Entries from Mt. McKinley
May 29, 2014 - 3:55 pm PT
We awoke again to the faint patter of snow hitting our tents rainfly. Sticking our head out revealed slightly better visibility than when we tucked away in our sleeping bags last night. Looking east you could make out the lower features of Mount Hunter and looking west you could scarcely make out the lower flanks of Foraker. Sometime late morning the clouds began to break ever so slightly and the sun poked its head in through the clouds just enough to cause the many teams waiting here at camp to stir. Over 14" of new snow has fallen since we first arrived and that's a concern for when our flights are able to pick us up. The accumulated snow makes it difficult for the small bush planes to take off from the glacier. So an effort was organized to gather the folks in camp to strap on there snowshoes and skis and go pack down the take off zone. Shortly after our task was finished the clouds descended and took over the southeast fork of the
Kahiltna again. It's early afternoon now and we're still patiently waiting for conditions to improve, but with plenty of food and camp becoming busy with teams moving down from the upper mountain our team is biding their time making new friends and reacquainting with teams we shared time with at 14 camp. All is well here from the Kahiltna. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Steve Gately and team
On The Map
May 29, 2014 - 12:06 am PT
Greetings from beautiful
Talkeetna, Alaska! The entire team finally arrived today, after one of our team members experienced a slight delay coming up yesterday. We had a great day here, spending most of the morning talking about the personal climbing kits, the gear we'll need and the food we'll eat, and what to expect in the days to come as we prepare for our grand adventure in the heart of the Alaska range.
We met with the park service this afternoon, and then headed back to the hangar to finalize packing. Our team is dialed and as a result we had no troubles as we culled out the superfluous gear from what we brought. Everything's looking tight and right, and we're all excited to get underway. While the forecast doesn't look incredibly promising, we'll be ready to launch at a moment's notice tomorrow, and we hope to be on the glacier soon. We're standing by, filled with anticipation for the expedition and respect for the task ahead. Stay tuned for more details, and keep the positive vibes coming!
Until next time,
RMI Guides Tyler, Garrett, and Bryan
On The Map
May 28, 2014 - 10:33 pm PT
Evaluating the weather at 6:20 this morning from the vestibule of our tent I saw a somewhat similar scene to what I saw yesterday. With one exception. A little lightness shining through the clouds to the north. Faint in the early morning light, but there it was. So with that small glimmer of hope that the weather might cooperate for us today, we set the wheels in motion. Stoves were fired up and the call to wake up made. Still uncertain if the weather would improve enough, we held off packing up the tents until last.
But finally the clouds parted enough to give us the confidence to head to
14,200' camp. We could see the sun about 1,000' above the clouds we were in. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn't want to make it too easy and threw some gusty winds our way on Squirrel Hill. It seemed like the weather might be changing, but everyone was climbing well so we persevered and by the time we got above that hill, things had mellowed out. Even Windy Corner wasn't too bad.
We eventually made it to camp at 14,200' where the sun was out and it was warm and pleasant. To make things even nicer, we were greeted by the RMI group ahead of us who were camped there. Led by Pete Van Deventer, the whole team came out to lend us a hand getting camp set up.
Everybody had great appetites at dinner, a good sign given that we had just moved 3,000' to our higher camp. It was a tired, but very happy team that put down bowl after bowl of Ramen tonight.
We're all ecstatic to be here tonight, and I couldn't be prouder of how the team climbed today.
Well, it's about time that I hit the sack as well.
Goodnight!
RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick
On The Map
May 28, 2014 - 11:25 pm PT
We weren't surprised to wake up to more snow and evidence of winds up high today. It's part of the process, and it took the team one glance up to the
Buttress to know that we'd be sitting in camp again today. To combat the sitting, we made a checkers/ chess board, with jolly ranches and butterscotch for checkers, and Robby's artistic renditions for chess pieces. The forecast we got tonight looks like it may be another few days before we get our window, but spirits are high, and we're very comfortable here at 14 until that time comes. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the shift in weather we're looking for.
We'll be in touch tomorrow.
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and team
On The Map
May 28, 2014 - 10:18am PT
Good morning from
Base Camp!
We are listening to the snow fall while we sit in our tents, and although it seems bright and cheery from inside the orange nylon walls, this weather system has settled in and the South East Fork is thick with clouds.
We made quick work of the walk down from 14 yesterday, stopping in at 11 Camp to dig up our cache and say hello to Brent, Leah, Nick, and their team.
It's much warmer down here, but consequently the snow is wet, heavy, and saturating, so we are all enjoying more time sitting "indoors" of sorts.
Hopefully we get a break in the storm soon and K2 Aviation can get us back to Talkeetna!
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team.
May 27, 2014 - 10:34 pm PT
Greetings!
The team awoke this morning at
Denali's 14K camp to a brisk dose of winter. A few inches of snow fell overnight and winds were blustery and it was apparent another weather / rest day was in order. The team enjoyed a casual breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and our go-to guilty pleasure, bacon. Regretfully, we said goodbye this morning to our friends Mike Walter and team as they began the journey home after spending the last few days enjoying their company here at 14K camp. We are in great position for a bid for the summit as soon as the weather allows, and we are anxiously awaiting our opportunity. Until then, hope all is well and thanks for following!
RMI Guides Robby, Pete, Josh and Team
On The Map
May 27, 2014 - 7:21 pm PT
Update on
Mike Walter's team from
Brent Okita:
While basking in the warmth and comfort of our tent this afternoon,
Mike Walter and his team pulled in after spending an epic thirteen days at 14,200' camp without getting a break in the weather suitable for a realistic summit bid. That no other guided group has summited the mountain attests to the particularly bad weather they've encountered.
The team joined us for some soup and are now walking down the
Kahiltna Glacier headed for the airstrip and hopefully a plane back to Talkeetna tomorrow morning. We wish them well and praise their tenacity, fortitude and strong work on the upper mountain. They deserve huge kudos for their efforts! Nice job team.
On The Map
May 27, 2014 - 7:08 pm PT
Hearing light snow hitting the fly of our tent this morning prepared us for the possibility that today might finally be the day that stopped our upward progress on the mountain. Very light snowfall coupled with wind and clouds were part of the view from our vestibule. Neither the best nor the worst weather
Denali has to offer, so we decided to get up and at least have breakfast while we waited to see if the day might take a turn for the better.
Over a breakfast that would rival the best your local greasy spoon could offer, the outlook for the day became ever more apparent, we were going to enjoy our first rest/storm day. That no one really voiced any complaint reflected the shared sentiment that we were all ready for a break from the constant pace of the trip so far.
Following our breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns, we set to explore and debate many of the world's challenges and recount some of our personal histories. Of course, such heady conversation, fueled as it was by caffeine and unexpectedly unused climbing energy, soon left even the strongest of us deserting our Posh House tent for the cozy comfort of our tents and sleeping bags. And so has passed our day, playings cards, reading, listening to music, and just plain relaxing.
Life is great!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
May 26, 2014 - 10:46 pm PT
With just a little anxiousness about our carry up to 13,500', the first real climbing of the trip, the team awoke early this morning to a pretty darned reasonable day. 7:00 AM at 11,200' can certainly be chilly, and today was no exception. We washed down our oatmeal with some hot drinks to fortify ourselves for the big day, reviewing as we usually do some key points of the days.
Our climb of
Motorcycle Hill was made before the sun hit the face, making for a chilly start to the day. But at the top we were rewarded with great views of the Northwest Buttress and Peter's Glacier, not to mention the Alaskan tundra in the distance. Squirrel Hill followed and we found ourselves cramponing on perfect snow.
Conditions, in general, were quite nice all the way to our cache site at 13,500'. But what really struck us was how well the team was climbing. And how well everyone was feeling. Yeah, it was a good push for us, but we all took heart in having done well today. Our dinner of mac and cheese with loads of crumbled bacon stirred in hit the spot. There were no leftovers tonight. Cookies for dessert finished us off before we organized gear for tomorrow.
As for tomorrow ... As good as everybody is feeling, if the weather again cooperates, we might just move up to 14,200' camp. Then, we'll be ready for a couple of well deserved rest days.
We'll see ...
RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick
On The Map
May 26, 2014 - 10:21 pm PT
Today is day 19 of our expedition, with twelve of those days spent at the 14k Camp. The weather forecast is not looking good for a summit attempt, as a significant weather system is supposed to hit
Denali tonight, bringing snow and wind tomorrow. High winds are forecasted to persist for the next ten days. If this forecast verifies we will be headed downhill shortly, as we still have to make it back down the Kahiltna Glacier to Basecamp before waiting for good enough weather to fly back to Talkeetna. We will definitely wake up early tomorrow morning to see if we get lucky with a quick summit window, but none of us are holding our breaths. We will let you know how the weather treats us tomorrow.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
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Steve and Team,
Glad to here all are safely down low. Hope the weather breaks so the bird can get you guys back to some hot showers.
Hike well and be safe.
Dad
Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/30/2014 at 2:50 am
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