Entries from Mt. McKinley
June 29, 2016 - 1:23 am PT
We are all safe and sound back at high camp after an amazing summit day. I am proud to report that all members of our team made it to the highest peak in North America! The day started out cold but
Denali was kind to us. It turned out to be a clear and sunny day with very little wind...a rarity on this big mountain. We were just under 12 hours round trip from High Camp including a long time on the top taking pictures and enjoying our success.
We are gong to try to get up early and start our decent back to thicker air. Hopefully the weather cooperates like it has over the last few days!
Congratulations to the June 14th Denali Expedition Team!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
June 27, 2016 - 11:08 pm PT
Another murky day, weatherwise. It was snowing lightly when we checked things at 6:45 AM, but it was calm and there were hints of clearing in some of the cloud layers stacked above us. We got up and had a slow and substantial breakfast as we watched the skies. With a few patches of blue showing, the decision was made to go on up for our carry. We left camp at about 10:15 and were promptly surrounded again by calm and listless clouds. It was a relief to be spending a day without our sleds and to be in crampons instead of snowshoes. The terrain, beginning with "Motorcycle hill" right out of camp, was steeper than any of the ground we'd covered to date, but that was nice too. We all felt a bit more like climbers with ice axes in our hands at last. The team wound up and across "Squirrel hill" to get to the lesser angled "Polo fields" below the end of
Denali's West Buttress. At least we think those were the granite walls of the Buttress... we couldn't really see very far up it in the clouds. Conditions stayed windless though, so we pushed on to Windy Corner. Nobody seemed disappointed that it wasn't living up to its well-earned reputation. We cached the provisions we'd been carrying there at about 13,300ft, digging a big hole and burying it all to keep the ravens from attacking. Then it was an easy and uneventful hour back to camp with light packs and still not much for views. We were down by 4PM and taking naps and sipping water by about 4:30. Tomorrow is a rest day, so we are less concerned than usual by the continued light snow and ever-present murk.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
June 27, 2016 - 7:58 pm PT
We had another early morning departure to avoid the mid-day solar radiation that can wear a climber out much faster than the cold temperatures can. Our team did a fantastic job climbing up the steep fixed lines to the ridge and then up to our camp at 17,000'. We got into camp around 1:15 in the afternoon and proceeded to build a camp that would protect us from most any weather that
Denali could throw at us. We are getting organized for a summit bid tomorrow if Denali allows. We are currently sitting in the clouds with a small amount of snow falling, but the forecast seems good for tomorrow. We will wake up and get the "nowcast" by looking up towards the summit and seeing what the mountain has to say about us climbing it.
Goodnight and wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
June 26, 2016 - 10:49 pm PT
Our team did an excellent job relaxing this day away. We continued our tradition of rest day brunch, and then dispersed for several hours of Uno playing, book reading, and 'nappacino' taking. There was a lingering feeling of excitement in the air- partially a celebratory vibe because of
Pepper's birthday, partially an anticipatory tingle because our intention to move to high camp tomorrow will put us in striking distance of the
summit. After today our bodies and minds are recharged for tomorrow's move up to 17K camp, and we will see what the mountain has for us there.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
June 26, 2016 - 9:54 pm PT
Hello,
Today we woke to our clearest morning yet, with stunning views down the Kahiltna Glacier and onward into the Talkeetna Valley. With a hot coffee and granola breakfast in our bellies, we were ready to turn the corner at
Kahiltna Pass and head higher on the mountain. The entire team rocked the four-hour journey to 11,000-foot camp even with the continued burden of big sleds and packs.
After our tents were pitched we settled in for an afternoon siesta as the sun blazed above. By the time dinner was served things had changed as the clouds had built up around us and it was starting to snow. Now as we head to bed it seems to be coming down at a rate of 2ish inches per hour!
The plan for tomorrow is to break up the loads and carry some supplies and food to 14k. This will give us a taste of the crisp thin air of the high Alaska Range and help us in our acclimatization process.
We'll let you know how it goes!
RMI Guide Ben Liken
On The Map
June 25, 2016 - 10:33 pm PT
We walked away from camp around 6 A.M. bound for
17 Camp. Unlike the sweltering afternoons when we watched lines of ants move up and down the fixed lines from camp, the chilly mornings tend to keep people in their tents. This morning's early departure made us the only team around. We cruised up the fixed lines, past Washburn's Thumb, along a stunning ridge line all the way to our cache at 17,000' Camp. Our crew of rock stars crushed it! Many members of our team said that today was the best day of mountain climbing they've ever had- fun movement, epic views, great company. We returned to 14,000' Camp around 5 P.M. in high spirits but plumb tuckered. After a hearty meal everyone retreated to their tents quickly. We all look forward to sleeping in tomorrow- not only is it a rest day, but it's the day that
Pepper Dee was brought into this world. Things have never been the same since.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
June 25, 2016 - 9:14 pm PT
Checking the weather at 3:30 this morning revealed a slightly gloomy world of clouds. It had snowed, but just a little, and it was calm. So we fired the stoves and rallied the team. While we ate breakfast and got ready to travel, about 50 climbers from at least a half dozen teams trudged by on the final day of their expeditions. More or less happily heading for the exits. We recognized and shouted greetings to many of the guides. They'd all tagged the top in the last couple of days after waiting out prolonged storms.
Our team packed up and got on the track as if they'd been climbing for weeks. We were moving by 6:15 AM with the sky clearing and trail conditions far better than they'd been the day before. On the compacted and frozen surface our sleds were a lot easier to pull. We charged up
"Ski Hill" and after a couple of rest breaks and some tough uphill sections we pulled in to the plateau at 9,300 ft and dug a new camp in the snow. By noon, most of the team were headed into their new homes to nap and get out of the intense sunshine. We passed a lazy and quiet afternoon without much more sign of other teams. We've already got the place to ourselves, it seems.
We'll get up early again and see if we can get up to 11,000 ft tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
June 24, 2016 - 10:45 pm PT
The team had a fun filled rest day today at 14 camp. We kicked off the day with a lox and bagels brunch, and then rallied out to the "edge of the world," a dramatic rock outcropping outside of camp that affords breathtaking views of the West Rib of
Denali, Mount Hunter, Mount Foraker, and much of the Alaska range. We took turns posing with ice axe in hand- sometimes using it to play air guitar, to point to the summit, or just to accentuate the American flag scarf that was being worn instead of a shirt. Whatever style each of us went with, fun was had by all and morale was tip top. We rounded out the afternoon by practicing fixed line travel and running belays, as well as organizing our food and gear for our carry to 17K camp tomorrow. Oh yeah, and we also did a little trauma shear salon session, which left Pepper Dee looking extra stylish. It's gently snowing at the moment, and we feel poised to push up even higher in the morning.
Goodnight!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
June 24, 2016 - 10:24 pm PT
It began raining at Kahiltna Basecamp around 9PM, and that transitioned to wet snow at about 2 AM. So we didn't go for that Alpine Start we were angling toward. It was still snowing at 7:30 AM when we got up to build breakfast but then it quit and things began to improve. We'd begun to think we'd be stuck in BC for a storm day, but with clearing weather and the knowledge that the glacier was in exceptionally good condition for late June, we decided to make use of the day. As always, it took a while breaking camp and gearing up for this first push. It was awkward rigging sleds into rope travel and it was awkward for some to be on snowshoes with heavy packs. We got out of BC by 10:45 and by then the sky was mostly blue and the sun was mostly hot. After the rain, the surface was a little slushy but not all that bad for travel. We moved down the SE Fork and took a right turn at the main
Kahiltna Glacier. We had things pretty much to ourselves with only the occasional one or two European climbers at a time coming past on their way out. We made steady progress, but we weren't moving fast with the slushy conditions. We decided to quit after six hours of work, which had brought us to just about 45 minutes below the more common camp at 7800. We are out under West Kahiltna Peak. All day as we traveled, we could hear avalanches thundering down the mountainsides, and from time to time we'd look hard enough to find the clouds of ice billowing out from the snowy torrents.
We had a secure camp up by 6 and dinner by 7 PM so that all could get enough rest for another big day tomorrow. Hopefully on a frozen surface with cooler conditions.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
June 23, 2016 - 10:07 P.M. PDT
At 3 A.M. Mount Foraker was bathed in streaks of pink light and not a breath of wind moved through 11 Camp as we packed our packs to move up the mountain. We climbed efficiently up Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill, around a not so Windy Corner, and pulled into
14 Camp just as the heat of the day began. We found an empty fortress of expertly chopped snow blocks and after a few hours of renovation, moved into our new home. Our whole team
ate and hydrated like champions. In high spirits we're snuggling up for the night under benign skies. Tomorrow will be a rest day - haircuts, Game of Thrones, Uno, and lots of sunscreen await us.
Love from El Siete
On The Map
Previous Page
Next Page
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
Congratulations to Phil and the entire team on a successful summit! All that training and preparation truly paid off. You are all an inspiration! Safe trip back home!- Kelly
Posted by: Kelly Tybor on 7/1/2016 at 5:04 am
Congratulations Phil and team! We are so proud of you!
Posted by: Barbara McKay on 6/29/2016 at 3:09 pm
View All Comments