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Posted by: Dave Hahn, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 358'
Update at 12:12 pm PST: The team is flying into basecamp! The weather cooperated for flights and we expect to hear from the team once they are settled on the glacier.
12:00 am PST:
The plan was for us to get started with our Denali expedition today. We needed good mountain flying weather. We had high hopes, but as it turned out, we also had low clouds. It was on the dark and rainy side if things as we finished breakfast and walked out toward the airstrip in Talkeetna. During the course of the day, the cloud cover would lighten here and there and we monitored alternating reports that it was getting better or worse now and again at our intended basecamp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier... But in the end, the upshot was that conditions never really got good enough for our pilots to risk flights into the range.
The team took the delay without great concern, we passed the time hanging at the hangar, playing ping pong, listening to music and catching up on email and current events. We enjoyed fine Talkeetna meals at various restaurants and we took advantage of the comforts of one more day of civilization. Into the mountains tomorrow. Possibly.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Hello from the Sulphide Glacier on Mount Shuksan!
The team and I are at camp, located at 6,000' on the Sulphide Glacier. We had a mix of rain, sun, mist and fog on our hike to camp today. It's currently overcast but no precipitation while we get ready to eat dinner. The hike took us 6 1/2 hours to get here and everyone is doing well.
Tomorrow's itinerary includes practicing some mountaineering skills to prepare for the upcoming summit bid.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Kel Rossiter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Billy here checking in from Camp IV at 14,200' after a strong showing from our team on a big move up. We enjoyed mostly clear skies and incredibly strong sun on the way up from our previous camp at 11,000'. In fact, the sun was a little too strong; while the ambient temperature hovered in the teens we felt like we were boiling for the majority of our climb. It's amazing what a little radiation can do. After all our hard work we were rewarded with an easy move-in to Mike Walter's recently vacated camp. Sometimes you just get lucky. The high pressure is supposed to stick around through the extended forecast so we aim to keep on chipping away...
Wulpseeya!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Go Derek!! Myself and Jr are so proud of you!!mom and pop are praying for ye every day xxx
Posted by: Lisa oz on 5/25/2013 at 7:54 pm
I’m so proud! Yall are gettin it done.
Posted by: Kristen on 5/25/2013 at 7:00 pm
Today we got a slightly earlier start to try and beat the heat on the steep climb up to Tengboche. Yes it gets hot here at times, especially if you are hiking up steep southern-facing slopes. Tengboche sits atop a small hill (by Himalayan standards) and is well known because of the Tengboche Monastery. Believed to have been built in the 13th century, it is home to about 45 Monks and Lamas. It doesn't take much imagination to know why they believe this place to be special, as the view from here is breathtaking. From this one spot you are not only surrounded by giant mountains you have a wonderful view of Everest and many other gigantic peaks. After getting settled in our tea house we quickly hiked back to the monastery and sat in during a prayer session. Sadly only one monk was there as the others were off visiting other monasteries and helping people throughout the valley. It was beautiful experience nonetheless!
Everyone is still in good spirits and having a great time.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hope you all tried the apple pie at the cafe next to the monastery. You all look as though you are doing well. Amazing photos and so glad the weather is cooperating so far. Miss you !
Posted by: Kathryn LeBey on 3/27/2013 at 6:41 pm
Hope the moon has been beautiful for all of you! Sounds as though you have seen so much…spectacular scenery..so proud of all of you..especially our Richmond women! Xoxo, Nano
Posted by: Nancy Cole on 3/27/2013 at 3:44 pm
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What a great day in and around Namche Bazaar! Views outside of our hotel show the surrounding peaks rising about 20,000 feet. We are all fully energized with these spectacular views and went to one of the bakeries and coffee shops to start our morning.
Namche has many shops we can meander through during our rest day. The team and I spent some time perusing through but remembering to not overload our packs on the way to Base Camp. Try and buy it on the way out is my recommendation.
We will continue to enjoy the clear views of all the mountains today and the perfect weather. I know we are in for another beautiful day for the climb to Deboche tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Susan & Bill—I’m “watching” you guys and vicariously enjoying your Great trip! You look Terrific - like you belong there!! Sally
Posted by: Sally U on 3/25/2013 at 3:44 pm
Wonderful looking sweets Peter and Gerry - hope you stayed away from them and are managing to continue exercising… :-) you are both missed - be safe!
Posted by: Laurel Neil on 3/25/2013 at 9:02 am
Hello from Mount Everest Base Camp. We've been up at 17,500 ft for two nights already and it is beginning to feel like home. We had high hopes for continuous communication possibilities this year, since we were hearing so much about the 3G cell service at Base Camp... but the reality is that we are still mostly on a dirt road version of the information super-highway. We didn't have much access to cell or web services when we trekked from Pheriche to Lobuche in new snow under overcast skies. Things were cold in Lobuche, but not unpleasant as we passed the evening hours playing games in the dining room of the Eco Hotel. We stretched our legs some with a hike along the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier and Bill and Sara got good at identifying the dozen or so Himalayan giants piercing the horizon around us. In the afternoon of our Lobuche rest day, we were excited to visit with Linden Mallory and his team of trekkers and climbers. They'd already spent a few nights at Everest Base Camp and were excitedly bound for Island Peak. Bill and Sara have climbed several times in the past with Linden and were naturally happy to see him again. When he completes his Island Peak climb and trek he'll make his way back up to Everest Base to join our team at about the point when we are getting into the Khumbu Icefall.
Two days ago, myself, Lam Babu,and Bill and Sara marched out of 16,000 ft Lobuche and took just four easy hours to reach Base Camp at 17,500 ft. It was wonderful then to meet our Sherpa team and to reunite with Jeff Martin, who'd sprinted ahead to help get the camp set up. Camp is indeed set up and we were amazed at the hard work the Sherpa staff had accomplished in chopping out level tent-sites and rolling boulders around to carve out a camp on this rough section of glacier. Now we've made the transition from tea-houses to tents... but it hasn't been that tough a transition. We are eating quite well now since Kumar, our chef of the past several RMI Everest expeditions, is back in the driver's seat and cranking out excellent meals. These first few days are purposely light on activity so that our bodies can catch up to the altitude, but we don't seem to be having a lot of trouble that way. It is nice now for each of us to be in our own tents and to be able to sort our climbing gear and clothing without moving to someplace new each day. New tents are popping up all around us as other teams get close to Base Camp. As expected, we were one of the first climbing teams to make it in for the season. We've already gotten to chat with the doctors of the "Everest ER" the clinic set up by the HRA about two camps away from us. Later today we'll walk a little with our ice axes in hand, just for some light exercise, and tomorrow we are looking forward to our Puja ceremony... asking the blessing of the gods before we put ourselves at risk on this giant mountain.
The cell service may not be robust at Base Camp (it seems to be mostly a 9 to 5 kind of thing, due to a reliance on solar power, we suspect) but the glaciers are still functioning pretty efficiently up here. We are getting used to the sound of big ice avalanches on the steep faces around camp. Snow conditions seem much the way I've come to expect them in the past few years... it looks like it has been quite dry again in these high mountains. The Khumbu Glacier in the vicinity of Base Camp has just been melting steadily throughout the year, without much surface replenishment... although it is relatively cold now, there is already some water flowing in the streams. The word is that the Icefall Doctors have already pushed the climbing route close to the Camp I area, which is good news... we can't tell too much about the Icefall from looking up at it... it looks just as mean and ridiculous as ever, but it is nice to know that a path has been found through it once again.
Best Regards,
Dave Hahn
Bill & Sara & Dave, et al,
Great work to make it to Base Camp healthy. Love that great acclimatization schedule. Enjoy Puja today, and good luck in the Icefall. Kudos to the Icefall Doctors! Praying for safe passages through it for y’all.
Posted by: Mac Bridges on 4/9/2011 at 4:38 am
Yeah, I was the guy whose knees couldnt take any more, thanks again, Good luck on your climb.
Posted by: George Orange on 4/8/2011 at 9:30 pm
Posted by: JJ Justman, Mike King, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
After two days of rest at 16,400 feet we woke up this morning to strong winds. So strong in fact we had to do some midnight tent repairs. We saddled up our packs and leaned into the wind. The team is now at Camp 2 settled in their tents at 18000 feet. Everyone is great and we are happy for a new view overlooking the Andes.
Unfortunately, one of our climbers wasn't feeling well at Camp 1 and had to descend. He returned to Mendoza and has been checked out by local doctors. We are glad to hear from him this morning that he has been released to fly home. We hope to see him in the mountains again soon.
RMI Guide JJ Justman and Team
On The Map
Hey dad! (Lew Smith) Kim has been keeping everyone well abreast of the situation with the climber that had to descend and we wish him the best. We hope you are doing well and that you will be able to go for the summit today, weather permitting, of course! Love you and we are so proud of you!
Kyle and Steph
Posted by: Kyle A. Smith on 1/27/2014 at 6:09 am
Lew, I hope today is the day for ascent! Good Luck and God is with you.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Harvey on 1/27/2014 at 6:04 am
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Still here in base camp in case you were wondering. It is snowing with poor visibility. There were some "sucker holes" in the clouds that gave us some false hope at midday today.
We did get out and get some exercise today. Everyone in camp that is waiting to fly got on their skis/snowshoes and stomped down a runway in the snow. We all took it quite seriously since we want the airstrip to be ready when the weather is good enough to fly!
Everyone is happy and healthy and ready to be off the mountain. Cross your fingers!
RMI Mt. McKinley Summit Team 6
P.S. Lance wants his girls to know he loves them and will be home soon.
P.S.S. Steve will call Tania, mom and dad, & Bill and Lisa as soon as he is off the mountain.
On The Map
There is an insane amount of cold diet coke in the fridge. Just saying. Jack and I loveyou, Quinn!!!
Posted by: Liz & Jack on 7/3/2013 at 7:27 pm
Steve and Grasshopper,
Congratulations on achieving the summit! So happy you were able to persevere through. Thinking of you this holiday, stay safe. Working on sending clear weather your way:)
Robin(pinky)
Posted by: Robin Biedrzycki on 7/3/2013 at 6:51 pm
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Hi All!
We are hanging out in beautiful Talkeetna, Alaska. We had a gorgeous day for organizing and packing our gear. the sun is shining and the mountain is visible in the distance. The team met up in Anchorage yesterday and have been slowly molding into Summit Assassin RMI Team 6! They really are a great crew!
Our gear is all bagged, weighed, and tagged. We got the word that we are all supposed to fly to basecamp around 9 tomorrow morning so we are all scrambling to get in those last correspondences and last minute tasks before the morning. We are all set for an incredible expedition. Off to bed for an early start-
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Good luck and be safe. We are thinking about you always.
Posted by: Bill Mackey on 6/13/2013 at 8:32 pm
Hello again from Africa.
All is well here as we continue to have fantastic weather for our climb. Once again the team impressed me with their performance on the 1,500' high Barranco wall in just over a hour. We were one of the first groups out of camp and had most of the trail to ourselves with only a few porters passing along the way. Those that did impressed us with how they scaled the near vertical wall with 50 lbs balanced on their heads.
We then traversed over to the Karanga Valley and descended a few hundred feet and then climbed back up and are now resting comfortably at camp. Its a beautiful camp with the summit of Kilimanjaro above us and the Karanga Valley below and we can see the forest that surrounds the mountain and the savannah beyond that. Quite a sight to say the least!
The entire team is doing great and I believe everyone is in awe over the fact that we leave camp each morning still standing and yet we always arrive with the new camp set up and waiting on our arrival.
Enjoying the good life and looking forward to moving to high camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
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Cathy.
Enjoy each day. Be safe.
Love you, Mom
Posted by: Dorothy Roberts on 6/30/2012 at 6:57 am
Cathy,
I hope the weather clears and you can be on your way. Have a great adventure.
Alan
Posted by: Alan Greener on 6/29/2012 at 9:57 pm
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