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.
Hello Ken! What amazing scenery! Our best wishes to you and your team members for a safe and successful climb! We’ll be following your progress.
Diane and John
Posted by: Diane and John Bertosa on 5/21/2022 at 11:11 am
What beautiful pictures!! Must have been an amazing flight and glad to hear the walk to Camp 1 elicited more grins than groans (although one could not fault you for leaving those out of the blog!). Thanks so much for posting!!
Posted by: Nestor Davidson on 5/21/2022 at 3:41 am
The clouds blew in the right direction today. In fact, everything lined up just right in most ways today. It was an auspicious day... so judged by our Sherpa team after a careful reading of the Tibetan calendar. Auspicious enough that our Puja ceremony was held today. Doubly Auspicious because it was Easter Sunday. Thrice Auspicious because it was the nicest day we've had in a week.
Peter Whittaker revealed that he'd stayed up last night with a few of the Sherpa team in the kitchen to decorate Easter eggs. Not so surprisingly, the Sherpas had not gone through that particular ritual before and Peter said they fully got into the task, coloring boiled eggs and attaching bright stickers. They were excited at the convergence of Easter, the planned Puja and a Sunday to boot. Peter kept all of this to himself and arose at 5 AM to hop down the bunny trail to his partners' tents and quietly salt the area with Easter eggs. He said he was surprised to run into another rabbit out there secretly doing the same thing. Linden Mallory had his own egg planting plans for the morning and was busily hiding colored plastic eggs with prizes within.
After breakfast and before the Puja began, the team (those who had not been bunnies) chased around searching for eggs. Jeff Martin and Linden made things interesting by mentioning that two of the eggs held special prizes. Ed Viesturs quickly tracked down the one that granted its discoverer the free drink of his choice from Gorak Shep. It took Seth Waterfall a bit longer to hone in on the bright blue egg that held the $20 cash prize.
And then it was Puja time. The Puja is a ceremony quite important to our Sherpa team, and thus to us as well. In it, we ask the blessing of the mountain gods before setting foot on this sacred -and dangerous- mountain. A lama came up from Pangboche in order to read the correct prayers and chants. Our Sherpa team had worked throughout the morning to prepare a stone chorten as a sort of alter for the ceremony. Incense and juniper were lit as a way of sending fragrant smoke upward in offering. Partway through the three hour observance, a prayer mast was erected and flags unfurled in all directions. Our First Ascent team sat drinking tea and taking pictures of the colorful scene... but also contemplating the seriousness of an undertaking that requires so much blessing. The latter stages of the Puja involve a good deal of celebrating and toasting and tossing of rice. Finally, everybody grabs a big handful of Tsampa (barley flour) and tosses half of it in the air while saving half to smear on the faces of ones climbing partners. As you'd expect, this gets out of hand... and into hair, cameras, eyes, ears and everything as one and all laugh, shake hands and fist bump.
Our Sherpa team then invited us to join them in linking arms for a last half hour of carefree dancing and singing. We sang along and nobody seemed to mind that we didn't know either the words or the dance steps.
The word is that the last 200 meters or so of the route to Camp I are giving the Icefall Doctors a special challenge. We are hoping each day now to hear that they've forged some sort of passage. Tomorrow we resume our training at the foot of the Icefall. We'll be rested, blessed and ready.
We had quite the storm roll through last night with lots of rain and a very impressive lightning and thunder show. Thankfully it had mostly tapered by morning before we headed out on another safari in Tarangire National park.
It was pretty quiet initially as I’m sure the storm had most animals tucked away, but soon enough the wildlife was back and ever present. We saw the usual cast of characters with the highlights being a Serval Cat and a beautiful lioness lounging in a tree at close range.
We have just arrived at our new beautiful lodge just outside of Ngorongoro crater. It’s a stunning and extremely peaceful private lodge tucked away in a densely forested hillside.
Today we rested at basecamp, avoiding the high winds as much as possible. The team read books, watched some movies, and ate lots of snacks. We are waiting for a break in the winds to try and make a final move up the mountain.
Unless you are at Camp Muir, 10,080', this morning you most likely can't see Mt. Rainier. Fortunately for the Four Day Climb August 19 - 22, that's exactly where they were. With a little patience, improving weather and a bit later start from Camp Muir the Climb teams were able to reach the summit shortly after 7:15 AM today. RMI Guide Casey Grom reported light winds and clear skies about 7,200'.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
The team did fine work of packing up, grabbing a quick breakfast then good-bye Namche. Hello to Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse, Teboche, Cholatse, which are just a few peaks between 20,000' and 27,000'. Of course, the big one, Mt. Everest at 29,035' was also out in full bloom under clear skies and warm temperatures. No we didn't climb any of them, just enjoyed them from afar. Another great job by the A team. Tackled the Tengboche Hill in fine style and just as we arrived at the infamous monastery, a monk began blowing through a giant conch shell announcing the afternoon prayer. We abandoned our boots at the entrance and spent some time in the ornate sanctuary listening to them chant. A few nice photos and twenty minutes down the hill to the Rivendale Tea House for the night. A full day to say the least.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
So proud of you Nancy! You are a great inspiration to me. I even did a minor climb…I went to the top of Diamond Head. Keep you’re spirits up. You’re in my thoughts & prayers everyday. Love following you’re experience as it is happening.
Posted by: Cece on 3/28/2014 at 12:06 am
You all look amazing!! SO proud of you!! The weather looks beautiful.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen from the team at Pampa de Leñas. Yesterday we left the hot and humid climate in Mendoza for Los Penitentes where we enjoyed our last night in a warm bed and feasted in the Hotel Ayelen dining hall. This morning we began our hike into the Vacas Valley under some un-characteristic weather indeed. Instead of a clear blue sky and unrelenting sun, we left Punta de Vacas in a light rain and cool breeze. But as we pressed on, the rain soon subsided and we enjoyed a pleasant hike into camp where we had our tents up by 4:30 and dinner by 6:30. The team did a great job on this first day and we look forward to sunny skies tomorrow as we continue up the Vacas Valley to our next camp at the 'House of Stone'.
Hope everyone enjoyed their Monday; we certainly enjoyed ours.
Until Tuesday...
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
We made pretty good use out of today. The weather wasn't perfect, it still seems like the long, slow storm is lingering, but it wasn't all that bad either. There was still a ton of cloud hanging around when we got out of the tents at Low Camp this morning. We'd done the traditional sleep in until 11 AM so as to avoid the cold cold Vinson shadow that haunts Low Camp, but the surprise turned out to be that it really wasn't all that cold. The clouds had kept some heat in for us. Everybody was feeling good and well-rested, so we grabbed some supplies, shoved them in our packs and headed for high camp. The goal was to do a carry, to bring food up for our eventual move to high camp. But moving that food up wasn't nearly as important as getting everyone familiar with the climbing route and getting in some good exercise at altitude. We did all of that. The "meat" of the day was toiling for about three hours on the steep and continuous "fixed rope" section of the hill. By the top of the ropes, the weather had taken a slight turn for the worse, with a slight, but persistent breeze blowing new falling snow, We carried on the extra hour and a half to high camp anyway, since it seemed we were getting such good experience in and everyone was climbing strong. We were up to high camp by about 7:25 PM, meaning we were spot on the expected six hours. We just took a few minutes to cache the gear and food and then we were off down the hill. We got warmer as we descended and made pretty good time with light packs. It was 9 PM when we reached the base of the ropes and just another fifteen minutes or so brought us into camp. The sun came out while we were eating dinner and getting ready for bed, making all of that just a little bit easier.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
After many weather days at 14k and 17k, our team finally made it to the summit of Denali! The weather was promising, but not perfect this morning. It was overcast but still. You could see the sun shining through the tops of the clouds. After our turned back attempt the other day, we were very cautious and waited to see what the day was going to bring. We finally left camp at 11:20 in the morning. As we climbed, the weather got better and better. We climbed through the clouds into the sunshine. We made it to the summit around 8:00 p.m. It was clear with no wind, which is VERY rare on the top of the highest mountain in North America. Our crew was strong so we had a safe, quick descent back to camp arriving a bit after 11:00 p.m. A great 12 hour day. We had a quick dinner, caught the midnight sunset, and are now comfortably in bed. Now we can let ourselves start thinking about cheeseburgers!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
RMI Guide Mike Haugen checks in from the summit of Mt. McKinley.
A good thunder storm and the rain hitting the rooftop of our cold, but dry cabana made for a very restful night of sleep. After breakfast at the IMSS training compound of La Malintzi, we got back on our bus to make our way to the La Joya Trailhead. On the way we stopped in the markets of Amecameca to purchase our water, fresh tortillas, queso, and last minute snacks for our Ixta climb tomorrow. Once we entered the gates of the National park, we were greeted with hail, thunder, and snow for the remainder of our journey to the trailhead camp. Spirits were kept high though, as we were served another warm and delicious meal by the local staff. After our final packing for tomorrow's move up to Campo Alto. We were lucky enough to see both Ixta and the smoke off of Popocatepetl in the clear evening light after the thunderstorm passed. We are excited to begin our first objective bright and early after a good nights sleep at our trailhead basecamp.
Hello Ken! What amazing scenery! Our best wishes to you and your team members for a safe and successful climb! We’ll be following your progress.
Diane and John
Posted by: Diane and John Bertosa on 5/21/2022 at 11:11 am
What beautiful pictures!! Must have been an amazing flight and glad to hear the walk to Camp 1 elicited more grins than groans (although one could not fault you for leaving those out of the blog!). Thanks so much for posting!!
Posted by: Nestor Davidson on 5/21/2022 at 3:41 am
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