Entries from Mt. McKinley
Today saw pretty much constant snow all day long. Fortunately, the winds have remained calm and our crew was able to back-carry today despite the precipitation and stay right on schedule. We are now sitting pretty at
14,200' with all of our provisions and fuel. The weather is supposed to remain a little bit squirrelly through tomorrow which will coincide nicely with a well-deserved rest day. We spent most of the afternoon after the back-carry chilling in the posh and sport eating. Good times. The crew is in good spirits and pumped for the climbing ahead!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
What a day! Right from the start everything fell in place perfectly. Our last breakfast at the Roadhouse was savored before we made our way to our air service, K2 Aviation, who were great about getting us off the Tarmac ahead of schedule. This set us up to walk out of
Basecamp at a reasonable hour, which allowed us to reach camp at 7,800' by 5:30.
But the real highlight of the day was just how well everyone climbed and dealt with what is usually a pretty tough day. I'm impressed. I must say, though, that the weather cooperated today too. Warm temperatures, blue skies and calm winds might have had us perspiring just a tad, but I didn't hear much complaining about it. Although some evening clouds formed while we were having dinner, I think we might have a good day tomorrow as we make our way up Ski Hill to 9,500' camp.
Talk with you then.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Hey all,
One more rest day here at 14,000'. The weather isn't bad, actually really warm for May, but it wasn't perfect this morning so we decided to take one more day of rest.
We took the opportunity of a break in the clouds after breakfast to head out to the Edge of the World for some spectacular photos. Just outside of 14 camp, the Edge of the World is where Genet Basin falls away 5,000' to the NE fork of the Kahiltna. The views are spectacular, and we were able to see our first camp at the base of Ski Hill, as well as the climber's track heading up the glacier from Base Camp.
It was great to have a chance to stretch our legs, and with our impending summit attempt, the stoke meter is a solid 8 today. Everyone is getting amped up to head high, but with that comes a little bit of nerves for everyone knowing how much effort is just around the corner.
Wishing everybody well, over and out from 14,000'
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the gang
On The Map
What a day!
A team meeting over breakfast followed by our
park service orientation was just the beginning. The real work started at the hanger of our flight service, K2 Aviation. It was here that the tedium of going thru our gear, both personal and group stuff will pay off hugely when we get to the mountain and are stuck with the equipment we've chosen. REI has yet to set up shop on the Kahiltna Glacier.
As we wind down the day a great meal sits in our bellies and we look forward to a final night luxuriating in a real bed where a hot shower and toilet lie but a few carpeted paces away. Tomorrow will be different!
With luck we'll be flying onto the glacier at 9:00am to start our trip... One that we have all been working so hard and dreaming about for so long. And we start it as a group of individuals already well on our way to being a team of climbers and, more importantly, friends.
I know that we're all excited to get under way. I know too that I'm excited to climb with this very impressive group.
Well, all for now from the cozy little town of Talkeetna.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Well, we've made our move on up to camp at 14k on a scorching hot day with our second trip around (not-so)
Windy Corner. We rolled in around 4:15 pm where Mike Walter and his crew were kind enough to leave us a great looking camp to move into. This left us with significantly less work building walls and digging platforms, lucky us! Thanks Mike! Clouds have moved in this evening and it has started to snow a bit but we are already fed, settled in, and for the most part crashed out. It was a tough day especially with the heat but the gang persevered.
'til tomorrow,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Woke up today to splitter (blue) skies and warm temps! The original forecast was for a snowstorm to hit the range sometime today but it didn't appear that way to us this morning. The incorrect forecast was great news for us and we were able to push a load of supplies up around Windy Corner this afternoon. The crew made it back down to camp at 11,000' in time to soak up a bunch of afternoon sun. Needless to say our tans are coming along nicely with all of this good weather. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we plan on picking up camp and heading up to 14,000'.
The team is climbing great and in great spirits! Wish us luck on a big day tomorrow...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
We spent today resting at the 14,000' camp on
Mt. McKinley, getting stronger for our impending move to high camp (17,000'). The weather today was pretty mild for this time of year, with light snow showers throughout the day. The weather forecast looks pretty good, with similar weather on tap for the rest of the week. Everyone is doing well, and we'll likely take one more rest day here at 14,000' before moving up to high camp.
We'll keep you posted.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 22:
Resting here at 11,300' on
Mt. McKinley... Not much to report other than worsening weather through the day today and that while hanging in the posh (cook tent) the team was able to solve most of the world's problems. We broached the taboo subjects of politics, religion, economics, ancient societies/civilizations, space exploration, extraterrestrial copulation, ancient ruins, plate tectonics, coral atoll nations and the rising sea level, doomsday cults, classic car restoration, moral bankruptcy, and escalating health care costs just to name a few. Currently it's snowing moderately but fortunately without wind. A good day to rest after all. Hopefully we get a small break in the weather tomorrow so we can push a load of food and fuel up around Windy Corner which will put us in position to move up to 14k camp.
Ciao,
RMI Guides Billy Nugent,
Geoff Schellens and
Gilbert Chase
May 21:
After an uneventful night we awoke to more mostly sunny weather with some high cirrus clouds. The plan was to sleep in a little and enjoy the first morning of the expedition where we didn't have the chore of breaking camp. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon on toasted bagels with cream cheese and then geared up for our walk down to the cache at 9,600'. After less than four hours we had retrieved all of our groceries and returned to camp at 11k. After eating dinner and hanging out, the glacier in camp suddenly settled sending a large shock-wave through the ground, needless to say scaring the crap out of everyone. I've never really felt a glacier do that before, pretty wild. Tomorrow calls for a rest day which might be good timing with the weather as things seem to be slightly deteriorating. There are some lenticular clouds forming on the peaks across the Kahiltna which may be indicative of some moisture on he way.
Will check in tomorrow from our rest day...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang.
May 20:
Hi everyone.
Today was another great day of unbelievable weather for our push up to the 11,000' camp. We left behind a cache at our previous camp at 9,600' of mostly food and fuel (alongside some miscellaneous personal items) and thus enjoyed a significantly lighter move than the loads from the previous two days. After a little bit of digging and improving of an abandoned camp we moved in and enjoyed a great tortellini dinner.
Hoping for a smooth first night at a new elevation,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Today was a crucial day for us to get in position for a summit bid. We carried a couple of days of food plus some personal gear to the bottom of
Washburn's Thumb at 16,800'. This cache is an integral part of the strategy of climbing this mountain. Once in place, we can wait for a weather window to move up to camp at 17,000' and then summit. It now becomes a waiting game for us as we need a good forecast for a string of a few days.
It was also a great day for us to practice our climbing skills because the real climbing on
Denali starts above 14,000'. We got to practice using the fixed lines up to 16,200' to attain the West Buttress. From there, we were greeted with beautiful views and climbing on a thin, rocky ridge. The buttress is the namesake of the route, the reason people come up this way. It requires great attention, but affords amazing climbing and vistas. Everyone did a great job with these 2 new challenges. We even had some members of the group attain new personal high marks!
Now, we're back at camp ready for some rest. We are playing the waiting game now, holding out and hoping the mountain will give us the weather window we need. But the forecast looks pretty good, and we're patient, stubborn, and well prepared. 14K Camp is a great place to get strong, and with a rest day tomorrow we definitely won't be getting out of sleeping bags until the sun hits us.
Bringing back an old feature to the blog: the stoke meter is all the way up at a 9.5 right now!
RMI Guide Maile Wade and the southside dwellers of 14K!
On The Map
The weather is forecasted to change around here in the following days but today was one of the hottest days we've had. Lenticular clouds continue to be impressive. We spent today playing inside crevasses and went ice climbing. Everyone had a blast.
The glaciers are an enormous amount of ice up here in
Alaska. Researchers currently on the glacier conducting some studies have found the depth of the Kahiltna Glacier to be about 500 meters deep. As we climbed on the walls of the crevasses peering down into the dark black hole beneath us, we felt small.
So long from the Kahiltna.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
On The Map
Hope your rest day was filled with sleep, laughs, and food. Stay well, think of you all the time and each step you take gets you closer and closer. Roger Hector sends his best and is so darn proud of YOU Elizabeth.As always hugs and love. Mom & Dad
Posted by: Maureen Bartron on 5/27/2012 at 9:34 am
just FYI for those at home—you know that these aren’t specifically photos from this trip or this team. the guides only have sat phones, not an internet connection!
these are just generic pictures of the sections they are currently on…
Posted by: Mchael on 5/27/2012 at 7:43 am
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