Entries from Mt. McKinley
Hello again from the 11k camp on
Denali!
We decided to take another day to rest and acclimate to the altitude. We spent most of the day lounging around, reading, listening music, napping, and telling lies, all the while getting stronger for our forays up higher.
The weather was cloudy, cooler, and windier today, and a trace of snow fell overnight. But as I lie in my sleeping bag typing this dispatch, a cloudless sky sits above us. We're hoping for good weather tomorrow so we can carry supplies up to around 13,600'. We'll stay in touch.
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & team
We've been enjoying good weather on the Kahiltna Glacier, and today was no different. After a trace of new snow overnight, we awoke to partly sunny skies. A breakfast of smoked salmon with bagels and cream cheese started off our day. After breakfast, we packed up camp and began the climb up towards Kahiltna Pass, en route to the
11k camp. We're taking advantage of the good weather and making good progress so far. Tomorrow we'll sleep in and take a rest day and prepare a cache of supplies to carry up around Windy Corner.
We'll keep you posted on our next move. Until then, we'll be resting...we've earned it.
Mike & team
On The Map
Greetings from the Kahiltna Glacier. We had a great day yesterday, as we flew into
Kahiltna Basecamp in the morning, prepped our gear, and started climbing. The weather was beautiful and the snow conditions were perfect for efficient travel. We took all of our gear to our first camp, at the confluence of the Kahiltna Glacier and the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, at the base of Ski Hill.
We started this morning with bagels & cream cheese, with bacon, before we packed up and started climbing. Leaving camp, Ski Hill
provided the first (of many) up hills of our journey. We climbed once again with great weather and snow conditions, hauling our heavy expedition loads on sleds and in our backpacks. With tired legs, sore shoulders, and tender hips, we arrived at our Camp 2, 9,400' on the Kahiltna Glacier. A hearty dinner of Indian food filled our stomachs, along with plenty of hot drinks to rehydrate.
We're in our tents now, looking forward to a restful night's sleep. It's snowing lightly, with no wind. We're hoping for good weather tomorrow, and moving up to Camp 3, at 11,200'. We'll be in touch again soon with an update.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and team
On The Map
After our beautiful bluebird day on Mount Frances we went to bed satisfied with our climbing. We spent our last full day dialing in rescue techniques and ice climbing in crevasses.
Yesterday we woke up early for our flight back to Talkeetna and enjoyed a celebratory toast. A sweet success! Everybody left for home with lots of knowledge on modern climbing techniques and as more experienced climbers.
Thank you very much team for the great times in the Alaska Range and I'm already looking forward to next year's
Alpine Seminar.
All best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin
Yesterday was spent at K2 Aviation's hangar, putting the finishing touches on our packing and preparing. The weather is beautiful herein Talkeetna, and we fully expect to be able to fly into the
Alaska Range today. Hopefully the next time we touch base will be from the Kahiltna Glacier.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Our attempt on Mt. Francis was great.
We were making good time up the southeast ridge until conditions got really icy. We climbed a pitch of ice and then we made a group decision of turning back down.
The views, as well as the learning experience, were incredible. Now we are all back in camp enjoying a hot cup of tea.
Today we did our last
seminar review and will be starting to pack for tomorrow's flight back to Talkeetna.
Looking forward to a shower and a big salad.
RMI Guide Andres Marin
On The Map
Welcome to the start of
RMI's Denali climbing season! All of the team members have arrived in Anchorage, and we're on our way to the small town of Talkeetna. Talkeetna is the main access point for climbers heading into the
Alaska Range.
We'll start the day tomorrow with breakfast at the historic Talkeetna Roadhouse, and then spend the bulk of the day packing equipment for our expedition. We'll also check in with the National Park Service and go through their informative orientation slide show.
That's it for now. We'll keep you posted with another update tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & team
On The Map
Today we put what we've learned the last few days into action. We headed to a crevasse and practiced our rescue techniques using the complete system.
Going down in the crevasse was an incredible experience for everyone. It was written all over the team's faces in the great photos and big smiles that made this day just fantastic.
We are going to bed early and hoping for good weather for our summit attempt to the East ridge of
Mt. Francis.
Wish us luck.
All best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin
On The Map
This place just keeps getting better and better. Today we climbed
Radio Tower!!! The weather was incredible and the views just fantastic.
We climbed this peak via the southside and gained the east ridge to the top. The entire group had the chance to learn a lot and had a great time while climbing our first summit.
After a long day we are eating dinner and planning a day of ice climbing and crevasse rescue that we have in front of us.
All best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin and the
Alaska Alpine Seminar
Today we woke up with a blue skies and great temperatures, way different than what the weather was predicting.
Quickly we got ready and went for a hike to the Southeast Fork. Learning about glacier travel and the different terrain features with these incredible views is spectacular. What an environment to learn in! While at the glacier we checked our approach for
Radio Tower, which we are hoping to climb tomorrow.
All and all one more great day in a beautiful place.
Everybody in the group sends a big hello, hugs and kisses to friends and family.
All the best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin and the
Alaska Alpine Seminar
On The Map
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
Mike, what did the blonde say when the guide blew in her ear? Thanks for the refill. Good Luck John and Steve
Posted by: john riester on 5/14/2013 at 5:10 pm
View All Comments