Entries from Mt. McKinley

After an early breakfast In Talkeetna we loaded our gear in the single otter airplanes and changed into our mountain attire before taking a scenic flight into the Alaska Range, with the final destination being Kahiltna Base Camp. After another round of shuttling gear, setting up a quick camp and enjoying a quick dinner, it was an early bedtime as we will be getting up in a couple of hours to start our journey up the mountain to Camp 1.

We will check in soon!

RMI Guides Andy, Grayson, and Ben

Friday, June 17, 2022 1:47 AM

June 17th 2022 - THE TEAM SUCCESSFULLY SUMMITS!

Well hot diggity dog we did it! We went to bed with several inconclusive weather forecasts stressing us out and a weather check at 4:30 confirmed cloudy skies. Alas our actual wake up of 6:30 gave us the surprise “nowcast” we had been waiting for, clear skies and no sign of winds! Huzzah! We quickly set about rallying the troops and making hot water for breakfast. When it was all said and done we were walking by 8:30 headed up, up, up! We first scaled the imposing and cold “Autobahn”. A large steep traverse that gains us about a 1,000 feet. Next we zig and zagged through “Zebra Rocks” gaining more elevation rapidly. Next we meandered slowly and steadily uphill crossing the Denali summit plateau until we got to the “Football Field” a large flat zone that led to our final two obstacles. “Pig Hill” and the summit ridge proper! Pig Hill is a daunting final push up several switch backs to gain elevation before traversing the true summit ridge. The Summit Ridge gave us incredible views and big exposure before finally giving way to the true summit itself! The highest point in North America! There was much congratulating and picture taking and before you know it, it was time to head down. We retraced our steps safely and efficiently all the way back to camp. The crew was tired, thirsty and hungry but by jove they’d done it! All told 13 hours round trip. After being fed and watered, it was quickly lights out for everyone.

Talk to you tomorrow friends, family and loved ones!

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the Team

It is a beautiful, sunny day in Talkeetna. The team is hard at work organizing and packing in preparation to fly into Basecamp tomorrow. Everyone is excited and making last minute decisions on oreos vs. famous amos and apple cider vs. hot chocolate. Decisions, decisions...

RMI Guides Andy, Grayson, Ben and Team

Friday June 17, 2022 1:47 am PT

Hello everybody!

Sorry for the late post, here’s what happened yesterday! The short story, we moved to 17 camp and it was exhausting. Oh wait, huh? You want the long story. Alright fine….

So we pre-packed as best we could the night before because we were looking to get a early start. Nothing is more annoying than be stuck behind folks on the fixed lines. Lucky for us our plan worked out. We were the first ones out of 14 camp… actually we were one of only two teams moving that day. The weather forecast has been rather wishy washy so I think spooked some teams from moving. Thankfully we had the inside connection to several forecasts and forecasters so we were optimistic that this was the right move. Anyhoo the team styled the fixed lines again, though this time was a little less joyous due to heavy packs crunching down on our hips. At the top of lines we began to climb some of the best terrain of the trip, the West Ridge! It was an exciting mix of snow, rocks, big exposure, beautiful views, running belays and a little more ascending. The weather was perfect and the team had a blast. When we arrived at 17 camp the real work began, building camp! At 17,000 feet you gotta work slow otherwise you’ll exhaust yourself. The team put in a Herculean effort erecting tents, snow block walls and a bathroom. Then it was freeze dried food for dinner and time to get some well deserved sleep. Depending on the “nowcast” if we wake up to good weather we’ll make our summit push tomorrow!

Wish us luck and send sunshine and low winds our way!

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the Team

Wednesday, June 16, 2022 - 8:47 pm PT

Hey-O,

Man did it feel good to sleep in! No alarms just a gradual wake up with no rush to get breakfast going. Twelve hours in a tent can be difficult but it is necessary for the body to adjust to the altitude. It takes a while for the sun to hit camp but once it does it thaws the frost from the tents and turns this frozen camp into a toasty one. While rest was the main goal for today we also needed to sort gear for our carry tomorrow and review some skills with crampons and ice axe. Another team rolled into camp today. It's been quiet here so their presence is welcomed. As the air starts to chill and the sun gets lower we all crawl back into our tents and get ready for the night. Tomorrow will be a fun day getting higher and closer to our objective.

Talk to you tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 - 10:30 pm PT

Well dear readers today will hopefully be the last dispatch from 14,000' Camp! After analyzing several forecasts and performing a ritual to appease the mountain weather gods, we’ve decided tomorrow we’re moving to 17,000' Camp! We are still very much on the “nowcast” though so fingers crossed that things look good in the morning! I’m sure you’re wondering about our day and sadly there isn’t much to write. Today was a bit of a Groundhog Day. Some folks went for a walk (the same as yesterday) some folks played cards (the same as yesterday) some folks stretched and did yoga (the same as yesterday) and some folks snacked aggressively (the same as yesterday). Learning to stay entertained and content while waiting for weather is an important expedition skill and the team has been nailing it these last several days. Here’s to hoping tomorrow’s weather is nice and we can break out of this loop!

Adventure is out there!

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team

Monday, June 13, 2022 - 10:37 pm PT

Hmmm how does one keep entertained while waiting for good summit weather? Well let me tell you! You start the morning as usual with the most important meal of the day, breakfast! Then the team rallies, gears up and heads to “The Edge of the World”! Whooo spooky! What’s the edge of the world you’re thinking? Glad you asked! It’s an epic cliff on the extreme edge of camp that looks 6,000 feet down to the valley floor. So pretty cool and obviously we took a bunch of hero shots of ourselves looking awesome. Then we wandered around the perimeter of camp, took a quick look at the crevasse formerly known as the “Poop Crevasse” (we now remove all our waste from the mountain instead of throwing it into the glacier). After that scenic detour it was more hanging about camp. Some of the team built snow lounge chairs to catch some rays. A handful of the team learned to play the best four person card game of all time, Euchre! The evening was capped off by the invention of a new cocktail, a mix of hot water, Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder and Fireball whiskey. It was deemed “The Backcountry Boyfriend” because it keeps you warm at night. Indeed it ‘twas a productive day here at 14,000 feet. Camp is in shadow now and we’re all tucked into our down sleeping bags, cozy and warm.

Goodnight, sleep tight and don’t let the ice worms bite!

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team

P.S. Google ice worms! They’re real!

Monday, June 13, 2022 - 8:50 pm PT

Hello from 11,000' Camp!

The alarm rang, we unzipped the tent and the conditions looked great. It was time to move to a new camp! Getting to 11,000' Camp is a great milestone. Here we get to spend several nights getting ready to move higher up the mountain. Step by step we are making it higher and higher. With all our camp loaded in our packs and sleds we hit the frozen trail. A brisk morning welcomed us on our trails and soon turned into a brisk breeze. A sting to the face brought us to the sunlight. We had finally climbed out of the clouds and man is it nice to be above the clouds. This camp has more teams. We are no longer alone. It's nice to see other teams around and have energy flowing through camp. Shoveling, chopping, and eyeballing the levelness of the tent platforms leads to a good looking camp. More naps and more snacking bring us to dinner. Life is simple out here. We walk, we set up camp, we sleep, we eat, we rinse and repeat. Tomorrow we will walk back downhill to our cache and be reunited with our things. It's a great feeling getting your food back. Hopefully the weather keeps treating us well and tomorrow is a smooth day.

Talk to you all tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Sunday, June 12, 2022 - 10:12 pm PT

Ahhhh, finishing up breakfast at noon. One of the fine pleasures of a rest day. On this day we not only continued to acclimate and gain strength but we also gained FLEXIBILITY! Thanks to our own team member / yogi Rebecca giving all of us an impromptu yoga class! Of course we had to substitute yoga mats for sleeping pads but the views were unparalleled. The class even had a few first time yogis who now get to brag their first class was at 14,000 feet! It was fantastic to limber up after days of dragging sleds and walking with heavy packs. We spent the rest of the afternoon swapping snacks and stories. We currently sit in the sweet spot waiting for our summit window. Below us is all clouds and snow, above us is windy and cloud capped.

Goodnight everyone and since we only do this once a day good morning and good afternoon as well!

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team

Sunday, June 12, 2022 - 8:59 pm

Good evening readers,

After sending the dispatch last night we listened to the weather from Kahiltna Basecamp. With the weather, basecamp also reads a trivia question. And guess what? We won it! What is a group of ravens called? An unkindness. And what an unkindness they will do if you don't bury your cache deep enough. So today when we arrived to our cache spot at 10,000', we made sure there would be no unkindness done to our belongings. Once again it was an early start to our day. A few snoozes to the alarm to let the weather clear up a bit led to some oatmeal and packing up half our gear. Carrying half our gear will allow our move tomorrow to be a little more enjoyable. The team cruised up ski hill, stepping over several crevasses, and making easy work of the first major uphill of our journey. Clouds took away most of our views but every once in awhile parts of the mountain showed its beauty. It was a good day and we also got our first taste of moving downhill. Sitting at camp looking up, it's amazing how much more terrain we need to cover. In due time we will get there. Tomorrow we will repeat what we did today plus a little to bring us to 11k camp. Getting to 11k is a great feeling because it will be our first camp we truly get to nest into and enjoy a rest day. For now, we have four minutes till the weather comes on, so we will end it here.

Happy reading,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team