Entries from Mt. McKinley

Thursday, June 2, 2022 1:35 am PT

SUMMIT! 

The last two weeks of working hard on Denali payed off today. At 5:30 pm today we stood on top of the highest point in North America!

It was a beautiful sunny day, with a bit of wind but not too much to turn us around. It was a relatively quiet day with only a few other teams trying for the summit. The team performed incredibly well and summited in style! Now we are back at 17 camp, enjoying clear views all the way down to the tundra, where you can see the Alaskan sun shimmering off lakes over 15,000 feet below us.

Tomorrow we start the process of retracing our steps back down the mountain.

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team.

According to the TV Show Lost - all good looking people sit on the right side of an airplane. Well, that's clearly what our team did because we have a great looking crew! After meeting up at the Anchorage airport we hopped in the shuttle and headed towards Talkeetna! There was no awkward silence as everyone quickly started chatting and getting to know one another. A quick grocery stop and 2 hours later we were in Talkeetna with amazing views of the Alaska Range! Our travel weary team rallied the last of their energy for a group dinner and then we wandered back to the bunkhouse for some well-deserved rest. 

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and Team

Wednesday, June 1, 2022 - 12:52 am PT

Quick dispatch: We are homeward bound. We packed up camp at 17,000' and started down the West Buttress. We got to high five the team led by JT Schmitt as they passed us on their ascent. At 14,000, we regrouped, grabbed everything we had left, and considerably heavier, started towards 11,000' Camp. By 6 we had made it to 11,000'. The air is so much thicker! We dig up our cache from what seems like ages ago, and made a quick meal in team Champion's cook tent. We'll sleep for a few hours, then wake for an early push to the air strip. With any luck we'll be in Talkeetna mid morning tomorrow.

RMI Guide Pete, Leif, Erika, and team

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 7:26 pm PT

Today was a tough, but successful day. We woke up before the sun, and had a quick breakfast of granola. After our speedy breakfast, we began loading up our backpacks with the group and personal loads to cache somewhere above Windy Corner. After about an hour packing, and organizing we were roped up and heading up Motorcycle Hill. This was our first day in crampons, and without the sleds. We worked our way up Motorcycle Hill, and Squirrel Hill in the shade finally hitting the sun by the time we made it across the Polo Field. As we made our way up, the team was moving well and the temperatures stayed manageable so we were able to make it all the way to 14,000' Camp to cache all our group and personal gear and food we don't need for the next few days. We took a long deserved break, gave the descending RMI team a hug, and headed back downhill. After a long day, we rolled back into our 11,000' Camp. The stoves are going, and we will soon enjoy a meal of ramen before heading to bed.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 7:31 pm PT

The morning after our summit push saw a speedy descent from 17,000' Camp as winds increased along with our desire to reach warmer, thicker air. We left our home-away-from-home of 14,000' Camp early in the afternoon and were soon making our way around Windy Corner and down towards 11,000'. Every step brought us ever so slightly closer to the airstrip and the end of our expedition. We rolled into 11,000' Camp in time for one last tortellini dinner and a quick cat nap. By midnight the sun had dipped below the tundra and we knew it was time to “rip the band aid off” and get to the airstrip. Despite heavy packs and tired legs, an all-night stroll down the lower Kahiltna provided a beautiful and fitting end to what has been an unforgettable 21 days in one of the greatest ranges on Earth. By 8:30 am the whole team was assembled at Kahiltna International Airport and by 10 am we found ourselves back on the tarmac in Talkeetna. It’s been about 36 hours since I last slept so I need to wrap up this rambling summary and get some sleep, but suffice to say we are all happy to be back in the land of green plants, hot showers and cold beverages, and will be remembering the experiences of the past three weeks for years to come.

RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 10:08 pm PT

We woke up to a beautiful morning at 14,000' Camp and decided to move to 17,000'! The team did well and the forecast looks good for tomorrow. Stay tuned to see what we get up to tomorrow!

RMI Guides JT, Jackson, Matias and the RMI team

Summit Day Recap - Monday, May 30, 2022

Things were clear and calm this morning and it looked the perfect day to go for the summit. We fired stoves early, ate breakfast as the sun rose on camp, and packed our bags. We left for the Autobahn, a long ascending traverse from 17,000' Camp to Denali pass at 18,000'. To get there, we walked back into the morning shade which kept things chilly, but overall really pleasant. From Denali Pass, we climbed past Zebra rocks, still warm and pleasant and in the sun now. As we rounded the Arch Deacons Tower, the wind caught us. Probably 15-20 mph, but biting. We covered our faces and continued on. We were able to get a bit of respite from it on the Football Field, and up Pig Hill. The summit ridge had plumes streaming over it and it was touch and go whether we would be able to traverse the last piece of terrain. We tried and the initial piece was windy, but we were able to move through it and as we crossed over the ridge we got some protection. We summitted at 5:15pm, tagged the top and took a couple hasty photos, before heading back down.

Tomorrow we will pack camp and start moving towards the air strip. We'll stop to sleep for a few hours at 11,000' or the base of Ski Hill and then be in Base camp to hopefully catch rides back to civilization the following morning.

RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and team

Monday, May 30, 2022 - 10:43 pm PT

Today we rested again at 14,000' Camp. The team has been soaking up the rest, eating lots of food and drinking plenty of fluids. Thanks for following along and we will keep you posted on what we end up doing tomorrow!

Thanks,

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team.

Monday, May 30, 2022 - 2:40 pm PT

Happy Memorial Day. After a few early mornings, we finally got to "sleep in". Waking up as the sun hit our tents, we were all drinking coffee and making breakfast burritos by 8:30 am. With clear skies above, and the cloud deck sitting right below 11 Camp we loaded up our empty packs and sleds to head downhill into the cloud to grab our cache. After a few short minutes downhill, we filled our packs and sleds back up with the gear and food we had left. The short uphill went by quickly compared to the last few days, and it felt good to shake out the legs before spending the rest of the day resting.

Tomorrow we begin this whole process again, with hopes to cache somewhere above Windy Corner. Until then we will be resting, napping and snacking at camp.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team

Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 10:27 pm PT

Unlike two days ago, when we woke up there wasn't a hint of wind in sight. We had word from Mike Walter's team that the weather at 17,000' was perfect to, so we launched out of 14,000' Camp in high spirits. It was one of the most pleasant days I can remember on the West Buttress. Temps were comfortable, no wind, and the views unparalleled. It's also some of the most fun climbing. We were at camp by early afternoon, set up tents, fired an early dinner, and congratulated Mike's team as they came back from the summit. Things look really good for us tomorrow, so fingers crossed, we'll make our push in the morning.

RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and team