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Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - 9:46 pm PT

Welcome back to another fine edition of the Denali blog! Today we awoke to somewhat stormy conditions so we hit the snooze and waited an hour for the weather to improve. Once the sky was looking happy we snarfed breakfast and took off towards the 13k cache garden. The first obstacle was the intimidating hill directly out of 11,000' Camp known as Motorcycle Hill, which was no problem as the team zoomed up it. We then turned the corner and surmounted the famous Squirrel Hill (less long and steep but with more exposure). Next we galloped across the long but flat feature known as the Polo Field! We took our last break at the edge of the infamous Windy Corner, which happened to be windless today! Finally after another hour of walking we were at the cache garden.  Luck would have it that we found an empty cache hole! We tossed our excess supplies in it, covered it up and turned down hill. In the blink of an eye we were back at 11,000' Camp relaxing till dinner time. Tomorrow should the good weather continue to hold we’ll move to 14,000' camp!

Thanks for tuning in…

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team!

Flying into Quito you begin to grasp the magnitude and astounding beauty of the volcanoes surrounding the city. The dichotomy of the lush Amazonian rainforest and the high, snowy mountains leaves one with a sense of the diverse ecosystems of Ecuador. Our first day included trip introductions, getting to know each other and exploring the city. We spent the first half of the day at the equatorial line, learning about the indigenous people of the Amazon and their culture. The second half of the day we explored old Quito, checking out stunning architecture and discussing the current politics of Ecuador. Our second day we took a teleferico or gondola up to around 13,000ft to begin our acclimating hike up to the summit of Rucca Pichincha at 15,354ft. Everyone enjoyed snacks and laughs at the summit before heading back to Quito for a delicious Mediterranean dinner.

RMI Guide Emma Lyddan

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 - 9:51 pm PT

We did our “back-carry” today.  Our cache above Windy Corner only took about twenty minutes to walk down to and an hour or so to walk back with.  So we got that done in the mid morning hours before the sun got too intense.  Much of this first full day at 14,200' was a rest day.  We did a short training session in the afternoon to review techniques we’ll use on the fixed ropes protecting the steep terrain between 15,000 and 16,200 ft.  The weather was even better today than yesterday… calm and sunny throughout.  Tomorrow we are hoping to carry supplies up onto the West Buttress. 

Jim says, “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SHARON!!”

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Howdy all,

One of the most important traits to have in expedition style climbing is patience. Patience to wait for a window that will give you the best odds to reach your goal: to safely summit the mountain. We are currently testing our patience waiting for the best opportunity for the team to move to 17,000' Camp and go for the summit. Rest days or waiting days can get long and can be quite boring but they are necessary. The down time can be hard and your mind can drift to family and friends and your life back home, but its important to keep your head here and in the game. Lots of tent time, snacking, reading, and Netflix occupy our time. We did get to greet a RMI team who came down from 17,000' Camp after a successful summit. It was fun seeing friendly faces and hearing about the route. It makes us that more excited to get up there. In due time it will be our turn. Till then we wait.

Till tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Monday, May 23, 2022 - 6:10 pm PT

Today we awoke to a world of synchronized visual perception, everything was the same milky white, the sky, the ground and the thin cover of frost draped over all the man made intrusions on this arctic alpine environment. Quite a stark contrast from the last few days of around the clock blue skies.

Despite the lack of visibility we still prepared to carry our gear as if the weather wasn’t part of the equation, hoping the eternal Alaskan summer sun would penetrate the trillions of suspended water molecules, and provide us with the conditions so desired to continue the task of climbing this mountain.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen soon enough, so we decided to use our time in the next most productive way, resting. The team enjoyed letting our bodies recuperate and help red blood cell counts climb after four days of work.

Tomorrow we will see what the mountain sends our way and keep you all posted!

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team

Thursday, May 19, 2022 - 12:35 am PT

Today the team woke up from a tumultuously excited slumber to bluebird skies and calm winds in Talkeetna, which apparently mirrored the conditions in the Alaska range. Due to our fastidious preparation the day before we stepped off the asphalt onto two full loaded Dehavilland Otters shortly after 830.

As the wheels left the tarmac we were treated to the most incredible flight into the Alaska Range I have ever experienced. It seemed as if we could see forever, and that’s because I’m pretty sure we could. The winds were so calm that we could fly through passes with granite and glaciers towering above the planes, seemingly no more than a wingspan away.

As the skis of the Otters came to a stop we were pleased to hear the sound of frozen crunchy snow beneath our boots. After a few hours of re packing and reviewing skills, we walked to Camp 1 under deep blue skies, wearing nothing but our sun hoodies and toothy grins.

Now we are settled into our sleeping bags, much like our camp is nestled in the immense beauty of the alaska range.

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team.