Entries from Mt. McKinley

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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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Move to 14,000’ Camp

May 19, 2015

Posted by: Billy Haas, Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,000'

May 18, 2015, 11:16 pm PT Hello from beautiful 14 camp! We arrived today under sunny skies and warm temps with light winds that gusted a bit higher as we rounded the aptly named Windy Corner. The move took us just under 5.5 hours and everyone climbed strong and then worked extremely hard building a solid camp here in Genet Basin. Tomorrow our plan is to return to our cache at 13,600, retrieve the rest of our food and fuel, and fully set up shop here in our new location. The views from camp are spectacular and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner of lentils and rice while familiarizing ourselves with the incredible scenery. Our team wants to say thank you to everyone who left comments on our blog. We received them this morning and the boost in morale helped propel us into camp today! Here are a few personal messages from the team members! Keep the positive energy coming our way! Thanks for following along! RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall Hey, Christy, Phillip, gabe, Annie, things going well. Sure miss all of u. Can't wait to see u. Hoping to summit next week or so. Love u all, Brian. To all my family and friends, thanks for cheering us on! It's quite the adventure, the views are incredible. We're staying safe and I'm proud of what we've achieved so far. Can't wait to go further! Dan Dear fam and friends, thanks for following this wild adventure. Getting chilly as we venture up higher. Looking to hit the summit within this next week. Love you fam, go Rangers!! To all friends and loved ones following our progress Thnk you for the posts allis well at 14 camp love you all! Kearney Sagehorn Love hearing all the support! For my fellow Bison, I am flying the guidon at every camp and hope to take it to the summit. "Move out the Way!!" For the family, your in my thoughts constantly and look forward to getting back home safely. Brooke, give the boys a hug and kiss for me. I love you all! - Chris

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Keep pushing Brian. You have been in my prayers. Take in the majesty that you are surrounded by and nail this climb. Amazed at your tenacity. Proud to be your friend! Keep it up brother. You will be home soon.

Posted by: Bill Myers on 5/20/2015 at 7:20 am

You got this Brian and team! I sure hope you figured out your Go Pro so I can watch what you are experiencing.

Posted by: Klay Maynard on 5/19/2015 at 5:40 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Carry to Windy Corner

May 18, 2015

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

May 17, 2015 - 11:05pm PST Hello All, We awoke this morning to decreasing winds and clear skies, which gave us the window we've been waiting for to carry equipment around Windy Corner and put in a cache at 13,600'. Our team climbed strong and did a great job managing the few wind gusts we sustained... staying balanced and efficient while moving to higher elevations. We returned to camp in the late afternoon and feasted on quesadilla's with peppers, onions, chicken, and plenty of cheese before turning in for some well deserved rest. Our forecast is looking good and we hope to move to 14,000' tomorrow. It'll be a big day, so we'll rise early and break camp in order to give us plenty of time to get settled in our new home up in Genet Basin. Thanks for following along! RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall & Team

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We’re following you, Solveig, as you climb McKinley. It’s great to hear your progress. Joe & Dianne

Posted by: joe Griffith on 5/19/2015 at 10:02 am

Hi dad this is Gabe, hope you are having fun. Denali is on electrical fence without flags and rocket is done and ready to launch. Hope you get home sometime soon.

Posted by: Gabe on 5/19/2015 at 8:41 am

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Alaska Seminar: Leon Davis & Team Summit Radio Tower

May 18, 2015

Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

May 17, 2015 - 10:24pm PST Good evening all, Today was a great day to be in the mountains! The sun shone bright this morning as we left camp for the north side of Radio Tower. We found great conditions moving up and the ridge offered us amazing panoramas of Mt Hunter, Foraker, and Denali. The team performed very well all day and we spent the late afternoon sitting in shade to review knots. Tomorrow will be tech training intensive here at camp. Pancakes & bacon for breakfast! RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

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Will, I’m sure you were in your element with the knot tying work!! Have a great day today. Love, Mom

Posted by: Judy Kenyon on 5/19/2015 at 4:45 am

Leon, I’ve climbed with you two times on Rainier and have great respect for your guiding skills. McKinley is still on the bucket list and hope to summit some day. Take care and blue skies. Jim

Posted by: Jim on 5/18/2015 at 8:40 pm

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Alaska Alpine Seminar: Elias & Team Ready to Fly to Talkeetna

May 17, 2015

Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Sean Collon

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Good morning! We're packing up as we speak, and are scheduled to fly back to Talkeetna in the next few hours. Unfortunately we can't report another summit from yesterday. We continued to have more snow through the early afternoon and our fears for avalanche danger were confirmed when the temps climbed up later in the day. We settled for just the approach to the lower Pika, as we tested an incredibly reactive snowpack; while no climbing, that provided a super valuable safety learning opportunity for everyone. That's it for now, our next post will be from civilization with some pics. Best, Rmi Guide Elías deAndres Martos and Team

Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer and Team Make a Move

May 17, 2015

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

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,500'

We woke to sunny skies, and the forecasted winds didn't arrive down low where we were. After bagel, cream cheese, and bacon filled breakfast sandwiches we crashed our camp, loaded our sleds (more and more team members are naming their sleds each day - the better to curse them by), and started the climb up Ski Hill. The steeper terrain with all of the weight of our gear was a big effort, different from yesterday's long miles with little elevation change, but the team handled it really well, and pulled into a cozy camp at 9500' this evening. A big meal of Mac and cheese fortified with bacon put everyone into food comas, and were crawling into the sacks for the night. Tomorrow, we plan to move to 11k to really start the process of acclimating. That's all the news from here. We'll be in touch tomorrow. RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and team.

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Chris and team,
Happy to hear your able to start to climb to 11k….thinking of you all and hope acclimating goes well for you.
Dad is TDY in Sunny California this week…it reached 91 today in DC…
Thinking good thoughts for all of you…stay safe…
love, Mom

Posted by: Dave and Melissa on 5/18/2015 at 5:08 pm

Pete my man…Happy Mon from flatlands of IN…Great expedition wishes amigo to you and your crew…You are the best…Godspeed…Waltero…Didn’t see any Primrose, nor Iris, Tulips, Colombine nor corn in that landscape - What gives ?

Posted by: Waltero on 5/18/2015 at 2:24 pm

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Alaska Seminar: Leon Davis and Team Fly to Basecamp

May 17, 2015

Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

Greetings all We departed Talkeetna into cloudy weather and for a while there we did not think we would make it. But thanks to the skill of our K2 pilots we were able to sneak in as the skies briefly parted. As a result of our teams hard work and cooperation we now have a fortified camp. We will sleep well behind block walls and we are excited for a chance to climb the radio tower tomorrow morning. Tonight we sleep under clear blue (still) skies and just a whisper of a cool breeze. Until tomorrow then! RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

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Will: looks beautiful. Stay warm and cozy in your tent. We’re all thinking of you. Mom

Posted by: Judy Kenyon on 5/18/2015 at 6:08 am

Tents??? I figured you guys would be sleeping in hand dug snow caves! Have fun Dad,it looks beautiful there!

Posted by: Johnnie Newland on 5/18/2015 at 3:06 am

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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Remain at 11,200’ Due to Wind

May 16, 2015

Posted by: Billy Haas, Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,200'

May 16, 2016, 5:26 pm PT Winds overnight at our 11,200' camp were quite formidable, but our camp survived well due to our team's hard work in building walls in the previous days. By this morning, the winds abated somewhat at camp, so we rose early and fired stoves. We were hoping that we would be able to climb to Windy Corner at 13,600' to place a cache of supplies for up higher. Unfortunately, it wasn't our day and the winds continued through most of the day. Instead we spent the morning adding more snow blocks to our camp for further wind protection. Everyone is doing well and in good spirits. We'll try again tomorrow to get our cache up high. That's all for now. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Chris and team,
Glad to hear your reinforcing that snow wall…Dad and I can only imagine how tough the weather conditions your enduring. We will continue to think good thoughts and prayers…hope the winds calm some so you can start the next phase of your journey.
We enjoy these updates so much…thank you.
Mom and Dad

Posted by: Dave & Melissa on 5/17/2015 at 8:56 am

Got the blog info from LaNette this morning. Will follow your progress. God bless.

Posted by: Richard Wang on 5/17/2015 at 8:26 am

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Entries from Mt. McKinley

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

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Move to 14,000’ Camp

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Carry to Windy Corner

Alaska Seminar: Leon Davis & Team Summit Radio Tower

Alaska Alpine Seminar: Elias & Team Ready to Fly to Talkeetna

Mt. McKinley: Van Deventer and Team Make a Move

Alaska Seminar: Leon Davis and Team Fly to Basecamp

On The Map

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Remain at 11,200’ Due to Wind

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