Entries from Alaska
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 - 11:47 pm PT
The team moved to Denali's 17K Camp today through tough winds. We left camp early to blue skies and cold air as we headed up the fixed lines. The top of the fixed lines yielded increased wind, and we quickly donned our hard shells. As we climbed further up the West Buttress, we pushed through more ferocious wind and scattered clouds. Thankfully, as we rolled into camp the clouds abated and we are left hoping the weather holds for our summit push tomorrow.
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 - 5:24 pm PT
We had a cold clear night and woke to blue skies. The goal today was to cache food and fuel around Windy Corner at 13,500'. The route would take us up Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill. From there it’s across the Polo Field and into the Saddle before Windy Corner. Windy Corner lived up to its name but the winner of the strongest winds today was the Polo Field. The Team did well and enjoyed the amazing views of the surrounding Alaska Range. We are back at 11K Camp eating food and enjoying some warm tents. We hope to move to 14K Camp tomorrow if the weather permits. There is a weather system forecasted that might keep us here for a few days. We’ll let you know when we know.
Great photos, looks spectacular. Stay strong Rob and team!
Posted by: Brett on 6/4/2021 at 7:07 am
Climb Strong Brother Tom!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/4/2021 at 2:51 am
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - 3:10 pm PT
The forecast ended up being accurate for a change. We got light snow and wind beginning around midnight that has intensified over the morning. Between the wind, snow and lack of visibility we are staying at 11,200’ today in hopes of making a carry to 13,500’ when the weather allows. Until then we are enjoying the heavier meals and lot of good stories in the kitchen tent. While not the most exciting part of the trip, days like this let the legs rest and the heart/lungs acclimate which will only help us up higher on Denali.
I hope you are acclimating well; taking deep breath’s and enjoying such amazing views. Praying for good weather and a safe climb. Cheeseburgers will be waiting for you!
Posted by: claudette Crockett on 6/4/2021 at 5:01 am
Stay warm Rob and team!
Posted by: Connie on 6/3/2021 at 7:41 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - 12:03 pm PT
Happy June 1st! It doesn't feel like it much here at 17K. We missed sending a dispatch last night because of some electronic technical difficulties that are resolved, but you should have heard via RMI Alaska Team led by Mike Walter that we all moved to 17K yesterday on a perfect day. It was relatively warm, calm, sunny, and as we were the first few teams out of camp, were able to move smoothly up the fixed lines and along the West Buttress.
We had hopes of going for the summit today, but the chance of snow that often only brings precip to the lower mountain defied that hope overnight and into today. We've got 3 to 4 inches of new snow in camp, still snowing, low vis, and just enough wind to move it around at maximum efficiency. It was a pretty easy call to stay in the tents today and ride it out, hoping that tomorrow brings clearer conditions.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert, and team
Wahoo to ALL of you! What a thrill to watch your progress from afar. I say sleep for days has been well earned!! I am so very proud of each of you and all the major steps you took to get there and then to make the summit. Wow is all I’ve got and thanks to the team of guides who kept you safe and focused and climbing!!! Amazing!
Posted by: Bethany on 6/3/2021 at 4:22 am
Can’t wait to hear you made it to summit - good luck Matt! All the way!
Posted by: Mitchell Fry on 6/2/2021 at 5:03 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Avery Parrinello, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 2:54pm PT
Strong winds and lots of blowing snow have us tent bound today. The fortresses of snow walls we built yesterday are paying huge dividends, protecting the thin pieces of nylon between us and the elements. We can hear the winds roaring over the West Buttress above us, a sound that evokes images of violent ocean waves crashing onshore.
Fortunately life in our tents is relatively serene and warm.
We’re hoping for better weather in the wake of this storm; we’ll figure out our next move then. When will ‘then’ be ‘now’? Soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
Gearing up for some good stories :) Sending good vibes for some calmer skies!
Posted by: Margaret on 5/30/2021 at 5:50 pm
Theme song for today:
WHATEVER IT TAKES!
Falling too fast to prepare for this
Tripping in the world could be dangerous
Everybody circling, it’s vulturous
Negative, nepotist
Everybody waiting for the fall of man
Everybody praying for the end of times
Everybody hoping they could be the one
I was born to run, I was born for this
Whip, whip
Run me like a racehorse
Pull me like a ripcord
Break me down and build me up
I wanna be the slip, slip
Word upon your lip, lip
Letter that you rip, rip
Break me down and build me up
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
‘Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
Always had a fear of being typical
Looking at my body feeling miserable
Always hanging on to the visual
I wanna be invisible
Looking at my years like a martyrdom
Everybody needs to be a part of ‘em
Never be enough, I’m the prodigal son
I was born to run, I was born for this
Whip, whip
Run me like a racehorse
Pull me like a ripcord
Break me down and build me up
I wanna be the slip, slip
Word upon your lip, lip
Letter that you rip, rip
Break me down and build me up
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
‘Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top, I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
Hypocritical, egotistical
Don’t wanna be the parenthetical, hypothetical
Working onto something that I’m proud of, out of the box
An epoxy to the world and the vision we’ve lost
I’m an apostrophe
I’m just a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see
I’m just a product of the system, a catastrophe
And yet a masterpiece, and yet I’m half-diseased
And when I am deceased
At least I go down to the grave and die happily
Leave the body and my soul to be a part of thee
I do what it takes
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
‘Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top, I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
~ Imagine Dragons
Posted by: Julie Morris on 5/30/2021 at 10:37 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 11:00am PT
After tucking in last night to blowing winds and less than optimal conditions, we awoke this morning to bluebird skies and generally improved weather. The team wasted no time digging out our camp and getting settled in to 14k life. Most of the day was spent making a quick lap to pick up our cache by Windy Corner and building snow block walls around the tents.The day ended shortly after 8pm.
Here in Genet Basin the temps drop quickly once the sun falls behind the nearest ridgeline and we all retreated to our tents to climb into our sleeping bags.
Thanks for following along with us!
RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team
Rob, the expedition photos are incredible. Excited for you! What an awesome challenge and reward! I’m at sea level battling 74 degree nights, 84 days, 12-17mph wind off the Gulf, Mosquitos like hummingbirds and prepping for Indy 500. Can’t wait to hear about your climb! Hold Fast! TS
Posted by: Thomas Stephens on 5/30/2021 at 7:02 am
Sounds like you battled a frigid night. Love hearing about your journey. One step at a time!
Love,
Santanas
Posted by: Allison Santana on 5/29/2021 at 6:13 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Avery Parrinello, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Friday, May 28, 2021 - 8:05pm PT
Today started out clear but cold and breezy. I’d say we picked up about a meter of snow in the past couple of days, with lots of wind transportation and deeper drifts. The winds abated and it was quite pleasant in camp today, which was nice as it afforded us time to reinforce our snow walls ahead of the storm that is forecasted to move in tonight. We’re anticipating more snow and strong winds tonight and tomorrow. Winds of seventy miles per hour are likely at high camp (17,000'). We’re at 14,000', so we expect lower wind speeds here. We’re dug in and ready for it.
The hope is that we’ll have a few days of good weather in its wake in which we can move to high camp and make a summit bid. We’ll keep you posted as this storm materializes.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
Danielle I bet you don’t miss him as much as we do! The kids keep saying daddy needs to come home soon :) Love you Daddy!
Posted by: Jen Jezak on 5/29/2021 at 3:18 pm
Praying for warmer weather, NO wind and NO snow, strength, mental toughness and above all SAFETY for everyone! We are having a big party when you get back. All y’all are invited! Come visit us in Scottsdale, AZ.
Posted by: Julie Morris on 5/29/2021 at 12:57 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Friday May 28, 2021 - 7:39pm PT
The winds and snow moved out for us today and we got to enjoy some sun and warmth in camp. We could still see winds moving quickly at times up above us on the west buttress, but it was nice to have pleasant conditions for a bit. We took the opportunity to build some truly monumental walls to protect against an expected wind event tomorrow, then refreshed and practiced our fixed line travel to prep for when the weather and conditions let us go higher.
Tomorrow is almost certainly a tent bound day, but the trend looks good for us going into next week. For now, we're happy to be acclimating and getting strong at 14,000', and to be within striking distance of our objective.
RMI Guides Pete, Matias, Chase, and Team
Go, Cram, Go! Do it for the CZ. Wishing you good luck and safe travels.
Posted by: Z (Simsbury) on 5/30/2021 at 9:46 am
It seems that there are several teams @ 14, 000 camp 3. You started out I believe, as 2nd team. do you have to wait for team one to go to the peak first? Either way God speed.
Posted by: Carter Thoenes on 5/29/2021 at 12:24 pm
Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Thursday, May 28, 2021 - 7:43pm PT
Today was a slow day for us on the Kahiltna. We alternated between blue skies and whiteout, and the wind blew a steady 20-30mph all morning. We made hash browns, eggs, and quesadillas for brunch, traded card tricks, and talked about a few climbing related things.
The wind has now died down, and we’ve got a little bit of evening sun. Everyone is well rested and ready to get moving around tomorrow, so hopefully the weather cooperates. That’s it from us on the lower Kahiltna, another good day in the books!
RMI JM Gorum and Kahiltna Seminar Team.
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 9500'
Friday, May 28, 2021 - 5:09pm PT
We had another stormy night here at the base of ski hill. We woke to clear skies and decided to try and move some food and fuel towards Kahiltna Pass and the turn up to 11,200’ camp. 30 minutes into the day the wind picked up and the loose snow started spinning. With some warm gloves and a few layers we leaned into the very consistent and very cold 15 mph wind and took it an hour at a time. Eventually we got to 9500’ which met the goal for the day. The ravens will dig up shallow caches so we dug a deep hole and buried our food and fuel. We beat feet down to camp and are currently enjoying some sun on the tents while that very consistent 15 mph wind spins snow everywhere.
We’ll see what we get tomorrow and a move to 11,200’ is planned.
RMI Guide Mike King & Team
Farmer Dave to Brother Tom….Remember You are Tough as Nails!!! Sing a little John Denver, that will always make things seem perfect!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/30/2021 at 8:56 am
Good luck to the whole team
Posted by: Cathy H on 5/29/2021 at 7:48 pm
-640x480.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
E-L-L-I-O-T & Team!
Denali Rules: P = m x v
(summit) Momentum = (team) Mass x Velocity (of its heart)
Stay present; enjoy your ride up and down that glacial coaster!
Un pour tous et tous pour un!
Love
Athos, Porthos & Aramis
Posted by: Shawn Dalgleish on 6/3/2021 at 6:34 pm
Elliot and team
Our positive thoughts are coming your way for a successful climb to the summit.
You’ve got this!
Mom and Dad Campos
Posted by: Susan Campos on 6/3/2021 at 11:58 am
View All Comments