Entries from Mt. McKinley
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
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Hello everyone!
Welcome to the start of our Denali Expedition!
The team arrived in Alaska yesterday. After loading 24 duffels into the van, equaling far too many pounds to mention, we made our way to the launching point of our trip: Talkeetna. Talkeetna means where the rivers meet and it is also where many different groups of people meet. It is a dead end down bustling with energy and great food. Tourist from cruises, climbers sunburned and ravenous, fresh climbers with wide eyes and eager all gather at the various restaurants to enjoy a drink and soak in the scenery.
Today was our prep day to get ready to fly tomorrow. After a scrumptious breakfast and several cups of coffee we headed to the hanger and exploded our gear. Before committing to the glacier we need to make sure everyone has the appropriate gear. The team passed with fly colors. Once all our gear was back in our duffle and backpack we divided the team into two for the planes. First we weighed each climber followed by their backpack and their duffle. We are carrying a lot of weight but looking at this team I think they are going to handle it just fine. With everything weighed and sorted we are set to jet in the morning. As long as the weather holds and clouds stay away, tonight will be our last night in a bed, last time flushing a toilet, and last time with cell service. Here's to disconnecting and enjoying the wilderness of Denali for the next few weeks.
Climb on,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Brrrrrr! You know what they say “clear skies, cold nights” and boy howdy was that true last night. Thankfully the team has the equivalent of at least two gooses worth of down to stay warm. Sun didn’t hit camp until 9:30 so breakfast was a puffy pants and big parka affair. Thankfully the solar radiation at this altitude works quickly and it was hotter than the center of a hot pocket before we knew it. In order to beat the peak of the days heat we quickly geared up and headed down hill to grab our cache at 13k. We loaded up and trudged back to camp with day dreams of eating the snacks we had cached. The rest of afternoon was spent lounging and devouring meats, cheeses and cookie dough. Tomorrow is a full rest day where excessive snacking is encouraged!
See ya later alligators!
Avery, Jack, Liam and The Team.
Trip,
You have many fans and supporters back here in WY, MN, CA, and MI!! We are all so excited for you!! Have an exhilarating, safe climb!!
Love you
!
Posted by: Lorna on 6/15/2022 at 5:55 am
Go team! We are cheering you all on. (And don’t you worry MAP, your uncle isn’t the least bit worried about your status as current badass of the family! He’s totally good w it
Posted by: Boulder Beckers on 6/11/2022 at 7:17 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,310'
Thursday, June 9, 2022 9:42pm PT
RMI Guide Nikki Champion let us know that their Denali Team was 100% on the summit! They are back at camp resting and will give us full details of their climb soon!
Congratulations Team!
Jeff-Rob! What a tremendous accomplishment to be proud of! Wishing you and all your team a safe descent.
Lynn
Posted by: Lynn on 6/11/2022 at 7:04 pm
Congratulations Erik! Awesome job, now come back to work!
Posted by: Marc Taylor on 6/10/2022 at 4:39 pm
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - 10:43 pm PT
Well would you look at that, we’re back at it again. We walked the same stretch as yesterday but today it was both hotter and harder. The team persevered and marched into 14,000' Camp in good style. It was a long day breaking down camp, moving and then setting up again. After a quick burrito meal everyone crawled into bed for some well deserved rest.
Sweet dreams blog reader. I know we will be sleeping well tonight.
Chip chip cheerio,
RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team.
Mike!! Both Matt Sky and myself want to remind you to do your push-ups on the mountain!
Posted by: Kyle Davis on 6/10/2022 at 8:10 am
Keep up the amazing work team! I love reading the daily blog !! Miss you Heather Hart! You’ve got this girl!!
Posted by: April Litwiller on 6/10/2022 at 5:49 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'
Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - 8:33 pm PT
With favorable weather for the next few days, we took the opportunity to rest without missing our weather window. We woke up to the sun, and ate a mellow breakfast of oatmeal and poptarts. The rest of the day was spent napping, and adjusting to our new High Camp. With good weather our plan is to climb tomorrow. The rest of the evening will be spent eating an early dinner, filling water bottles, and getting our beauty rest in.
Wish us luck, tomorrow should be the big day!
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
Woohoo! Good luck guys!
Posted by: Jerey Wilson on 6/9/2022 at 12:08 pm
Best of luck as you prepare to summit!! Hoping for weather and elements to be in your favor :-) it’s been so fun following along on your journey
Posted by: M on 6/9/2022 at 11:49 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - 11:39 pm PT
Today we had our second birthday of the trip, mine! We celebrated by loading up the heavy packs and making the move to 17,000' Camp. We headed out this morning with clear skies, but low clouds slowly overtook 14,000' Camp and the fixed lines. We remained in and out of the clouds for the entire climb of the West Buttress, with occasional bouts of sunshine and snow. Overall, a beautiful, tough day on the Buttress. Right before dinner time we rolled into 17,000' Camp, where we set up camp and started making water and hots for a late dinner. The next few days of weather look favorable, so I think we'll squeeze the summit in within the next two days. Check back in tomorrow either post summit, or post rest day!
Happy Birthday Nikki! We’re so happy things seem to be going well for the team. Hope Taylor and Emma fixed you dinner last night and let you sleep in a bit:). May the weather gods continue to treat you all well. Go Team! Love, the Wilhelms
Posted by: Tracy on 6/8/2022 at 5:39 pm
Happy Birthday, Nikki! Videos are breathtaking! I can feel the wind and snow from my easy chair! Way to go! Cheers, Jerry, your 3rd level uncle, twice removed!!?
Posted by: Jerry Worden on 6/8/2022 at 4:04 pm
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - 9:46 pm PT
Welcome back to another fine edition of the Denali blog! Today we awoke to somewhat stormy conditions so we hit the snooze and waited an hour for the weather to improve. Once the sky was looking happy we snarfed breakfast and took off towards the 13k cache garden. The first obstacle was the intimidating hill directly out of 11,000' Camp known as Motorcycle Hill, which was no problem as the team zoomed up it. We then turned the corner and surmounted the famous Squirrel Hill (less long and steep but with more exposure). Next we galloped across the long but flat feature known as the Polo Field! We took our last break at the edge of the infamous Windy Corner, which happened to be windless today! Finally after another hour of walking we were at the cache garden. Luck would have it that we found an empty cache hole! We tossed our excess supplies in it, covered it up and turned down hill. In the blink of an eye we were back at 11,000' Camp relaxing till dinner time. Tomorrow should the good weather continue to hold we’ll move to 14,000' camp!
Thanks for tuning in…
RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team!
Love this Denali blog- keep them coming - entertaining, insightful and much appreciated! Keep up your great work team - we are all pulling for you!
Posted by: Kim on 6/8/2022 at 1:06 pm
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Monday, June 6, 2022 - 11:18 pm PT
Today began with a very difficult decision. Should we eat a full breakfast of cereal and fig bars? Or should we just coffee and charge down hill to the cache where a supreme breakfast awaited? Well the team decided, drink coffee, get cache and then have a relaxing brunch feast. What meal could be so enticing that we would exert ourselves on a retrieval mission with only caffeine running through our veins? Well glad you asked! It was breakfast burritos. Specifically pepper, onion, hashbrowns, eggs, Beecher’s cheese and MOOSE meat burritos. So yes, it was worth the wait. The rest of the day was a mix of napping, snacking, chatting, stretching, reading and card playing. It was an ideal day. Tomorrow we’re heading uphill to cache around 13,000' and along the way we’ll experience a series of classic Denali features! You’ll have to wait for the next update to learn all about them, oooh what a cliff hanger!
Until next time dear reader,
RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the Team
Well that sounds like a Fantastic Day!! Cannot wait to hear what other gastro delicacies are in store! Michael! Know you are having a Blast! Sending lots of love to you and the Team! Go go GO!! Alicia xoxo
Posted by: Alicia Becker on 6/8/2022 at 7:39 am
Sounds like a delicious brunch and worth the wait. I am happy to hear the rest of the day was also lovely. I can’t wait to learn about the different classic Denali features. Thank you so much for these updates! Sending the entire team all the powerful vibes possible!
Ps- Heather Hart: your CBJD family misses you and are so super proud of you and what you have accomplished. xoxo
Posted by: Janine Paradiso on 6/7/2022 at 7:22 pm
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
June 6 - 4:50 PT
Another beautiful morning for a rest day. Woke up with the sun to a filling meal of breakfast burritos. Weather is looking more optimistic, so we are taking today to rest, prep and pack with the hopes of moving to high camp tomorrow. Otherwise, a generally quiet day at 14 camp.
Hope to check in from 17,000' feet tomorrow!
Keep up the great work Aaron and Lori Stafford. We continue to read the updates as they come through, praying you have a successful and safe expedition.
The Penrose Family
Posted by: Will Penrose on 6/7/2022 at 9:50 am
So anxious for you to summit…and get home. Can’t believe your good weather. What are you doing while resting? Great weekend at TOC. Make your own pizza on the Boardwalk with 4 little pizza ovens going. Eat your heart out Little Caesar’s! Then, a Bocci tournament with Bellinis. It got chilly, so I provided the blankets. All is well with your house. Love you.
Posted by: Emigh Litch on 6/7/2022 at 5:38 am
Sunday, June 5, 2022 - 11:08 pm PT
A snowy rest day in the books. We woke up late to clear skies, and a late breakfast of bagels and smoked salmon. Throughout the day the clouds rolled in, and it continued to lightly snow throughout our entire rest day. We shoveled, napped, snacked and prepped for the next weather window to summit. Weather doesn't look ideal for the next few days, but we will continue to rest and hunker down until the weather allows. Check in tomorrow!
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You go Grand daughter!! So excited for you. Looking forward to seeing you when you come down.
Posted by: Nancy Chenay on 6/13/2022 at 11:48 am
Excited for this blog and all the updates! Go Nathan, Yvonne and Team!! So grateful you have amazing guides for this adventure! <3
Posted by: Ellen Lewis on 6/10/2022 at 10:04 pm
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