blog updates…you all are bad ass!!!

Have fun and be safe! Thinking of you all..
Carol

Posted by: Carol Goetz on 5/18/2017 at 7:08 pm

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Set Cache at 17K Camp

May 16, 2017

Elevation: 14,200'

May 16, 2017 We had another productive day yesterday, as we put in a cache of food and fuel all the way up to our high camp at 17,200'. We crawled out of the sleeping bags early and braved a bitterly cold morning (-20F) to get a head start of the day. We climbed in the shade for our first hour and enjoyed the first rays of sunlight at our first break. Everyone climbed smoothly up the fixed ropes up to 16,200'. The next 1,000' was climbing the ridge top on the West Buttress with thousands of feet of relief on either side of us. We spent about an hour at 17,200', digging a cache hole and breathing the rare air. It was a long, hard day and everyone did well. Now, we are taking a much deserved rest day. We are now in position to move to high camp and take a shot at the summit. The weather will dictate the next move, but right now the forecast looks good for a summit bid in the next few days. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Move to Camp 2

May 16, 2017

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway

Elevation: 7,600"

May 15, 2017 This morning, the team arose bright and early with the sun to enjoy a nice, hot breakfast before packing up camp for the move to Camp two, at roughly 7,600 feet. After rigging our sleds and burying our cache, we started our long walk up the Kahiltna Glacier. The team did great and after only five short hours, we pulled into camp, tired but excited. Another hour or so later and camp was built. The team took a well deserved rest before joining the guides in the cook tent for dinner and dessert. Everyone's all tucked into their tents for the night now, resting up for tomorrow's carry to cache supplies up higher on the mountain. Hopefully we'll get to enjoy more sunshine tomorrow! Thanks for following along, RMI Guides Jenny, Jess, Pete and the team

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Joel,
Cannot wait to hear about your adventure. Note from Linda at the gym (in Sue’s class). Stay safe!

Posted by: Linda Luth on 5/17/2017 at 10:10 pm

A lot of best wishes from all of us in Pinnacle, Denver.
We are following your daily updates.
Enjoy every moment and take a lot of pictures.
TEAM JORDAN !!

Posted by: Danellys Perez on 5/16/2017 at 7:37 am

Denali Expedition: Van Deventer & Team On Their Way

May 15, 2017

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway

Elevation: 7,300'

May 14, 2017 It took some patience, but we made it onto the glacier! The clouds hung low this morning and took their time lifting. In the meantime the webcam at Kahiltna Base Camp showed bluebird skies and a beautiful day. It's hard to wait patiently to start something that we've been building towards for so long, but it paid off. At 3:00 pm or so we got the green light to fly and we were off. The pilots at K2 Aviation are the best and we had a smooth ride into Base Camp with our noses pressed to the windows ogling the steep spires and knife ridges of the Alaska Range. With the late departure we decided to spend the night at Base Camp and get things sorted for the walk to Ski Hill tomorrow. So we're headed to bed, excited to finally start moving towards our objective tomorrow. We send our best from the land of the midnight sun, RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway, and team

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Visit the Edge of the World

May 15, 2017

Elevation: 14,200'

May 14, 2017 Happy Mother's Day! We celebrated Mother's Day by taking a rest/acclimatization day at 14k. The weather was beautiful and we were able to get some much needed rest and dry out all of our gear. We took a leisurely stroll out to the Edge of the World to take on the magnificent views of the Kahiltna Glacier nearly 7000' below us. We also took time for continued training with fixed rope travel and running belays, which we will likely employ tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, we plan to carry a load of supplies up high on the West Buttress so we will be ready to move to high camp soon. We'll keep you posted. Again, happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. Especially: Jeanne, Liz, Mimi, Kelly, Cynthia, Diane, Jarah, Victoria, Lea, Judy, Gale, Roberta, Pam, Joanne, Martina, Meme, Ann, Nancy, Debbie, & Renee. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Denali Expedition: Team Van Deventer Packed & Ready

May 14, 2017

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway

Elevation: 348'

May 14, 2017 - 9:35 am PT The May 12th Denali Team is loaded and ready to climb. We spent yesterday in town packing, repacking, sorting food, and enjoying the Talkeetna restaurant scene. Our bags are weighed, sorted, and now we just need weather to fly. Rain moved in overnight, but the news this morning is that weather in the range is good, so once things clear out here, we should be ready to launch for base camp. Hopefully that's sooner than later. We'll give another shout this evening and let everyone know how it went. RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

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Hi everyone… (Lax, Raghu’s wife)

Really awesome feeling to see all the progress guys :) Keep going and be safe…

Raghu- Mauna is doing great… :) can’t wait to hear the stories of the journey and of course to see all those beautiful pictures ;)

Lax

-Thanks for the updates !! and we are waiting everyday for the new post..

Posted by: Lakshmi gompa on 5/19/2017 at 12:51 pm

Hey there Jt!

I know you are having the time of your life now and I am so happy for you! You’re on my mind and in my heart daily. I know you will do great! I can’t wait to see all the beautiful pictures and hear the amazing stories when you get back. I love you bunches!

With love,
Crystal

(To the whole team, prayers and best of luck! You got this!)

Posted by: Crystal Kingsbury on 5/16/2017 at 5:22 am

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Back Carry Supplies to 14K Camp

May 14, 2017

Elevation: 14,200'

May 13, 2017 - 10:43 pm PT Our team had another productive day today. After a well deserved rest this morning, we headed back downhill to our cache near Windy Corner. Fifteen minutes after leaving camp we found ourselves back at our cache. Upon digging up our supplies, we loaded up our packs and headed back to our camp in Genet Basin. In less than an hour we were back at camp. We also spent some time today reviewing and practicing fixed line travel using ascenders. We will tackle the fixed lines on our next active day as we plan to make a carry of supplies up near high camp. We will likely take a rest day tomorrow and try to make a cache up high on Monday. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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So glad to hear all signs point to a summit later this week. Back on the home front, I had to call a plumber to replace our leaking water heater and running toilet, Pat D. to fix the pump in the pond, and I haven’t figured out who I could call to put in the air conditioners as we are looking at 90 degrees this weekend and house guests for two nights. Please summit soon!
Wishing all were quiet on the home front…Nancy

Posted by: Nancy Hines on 5/17/2017 at 6:01 am

You are actually going to do it ... I’m a little jealous!! Well done guys and keep pushing hard. Wishing you calm winds, warm sunshine, good company, a fabulous experience and - soon - some cold beers at base camp. Be safe.

Posted by: Adelle on 5/17/2017 at 1:32 am

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Move to 14K Camp

May 13, 2017

Elevation: 14,200'

May 12, 2017 - 10:49 pm PT We rose early this morning to bitter cold temperatures and clear skies, with just a light breeze blowing through camp. Reluctantly we left the comfort of our sleeping bags and fired up the stoves. After a few hours we were fed, hydrated, and had camp broken down, and we were off climbing up Motorcycle Hill. We were the first group out of camp by a long shot, so we had the mountain to ourselves. After cresting Motorcycle Hill, we tackled our next challenge, Squirrel Hill. After Squirrel Hill, we had a little reprieve on the relatively flat Polo Fields. We climbed up and around Windy Corner, passed our cache site from yesterday, and continued into Genet Basin, the 14,200' camp. It was a hard day with heavy packs, but everyone climbed hard. We arrived in camp with plenty of time to build camp in the sunshine and get some rest before dinner. Tomorrow's plan will involve sleeping in before breakfast to let the sun warm our chilly tents. Then we will head back downhill to Windy Corner to retrieve our cache. We'll check in again tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Go go Mike + crew ~ Wish you great / safe climb…Best and Bless Waltero…Just back from Peru ~ Summit Rainbow Mtn / Vinicunca

Posted by: Waltero Glover on 5/14/2017 at 6:34 am

Well done - Thom Todd David and team. Following you all like a real stalker. Wishing you all the best.
Adelle
Sunny South Africa

Posted by: Adelle on 5/14/2017 at 5:17 am

Denali Expediton: Walter & Team Carry to 13,700’

May 12, 2017

Elevation: 11,200'

May 11, 2017 - 11:07 pm PT The weather was perfect and we took advantage of it by carrying heavy backpacks loaded with supplies to our cache at 13,700', on the far side of Windy Corner. Climbing conditions were great and everyone did well. After burying our cache, we returned back to our camp at 11,200'. Hopefully tomorrow's weather will cooperate and we can bump camp up to 14,200'. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Sit Tight at 11,200’ Camp

May 10, 2017

Elevation: 11,200'

The snow has stopped and the storm has passed. We ended up getting 3-4 feet of snow. Today was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and light winds here at 11,200' Camp. We decided to take another rest day today to let the snow settle and reduce the avalanche hazard. We spent the day drying our gear and getting ready for our cache tomorrow. Tomorrow (weather permitting) we will carry supplies up around Windy Corner and make a cache at around 13,700'. Or at least that's the plan. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Hi Rue and Mike,

Following along and wishing you a safe and amazing climb!

George

Posted by: George Nimmo on 5/11/2017 at 10:25 am

Hi Todd, Thom, Dave & Mike,

Watching your progress and hoping for good weather and safe conditions.

All the best

Rogan

Posted by: Rogan Davies on 5/10/2017 at 10:14 pm