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Posted by: Hannah Smith, Dustin Wittmier, Devin Guffey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Good evening,
What a day, what a day! One step closer to the summit! Today started rather frigid. The clear skies made for a cold morning. Our toes and fingers were screaming for warmth. But as usual once the sun hit camp, everything warmed up. The classic freeze or fry. It was a productive day, that started with a refresher on fix line travel then followed by a carry to 16,200'. Getting our gear up there sets us up for a move to 17,000' Camp when the weather looks good. We are going to be patient and wait till it looks good and then go for it. Tomorrow will be a rest day. The team is pretty good at chilling which is good on expeditions. Keep your warm toes and fingers crossed for good weather for us in the coming week!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
On The Map
Richard,
In this morning’s devotion..sending prayers & optimism
your way. Silver linings in the clouds are not hard
to find, on the way to dreams coming true. Warmth & perfect weather from
the center of the heart of a Santa Barbara girl is yours. One step at a time….
SOUL, Denise:.
Posted by: denise:. on 7/12/2012 at 7:17 am
Mark, what an adventure. So proud of you and the Team. Keep that sun tan lotion on. Stay safe. Bill
Posted by: Bill Hill on 7/11/2012 at 6:36 pm
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'
Friday June 3, 2022 - 8:54pm PT
We are on the move! The team woke up at 2AM to break camp, rig sleds, and get walking early in order to finish this first push before the midday heat set in.
The heavy loads couldn’t suppress the bubbling smiles on the faces of the climbers, as the Denali came into view with a glimmering sun behind it.
At the base of ski hill, we made camp and enjoyed a power nap before eating a spicy jambalaya dinner.
The team is feeling strong and stoked to continue upwards!
RMI Guide Liam Weed and Team
Heia Joachim! Håper du har det bra og koser deg på tur. Gøy å følge med på oppdateringene herfra. Stå på - du er helt rå!!
Hope you’re all enjoying the mountain! Looks like a great team. Greetings from Norway!
Posted by: Madeleine on 6/5/2022 at 2:35 am
Nothing like a little spice to start things off- Go team go! Big shoutout to Michael Alexander, you a rockstar! Love you like crazy. Sending positive energy to all! Alicia
Posted by: Alicia Becker on 6/5/2022 at 1:11 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Saturday, June 18 - 8:57pm PT
Today was bitter sweet. On one hand, we made our move to 14k camp. On the other,we said goodbye to one team member as she headed down hill having tested positive for COVID. You can't escape COVID, even in the mountains. Our climber is doing well and will be enjoying a margarita, clean clothes, and a flushing toilet soon.
For the rest of us, it was a big day moving to 14k camp. Gaining 3,000 feet with heavy packs and a sled is no small feat. We started in a cloud and only in our base layer but quickly walked into a breezy snowfall. The snow fell on us walking to our camp for half the day. By the time we got to our cache site, we had lost the snow and gained some heat. The sun's solar intensity was immense the last hour. You could feel your right side burning up. Our sunglasses felt hot. Heat panic was a thing. The team preserved and we rolled into 14k with a feeling of air conditioning as the clouds rolled back in and we lost the solar intensity. Moving in was quick since our tents were already set up and left by Avery's team. Some Ramen for the tummies and hot cocoa bring us to bedtime.
Everyone's bodies are excited to lay down and relax after our day and it is well deserved. We will see what the weather brings tomorrow for our agenda.
Rest well everyone,
Hannah and Team
So excited for you to be at 14!!! We’re sending positive healing thoughts to your teammate with covid :( and strength to the rest of the team for the days ahead! Love you all and grateful for this blog! PS - can we follow CJ’s garmin too?? Haha
Posted by: Ellen Lewis on 6/19/2022 at 8:15 pm
Love keeping up with your journey. Wishing Nathan and Yvonne an incredible experience as newly weds!
Posted by: Reagan and Richard on 6/19/2022 at 1:50 pm
Nelson, Kyle and Jacob are at 14,200. Wishing you and your team every success. See you on the way down!! NOLS WADDINGTON 2011.
Posted by: Glenn on 6/25/2012 at 8:10 pm
NELS!!! Miss you.. You better be writing down everything. Stay safe!
EB
PS You win this one.
Posted by: Erica on 6/25/2012 at 5:36 pm
Congratulations! And Happy Birthday (although I am a day late)! I was glad to read your thoughts about seeing Sara and Bill at the top, another time, but Bill did ask his family and friends to talk him out of it next time! I did notice that Sara did not make that same request! I believe they were both with you in spirit. Thank you for sharing this amazing journey with us. Well done.
Maggie, friend of Sara’s Mom
Posted by: Maggie Tully on 5/21/2011 at 10:13 am
Congratulations on behalf of the millions who are with you all the way but never could do it themselves!!
So uplifting for all of us! Thank you, thank you.
Wolf
Posted by: Wolf Schmidt on 5/21/2011 at 7:58 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Bryan Mazaika
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
Strong Winds, cold temperatures, and firm conditions kept RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Bryan Mazaika, and the four Day Team at Camp Muir last night. The weather has cleared up a bit this morning, so the team will take a short walk on the Cowlitz Glacier before descending. We expect them here at Ashford Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Well done Team!
Posted by: Abby Westling, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climbing team with RMI Guides Abby Westling and Ben Luedtke climbed last night and reached the summit as the sun was setting. The team spent their first day on the mountain with an acclimatization climb to Ingraham Flats. On day two they took advantage of a full night’s rest and chose to do a sunset climb, a rare and special treat for the climbers to see the stunning alpenglow on Mt. Rainier.
Congratulations Team!
Congrats on a spectacular summit!
-Nick
Posted by: Nick R on 7/11/2023 at 8:45 pm
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Augi Fleer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
Friday, August 5, 2022 7:15 am PDT
Baker Easton Glacier100% summit! Great day of climbing with a Strong Team!
Thursday, Augsut 4, 2022 6:31 pm PDT
We woke up this morning to some light rain that started sometime during the night. We remained in our tents most of the day taking advantage of the time to nap, rest, and enjoy some of our snacks. Before dinner we freshened up on some more skills in preparation for our climb. We are now cozied up in our sleeping bags and will try for the summit early in the morning. All is well and everyone is excited!
RMI Guides: Ben Luedtke and Augi Fleer
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli, Tatum Whatford, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Sunday, June 26, 2022 - 9:56 pm PT
A full night’s sleep was had by all. We got up for a leisurely breakfast at 8:30. Followed by a leisurely lunch at 1 PM. And there were naps. Our run of good luck with the weather has continued. It was partly cloudy today with some breezes blowing but it hasn’t been stormy at all and the forecast continues to be relatively stable. There are very few teams here at 11,000 now as new arrivals to the mountain taper off with the end of the climbing season in sight. We were happy to have Hannah Smith’s successful team pass through in the early morning hours as they made their way to the airstrip.
All in all it was an excellent rest day and the team is ready for the big move to 14,000 ft.
Best Regards
All of us are doing good here but we miss your cute face D
Posted by: Jeannette Arnold on 6/29/2021 at 4:14 pm
Wow—you’re making quick work of formidable “hills”! Motorcycle Hill must’ve been a beast!
Looking forward (I think) to seeing entertaining photos from the Edge of the World… Steven, I hope you didn’t think it would be fun to jump in your photo op—eeks! The “classic freeze or fry” is a new concept for me, and yet another reason to admire Team Smith’s fortitude and determination. 17,000’ camp awaits!
- Pam
Posted by: Pam Singleton on 6/21/2021 at 10:47 am
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