Entries from Alaska
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
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Sunday, May 18, 2025 - 11:35 pm PT
Cache retrieval complete! It was an in and out snowy day, at time hot, at times cold, but winds stayed light so we bopped back to 13,500ft and retrieved our goodies. The rest of the day we rested and took stock. Most realized they have some work ahead to catch up on lunch food eating. Tomorrow looks snowy so we’ll take a full rest day, probably build some walls, and Ben has a short seminar called “get your fix” to get everyone ready for the fixed lines above. And though this will post tomorrow morning, Brian wants to wish Lacey a very happy anniversary (and we wish the same to them both!).
Best from 14,000' Camp to everyone at home,
RMI Guides Pete, Ben, Nick, and team
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McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
Sunday, May 18, 2025 - 1:41 pm PT
We woke up yesterday and though there were thick clouds above that moved in and out, it was clear that the air was incredibly calm. We packed up camp shouldered some heavy loads, and said goodbye to our camp at 11,000'. We were in those clouds nearly all the way to 14,000', but they were holding in the solar gain and it was one of the hottest days of the trip. Overall, it was quite smooth and we made it to 14,000' Camp yesterday evening, set up camp, and crashed for a night of well deserved rest. It’s great to finally be at 14,000'. This is our home away from home, where we’ll rest, acclimate, get strong, and wait for our shot at the summit. The views out over the rest of the range are stunning. We’re prepping right now for a quick trip back to 13,500' to grab our cache, and then we’ll rest the remainder of the day. It’s starting to snow lightly and the next couple of days do look snowy.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Sunday, May 18, 2025 - 1:53 am PT
We woke up this morning with the feeling that we would fly today and in the end we were right. A little after noon we got the call we had been waiting for. And quickly got into our boots. After a circuitous and beautiful flight we landed on the Kahitna Glacier. Despite the later hour, with good weather and high stoke, we quickly left base camp and made our way to Ski Hill. The team is very happy to be on the mountain and making our way up.
RMI Guide Seth Burns and team
Be safe sweetheart you got this! i’m so proud of you and I hope you have a great time and see lots of amazing views. I love you love, mom.
Posted by: Laura Hittmann on 5/19/2025 at 5:09 am
You’ve got this Will!!! What an adventure!
We love you!! Can’t wait to hear about it and see the awesome pics!
Safety to all!
Love, Mom
Posted by: Annette Sutila on 5/18/2025 at 2:16 pm
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Saturday May 17, 2025 2:07 pm PDT
Seth Burns and Team checked in from Talkeetna, they are loaded and Flying onto the Kahiltna Glacier.
Let the climbing begin!
New Post Alerts:
McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Godspeed out there Will. We’re excited for your journey and thinking about you every day.
Posted by: Andrew and Nicole Gonzales on 5/18/2025 at 5:30 am
Have fun out there, Juan and team! I’ll be cheering for you every step of the way.
Posted by: Jackie on 5/17/2025 at 3:17 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Thursday, May 15, 2025 9:49 pm PDT
In the words of Thornjamin “when we awoke the weather was like nahhh, but then it was like jahhh”, and we carried to 13,500’.
It was windy when we woke but it quieted enough to convince us to go walking and turned out to be a quite smooth day. Tomorrow looks snowy and we intend to chill hard. These are times that lead us to say thanks to those in our life providing a multitude of remote weather advice, especially to Henry, whose whiteboard of weather models, maps, sharpies, and seemingly random red lines have yielded incredibly accurate results. Ask him how he does it?
But in all seriousness, we are psyched to have a cache up high and be looking at a rest day tomorrow. Things are going smoothly, the snow makes climbing quite forgiving for this time of year, and temps have been balmy (relatively) as well.
Best from 11,000’,
RMI Guides Thornjamin Bennycroft, Nick, Pete, and Team
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Wednesday May 14, 2025 - 8:52 pm PT
Our first full day in Alaska greeted us with a beautiful and crisp morning. Today was a day of packing and repacking, prepping for the weeks ahead. While at time tiresome, we were laying the groundwork for a successful climb. By the end of the afternoon, bags were packed, food checked, and our team organized into our two flights. Excitement is high as we hope to fly to basecamp tomorrow.
All the best- RMI Guides Seth, Jackson, Ray, and team.
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McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Everyday is a grind, but the ending will be amazing, keep pushing! Remember each moment!
Posted by: Josh Durkiewicz on 5/15/2025 at 9:12 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,200'
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - 7:34 pm PT
It’s been a quiet, calm day here at 11,000 ft Camp. We slept in as sun doesn’t reach camp until 9:20 AM, though it never gets dark either, and then cooked up some blueberry pancakes. That started the conversation of Canadian or Vermont maple syrup of which there is only one correct answer. But all agreed New York maple syrup loses to both. We set out just after noon for a quick and light mission to retrieve our cache from below. The rest of the day has been spent relaxing and resting after a big couple of days on the lower Kahiltna. We are now done for the time being with sleds and snowshoes - and there was much rejoicing. It’s snowing lightly in camp and there are snow showers in the forecast for the next several days, so we’ll look for the right moment to get our cache put in at 13,500'.
RMI Guides Pete, Ben, Nick, and team.
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
More photos of your adventure please.
Posted by: Nancy on 5/15/2025 at 10:55 am
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - 10:03 pm PT
Hello from Talkeetna! After a long day of travel we have arrived in this lovely little town, our launching off point. The excitement is tangible as we settle in, looking forward to a day of packing and prep tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Burns
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McKinley Expedition May 13, 2025
Thank you so much for setting up this thoughtful webpage. We’ll be following along with the update! Wishing you all strength, endurance, good weather, and an amazing experience!
Love you Grace and Jason!
Posted by: Carol, Yong & Ruihua on 5/15/2025 at 8:14 am
Will, what an incredible adventure - soak in every moment!! We cannot wait to hear about it!! Xoxo
Posted by: Nicole and Drew on 5/15/2025 at 5:18 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Ben Thorneycroft, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - 10:27 pm PT
11,200’ is our new home! We weren’t entirely psyched when we woke this morning as there was a thick cloud bank and ripping winds where we needed to go. We did a partial pack and stalled and waited. As the sun climbed and warmed our camp, the clouds began to rise, and the wind began to die. That was enough for us - we pulled the rest of the camp down, loaded up sleds (all have names, goose and Tinkerbell are a few) and started uphill.
We had as smooth and steady of a climb as we could wish for and rolled into 11k this evening after a 7-hour walk. We are happily dug in and working towards dinner. Tomorrow we’ll go back to retrieve our cache which is a short day, and then be set to keep looking uphill.
RMI Guides Pete, Ben, Nick, and Team
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Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Monday, May 12, 2025 - 9:58 pm PT
We ended the trip exactly like we wanted. Bathed in sunshine. Even though the trip started with some stormy weather and wet days it ended with perfect blue skies. Our final two days were spent exploring crevasses, ice climbing and continuing into the various corners of the Ruth Gorge. Our last day was spent packing up camp in the brisk early morning cold and beginning the trek back to the Ruth Gorge Ampitheater where the Sheldon Chalet oversees the landscape. With the warming of the day and the buzzing of airplanes overhead it wasn't long until we were back to our plane slightly sweaty and sunburnt. The ride that ensued after was probably the most beautiful flight I've seen flying out of the Alaska range. We punctuated the trip with food and drinks in sunny Talkeetna!
Until next time,
RMI Guides Dan May, Joey Manship and the Ruth Glacier Seminar team
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Go get it, Will! Have fun and be safe! Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Posted by: Edward Dailey on 5/19/2025 at 6:08 am
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