Entries from Mt. McKinley

The skies were clear early this morning, and so it was the perfect time to leave basecamp as the snow surface was nicely frozen and travel was "easy". We were roped up and on our way by 4 AM, watching the sunlight play on the upper slopes of Mts Foraker and Hunter.  Glacier conditions were excellent. There were few open crevasses, and the route was fairly direct.  We pulled into our destination -the base of "ski hill" - in just four and a half hours. 

Camp then went up relatively quickly and we got in out of the intense midday sun for some quality naps.  A breeze came up in the evening, but by then we'd built a dining tent and were able to enjoy dinner in peace. 

We intend to make a carry tomorrow, to 10,000 ft if possible. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius

We awoke to another beautiful day, although day has lost all meaning without night. The clouds had lifted and the mountain that yesterday’s correspondent described as a bride in her white gown, now looked even better without it. Carrying half our camp on our backs and in sleds, we climbed almost 3000 feet up the Kahiltna Glacier. All around hanging glaciers were spread like coats of icing, melting over the ridges. Long after our altimeters told us we were at the cache, Dom lead our caravan up a cliff, our sleds nearly swinging in the void beneath us. He claimed he had taken us further than advertised because we were such a “Strong Team.” Such praise from an RMI Guide is an almost certain indication of a Full Team Summit.

Our round trip was a little over 7 miles. Yes, you heard right, round trip. We’re now back in our camp at the bottom of Ski Hill to make the same climb tomorrow with the other half of our camp. Sisyphus didn’t complain so neither will we. Unlike other beasts of burden, we know that the journey is the destination, and we appreciate each step. So, we accept every challenge because that’s who we are. To paraphrase David Lee Roth: We’re not like this because we’re climbing Denali. We’re climbing Denali because we’re like this.

RMI Climber Kris Reitz

Hello readers,

It was a cold morning. The coldest thus far. We packed our bags for our carry and then warmed up with some oatmeal and coffee. Putting in crampons is difficult when your fingers hurt and takes longer when you pause to warm them up before the next crampon. With time and cold fingers, we all suited up for our walk uphill.

It's a steep hill out of camp. Not much of a warmup, but we cruised up it and got to the fixed line. The fixed lines are quite steep and have blue ice underneath the snow. It's engaging climbing as we ascend the slope. It warmed up fast on our climb and we were back to base layers and sweat in no time. We cached our gear at the top of the fixed lines at 16,200'. It's great views from there of everything below us. It's a Crazy feeling sitting on the side of a big mountains with snowy mountains and peaks all around. Just gorgeous. After an hour or so sitting at 16200' we made Our way back to camp. It was a productive day, and we are ready for our sleeping bags and rest day tomorrow.

The rest will be productive for our bodies to gear up for our final push to high camp and the summit.

Goodnight, all,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Thursday June 13, 2024, 10:55pm PDT

And just like that, we are in a new world... a planet of ice and snow and rock and gigantic mountains.  We flew on just before midday.  It had been a little manky before that, with low cloud in both Talkeetna and Kahiltna Base camp, so we got to eat a last big breakfast in town as we waited for improvements.  It was a thrill to get some views of Denali, way up above the remaining clouds, as we flew in, and a thrill to step out of the planes at basecamp. 

We built camp, trained and prepared for departure in the intense high-altitude sunshine. We talked over what to expect and how to deal with expected challenges. We made it to bed by 9 PM. Our intention is to get up in the middle of the night to travel in the early morning shadows. 

Best Regards, 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team 

The jagged, monolithic peaks of the lower Kalithna begin to make themselves visible again.

We have just torn down camp. The anticipation of this moment has been building even greater since our departure was delayed by yesterday’s fog. The midnight sunshine just beyond the horizon still illuminates us deep into the night making the time of 1:55am seem wildly incorrect. We begin to move.

It’s now 3:12am. We’ve descended the hazy 600ft from base camp and sit just beyond the danger of the house-sized seracs looming off the side of Mt. Frances. Directly in front of us as we sit and replenish ourselves with food and drink is Mt. Crosson. Just left of it looms the beautiful Mt. Foraker, its upper half hidden just hidden behind a small cloud system. Our rest comes to an end. It’s time to begin the ever so slightly increasing grade up towards our next camp.

As we move the air is light and serene. Other than the sound of our snowshoes crunching the snow beneath our feet and our sleds sliding, there is no other noise for miles around us. In my left earbud plays Fryslan by Phil Cook. The pattern of our movement becomes hypnotic. My world becomes managing my pace to avoid stepping on the rope in front of me, interspersed with seconds of beholding the ether that surrounds me. To our right, an orange and magenta hue begins to materialize in the Alaskan sky as the sun begins to return from its brief absence beyond the horizon. Looking upward towards it presents our desired destination, veiled in a partially transparent fog, like a bride on her wedding day, Denali appears. It beams with a beauty matched by very few other things in this world.

We continue forward entranced by the sight. The weight of our heavy packs and sleds begin to melt away as we gaze upon the peak. A solemnity fills the moment that feels religious in nature. There is no more music playing in my earbuds. It is just the rhythmic beating of our snowshoes that fills my ears, and this epic sight that fills my eyes. I am totally absorbed. Quickly as this moment came, so it did depart, as again the mountain would hide itself behind an immense fog, abruptly returning us to the physical realm.

Enriched by this experience, we press forward, climbing steeper terrain before reaching a plateau which will lead us to our next camp site. The going is slow and heavy. Chilling cold air pockets move through our path at times. We break one final time before making the final mile push to camp. Upon arrival our guides probe the area upon which we will be building our living quarters for the next couple days (hopefully). We finish just before 9am. Crawling into our sleeping bags for “night,” we adorn the proper attire of sleeping masks to block out the now powerfully shining rays of the sun to spend the day resting for the journey which is set to continue early tomorrow morning once again.

As I now lay in my sleeping bag, my tent mates asleep beside me, I sense a number of emotions within me: satisfaction, anxiety, excitement, connectedness, all of which seem to stem from the same place: a determination to succeed at this challenge as a team. I close my eyes as gentle folk music softly plays in my earbuds once again. “One thing at a time,” I remind myself.

For now, all there is to do is to rest.

RMI Climber Thomas Goossen 

Thursday, June 13, 2024 8:34 pm PDT

Hello again,

Today we enjoyed our well-deserved rest day! It started with a casual breakfast of hot drinks and blueberry pancakes. That's right folks, Our very own pancake house at 14,000'. With bellies full of pancakes, we then enjoyed lounging in our very hot tents. Letting the bodies recover and rest is Important for the big days we have in front of us. In the afternoon we fine-tuned some skills needed to go up the fixed lines and use running belays. The Team is ready and psyched to get one step closer to our goal of getting to the top and home safely.

Tomorrow, we will do our carry. Once we get the carry in, we Are in position to wait for our summit window. So once again wish us luck and send all the good weather vibes our way.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Dave Hahn & Team are Flying onto the Kahiltna Glacier! Follow along with us as they begin their climb of Denali.

Wednesday June 12, 2024 11:29pm PDT

A big day in Talkeetna.  It was cloudy and rainy, but that didn’t prevent us from starting out with a breakfast meeting at the Swiss Alaska Inn, introducing the team and discussing expectations and strategies for the climb.  We carried on by regrouping over at the airplane hangar to sort equipment and get packed.  We broke things up with an excellent briefing from the National Park Service.  Denali climbing ranger, Alan Davis spoke to us about current conditions and the need to prioritize safety on the mountain.  K2 Aviation - our flight service- then let us know what to expect in regards to getting on and off the mountain via ski plane in variable weather conditions.  We then buckled down and put in a few serious hours getting organized for the climb.  This was capped off with a formal weigh-in, a prelude to loading up the airplanes -which we hope will take place tomorrow morning.  The team then relaxed at Mile High Pizza Pie in the heart of Talkeetna.  Enjoying dinner and the drizzle from low clouds.  We are set and excited to get on the mountain. 
 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 8:40 pm PDT

Clothes and food in our packs and headed down to our cache. The round trip only took 2 hours and we were back in our tents relaxing. Relaxing is the main focus from now through tomorrow. The team has earned a rest day to recover from some big days and to recover for a big carry day on Friday. We are trucking along and right on schedule. Hopefully the weather keeps holding and we keep hitting all our target days. As we get ready for bed, light snow falls on our tents It’s a soothing sound to fall asleep to. As always keep up the good weather vibes and throw in there some sleep like 10-pound baby vibes.

Thanks for following along!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 - 2:13 pm PT

Stuck at Basecamp

Today was going to be the day, the start of the trip. The launching point of our grand adventure. We were ready. We had practiced our ice axe arrest, learned how to rig our sleds, and relearned how to use the bathrooms here. The CMCs. We went to bed anxious, ready, and excited. But that’s when the snow started, and kept going. We were socked in a cloud with no sign of any mountains around us and no viable window for a move to our next camp. So we sat and sat and drank coffee waiting for our time to come. When the sun finally showed itself, it was just too warm (I know, shocker) to head out. The biggest crevasses on our climb form on the lower Kahiltna and with the mushy snow from the strong sun/ warming temps plus the variable weather, we stayed at Basecamp. We’ll try again tomorrow to get to the base of Ski Hill, our Camp 1.

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli