Entries from Mt. McKinley

Alaska Seminar: Dave & Team Train at 9,800’

May 22, 2015

Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,800'

May 21, 2015 - 10:03 pm PT Here we are at 9,800' for a second night. This morning the winds continued to whip at the surrounding ridges and moving camp up the Kahiltna Dome was not prudent. However we were able to go for a venture towards Kahiltna Pass to see what there was to see. Good times trying to get over the bergschrund which was a trap door of deep faceted snow. Towards the top of the ridge we met firm icy conditions that forced us back down. Good times nevertheless! If the weather improves tomorrow we will make an attempt on the Dome. Good night! RMI Guide Leon Davis

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Down here in North Carolina, we had our first day at the pool yesterday! Stay warm. Love, Mom

Posted by: Judy Kenyon on 5/23/2015 at 5:28 am

Love the positive vibes from Guide Leon!

Posted by: Laura Bryson on 5/22/2015 at 5:51 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer and Team Carry to Windy Corner

May 21, 2015

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Josh Maggard

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

Wednesday, May 20th 6:11 pm PDT Our day was productive, if not easy. This morning the winds had abated, though not gone, and we seized our opportunity to make some headway. We swapped snowshoes for crampons, packed loads of food and fuel, and roped up for the climb to Windy Corner. The winds, not nearly as strong as yesterday, were nonetheless a bit blustery as we climbed and added a bit of extra challenge to the day, and everyone rose to that challenge. We made it to Windy Corner and cached our loads as the wind seemed to pick up a bit. We scooted back downhill to the comfort of our tents, and tucked in. By mid-afternoon, the winds returned to 11k Camp and brought snow with them. We'll see how the current pattern progresses, and in the morning we'll find out if the weather will allow us to move up, or whether we'll extend out stay at 11,200' for another day. For now we're snug in our beds. RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and Team

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Hi Jon!
As I looked at the picture of the team climbing with heavy packs I thought of our Mt. Fuji climb. Fuji must have been a piece of cake compared to what you and the team are experiencing. Hope that the weather will permit the team to advance to the 14,000’ base camp.
With warm thoughts and prayers for everyone!
Hugs,
Mom

Posted by: Kemai on 5/22/2015 at 1:25 am

Hi Renee, hope the weather gets better for you all. Photos look amazing. Hope your taking plenty of them. Miss you bulldog and staffy stare at the door waiting for you whenever they hear a noise outside. I’m nearly all packed ready to leave! Can’t wait to see you. GABS starts today will have a milk chai stout and finger lime ale for you! Love Jordy, Ralph & Meissa xoxo

Posted by: Jordan on 5/21/2015 at 3:44 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Walter and Team Carry to 16,200’

May 21, 2015

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

Wednesday, May 20th 3:19 pm PDT We took advantage of a beautiful morning today and bumped a cache of food and fuel up to 16,200 ft on the West Buttress, above the fixed ropes of the head wall outside of 14k camp. We made efficient work of the head wall and, as we neared the top, clouds and wind moved in around us. The weather was manageable, just not very pleasant. So once our cache hole was dug and our food and fuel was buried, we retreated back down the fixed ropes to the comfort of camp. The afternoon was spent relaxing as winds swirled around camp. We will take a rest day tomorrow to recover and acclimate further. The weather forecast for the next couple of days indicates strong winds up high, so we'll likely have a couple of days to rest here at 14,200' while we wait for a reasonable weather window to move up to high camp and have a crack at the summit. Hopefully the weekend will bring more favorable climbing weather. We'll keep you posted either way. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team

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Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Climb to Camp 2

May 21, 2015

Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,800'

Wednesday, May 20th 2:38 pm PDT Writing to you all from vibrating tents at 9800 ft. tonight. The team had a fine walk up from 7800 ft. this morning in decent weather, but the looming sense of something surrounding us was ever present. We started to make our camp as the winds picked up, snow falling and visibility waning. It was hard work for 3 or 4 hours before we had good walls and I've never seen the team work so well together - all are hard workers. We are hunkered down now and eagerly await what tomorrow brings. Hope you all are warm! RMI Guide Leon Davis and team

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Ed and team,

Thinking of all of you! Stay safe and hope the weather cooperates.

Enjoy!

Gayle

Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 5/22/2015 at 5:42 pm

It got chilly in PA, and then I remembered what you are experiencing and it suddenly didn’t seem so bad here. Hope you are staying warm and doing what you love. D & I are thinking of you. Jenny

Posted by: Jenny on 5/21/2015 at 10:54 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Knoff and Team Ready to Go

May 21, 2015

Posted by: Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 348'

Thursday, May 21st 10:02 am PDT We got the call this morning at breakfast that base camp is clear and the light is green. We are on the plane now ready for an adventure of a lifetime! Wish us luck and send us love. Our next dispatch will be from Mt. McKinley. Rock and Roll! Wednesday, May 20th 4:18 pm PDT Our team is doing great up here in Talkeetna, AK. We are swamped in gear, doing an inspection that would make the FAA proud. Nothing is going unseen and I am proud to announce that everyone is passing with flying colors. Overall I couldn't be more happy with the first impressions of what should be a strong team. Let's hope it stays that way. One never knows what can happen on Mt. McKinley. Prayers for good morning weather for flying tomorrow. Bye for now from Talkeetna. RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt, and Andy Hildebrand and Crew

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good luck to all the Denali climbers. Hopefully you will summit this time Greg but always remember safety first. Love always mom and dad2

Posted by: Dawn on 5/23/2015 at 8:00 am

Game-on Knoff & Team! Glad the wx was good and you got to fly out right away.
Enjoy the Kahiltna! G.Barber, enroute to AK! Made it to Cache Creek today. See you soon!

Posted by: Kerry on 5/22/2015 at 11:03 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer & Team Take a Rest Day at 11,200’

May 20, 2015

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Josh Maggard, Robby Young

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

May 20, 2015 - 12:07 am PT We wanted to get up to 13,500' to cache today, but the weather had other plans. Clouds and snow were moving quickly over the Polo Field and West Buttress above us, and gave us all the clues we needed to guess what would be going on at Windy Corner. After watching the trend for a couple of hours and not seeing any improvement, we decided to sit tight and take a tent day. Sure enough, around noon the wind direction shifted and brought strong, gusty winds to camp, along with a fair bit of snow. The team did the tent time triathlon, competing in three events: napping (best napping and longest), spades, and sport eating lunch food. By dinner, the clouds above us started to break and the sun peaked through. We've got 6 inches of nice new fluffy snow, and the view as we crawled into our sleeping bags was sparkly and beautiful. We'll add some more sleep hours, and hope that we wake up to conducive conditions for getting our cache in tomorrow! RMI Guides Pete, Josh, Robby, and team

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Matt sounds like you are having a lot of fun. I’m staying in touch with mom to see how you are doing. It has been raining here most of the day. Stay warm and be safe. Love you dearly. Auntie Marilyn

Posted by: Marilyn Collura on 5/21/2015 at 7:56 pm

Beautiful photos that have been posted. Hope the weather cooperates - stay safe and smart. Love you Robby (mom) :-)

Posted by: Diane Young on 5/21/2015 at 5:33 am

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Train at 14,200’ Camp

May 20, 2015

Posted by: Mike Walter, Billy Haas, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

May 19, 2015 - 11:40 pm PT Our team had another great day today. We had leisurely breakfast and then headed back down to Windy Corner to retrieve our cached gear that we left there two days ago. The weather was cloudy with light snow, which made for a comfortable walking temperature. After returning to camp, we reviewed fixed rope travel, in preparation for the next phase of our climb. Once we felt polished on the fixed rope training, we spent a few hours building walls for our camp and erecting a cook tent. We're quite comfortable now, here at the 14,200' camp in Genet Basin. We'll play tomorrow by ear, based on the weather. If it is nice out, we'll climb up above 16,000' to establish a cache of supplies for our high camp. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll take advantage of a full rest day tomorrow to recover and acclimate. Either option will be a benefit to our team. Everyone is doing well up here. We'll keep you posted as to how tomorrow goes. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Move to Camp 1

May 20, 2015

Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,800'

May 29, 2015 - 9:34 pm PT Good day- We are dispatching from a crowded Camp 1 this evening. We had a pleasant four hour walk today under cloudy skies on the main flow of the Kahiltna. We had a strong performance from the team and we plan to bump our camp up to 9,800' tomorrow morning. It looks like some weather is coming in so we might get some snow tonight. Here's to hoping we don't and we will talk to you all from Camp 2! RMI Guide Leon Davis

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The Millers and I followed Jenny’s safe return to State College via IM. With this daily blog, you don’t even seem thousands of miles away. Crazy world. Made dinner for the kids tonite. Baby Cakes says hi to Uncle Willie. Love, Mom

Posted by: Judith Kenyon on 5/20/2015 at 5:02 pm

Glad to hear the team is doing so well!

Posted by: Laura Bryson on 5/20/2015 at 4:28 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer & Team Rest at 11,000’ Camp

May 19, 2015

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Josh Maggard

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

May 19, 2015 - 12:39 am PT We woke to the sound of the mob leaving 11,000' Camp to move to 14,000'. Winds have prevented teams from moving up for several days, and so 11 has become a bit of a bottle neck. Happy to be tucked into warm sleeping bags and without a camp to move today, we kept dozing until the sun hit our tents. With the warmth, we smashed out a smoked salmon and bagel breakfast, and donned empty packs to retrieve the food and fuel that we cached yesterday. Back in time for an afternoon siesta, we spent some more time horizontal, and then did a quick review of our crampon and ice ax skills. A story filled dinner stretched into the night and now it's time to get some shut eye. We got the blog comments that you all posted today and read them over dinner. Many thanks. Tomorrow we'll hopefully boost some food and fuel up higher to windy corner to set us up for a move to 14,000'. Good night to all. We'll be in touch tomorrow. RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Josh Maggard, and team

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Critt I Love You!! Your lil sis is so proud. Keep being awesome!

Posted by: Heather Hartnett on 5/20/2015 at 6:13 am

So glad you are all well and safe. Kinda glad it’s not me freezing my butt off up there, but secretly wishing I was as strong and daring as you all. Push on to 14,000 with a warm heart of love and encouragement from us all back here Renee :-) We miss you and can’t wait for you to come back xxxxx

Posted by: Paul on 5/20/2015 at 4:22 am

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Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Train at Kahiltna Base Camp

May 19, 2015

Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

May 18, 2015 - 11:43 pm PT Hello- Our day in Base Camp was as busy as it can get. After a leisurely breakfast of pancakes bacon and coffee, we divided up to learn and practice beacon searches, surface hauling systems and rig our sleds for moving up river. A great day under a blazing sun that had us wondering how we can be surrounded by so much snow yet be so dang hot. Tomorrow we leave our camp loaded with five days of provisions and make our way towards Kahiltna Dome. We will talk again from Camp 1! RMI Guides Leon Davis, Lindsay Fixmer, Bridget Belliveau & Team

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Entries from Mt. McKinley

Alaska Seminar: Dave & Team Train at 9,800’

Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer and Team Carry to Windy Corner

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter and Team Carry to 16,200’

On The Map

Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Climb to Camp 2

Mt. McKinley: Knoff and Team Ready to Go

Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer & Team Take a Rest Day at 11,200’

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Train at 14,200’ Camp

On The Map

Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Move to Camp 1

Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer & Team Rest at 11,000’ Camp

On The Map

Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Train at Kahiltna Base Camp

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