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RMI Guide Mark Tucker reports on the team's summit day
Posted by: Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,200'
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Saturday, June 24, 2023 7:39 am PDT
We’re at Basecamp and I think there is a good chance we will fly. We’ll let everyone know when we arrive in Talkeetna.
Friday, June, 23, 2023 8:28 pm PDT
The crew descended down to 11,000’ Camp where we will depart for basecamp during the night in hopes of flying off the mountain Saturday.
The weather has not been all that kind to us on this trip and we are in and out of snow as clouds stream up the Kahiltna glacier up and over Kahiltna pass. We’re hoping for flyable weather tomorrow but know that no one has flown off the mountain since Monday. Hopefully the next time you here from us, we’ll Be in Talkeetna!
RMI Guide Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship and Team
What a disappointment! This will make a third strike and out for eel/camel! Now the next time he sees a Denali will be when he visits us in Washington and our Alaskan Malamute, named Denali, will greet him at the front door. Time to move on my son.
Posted by: Roger Coffey on 6/24/2023 at 9:30 am
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 22, 2023, 9:33am PDT
Burdened with heavy packs, we climbed the 3000' to Genet Basin, our new home. Climbing conditions were excellent; weather ranged from warm and sunny to cold and breezy to snowy pea soup. Five hours after leaving our 11k Camp we arrived at 14k Camp, then had another few hours of building camp, melting snow, and making dinner. This morning is beautiful and we will go back to Windy Corner to pick up our cache. Lots of resting and eating will ensue.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team
Could someone just let us know which expedition Scott Crist is on (don’t need any other details) but we would like to follow the blog for that particular trip he is on. He asked me to follow it before he left and after the 2-3 day delay when they could not get on the mountain.
Thanks, Doug Mitchell
Posted by: DOUG MITCHELL on 5/22/2023 at 2:34 pm
Making great progress now !
Posted by: Kim H on 5/22/2023 at 1:58 pm
Adam Knoff Calling in from High Camp on Ixta
Way to go, Bruce !! Can’t wait to see all your photos.
barry fletcher
Posted by: Barry on 3/10/2014 at 11:46 am
Go Richard and team!
Posted by: Jenny Cooper on 3/7/2014 at 7:31 am
Posted by: JJ Justman, Mike King, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
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
Posted by: Mike King, Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Kick some ass Rick!
Posted by: ben spina on 1/27/2013 at 6:25 pm
Waiting anxiously for the next update. I love and miss you Rick. Hope the trek to camp 1 was fun and uneventful.
XOXOXO
Carol
Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 1/25/2013 at 3:41 pm
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Mike Uchal, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
On The Map
Happy Independence Day! Mike R we’re thinking of you all the time! Hannah has an impressive ball collection waiting for you…
Posted by: Susan on 7/4/2012 at 4:36 pm
Hey John, Happy 4th!!! Sorry you didn’t make the summit on the 4th, but the day is soon to come. Just got back from Maryland; very hot - it was 106 one day. Glad tobe home. Stay warm and safe. Jill
Posted by: Jill on 7/4/2012 at 4:05 pm
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
Our hearts are heavy tonight and the dinner conversation a bit more somber. Some of our party went down with a guide to head for base camp early. All for different reasons, their decision to descend is the most respected choice in mountaineering, one that takes strength, maturity, and courage. Climbing tall peaks is never about how far we can push ourselves, but about respecting our limits and knowing when, for the sake of our team, to call this day our summit. And that is why our hearts are heavy.
Since we began this trek two weeks ago, we have come to deeply care for one another. Conversation has flowed beyond the biographies of our lives to the maps of our souls and the gentle silence reserved for only the most familiar friends. We do not climb to reach summits alone but to plumb the depths of our inner lives as well.
That’s why this note is to our group six months from now, when everyday life feels routine, and the memories of this trek will have faded:
Dear Friends,
By the time we read this on August 2nd much will have happened since our cold nights and card games on the mountain. Mary Beth and Jess will have summited Everest and brought needed attention and funding to Ovarian Cancer. We’ll all have read Tim’s book, Jack will have a fresh harvest of greenhouse tomatoes, Dom might finally have a sunburn from his beach vacation, David will be signed up for Denali, Cameron will have spent the better part of the summer in Costa Rica, and Gator will be a legend on Mount Rainier. The infrequent emails we share will take us back to this moment and our memories together. But we won’t remember the hard parts, for that tends to fade.
Instead, we’ll remember the early dinners, deep laughs, nicknames, and lessons that brought us home different people from when we left. We’ll remember our gratefulness for those who spent their careers serving our country and the allure of Alaska. We’ll remember the basics of geology 101 and the majesty of how the Andes first reached for the stars. We’ll remember trying to avoid sunburn and yet yearning for the first kiss of morning sun on our tents before breakfast. We’ll remember going to bed at seven pm, rationing batteries, forgetting if we filtered our water, and the magic of a Garmin inReach. We’ll remember the Argentines who sacrificed months from home to make this climb possible, and we’ll remember the loved ones back in the states who picked up the slack so we could chase our alpine dream.
Deeper still than these moments are truths that will form who we become. For together, we’ve learned how to rest and seen that empty days have a joy all their own. When obligations, activities, and emails stack up we’ll remember our slow days as much as our climbs. And lastly, we’ll remember that a group of eleven strangers - folks with little reason to cross paths in our ordinary routines - became friends by sharing our stories and a common goal. We’ll remember that it’s true for most strangers we pass (yes, even that group) and hold a moment’s more space for the serendipity and friendship still ahead on our future climbs and ordinary days. We’ll remember each other and what we shared together with deep affection - and that’s what will matter most.
Climber Hudson Baird & Team
We have held you in our hearts and prayers daily. Blessed to have a seat in the balcony for all of you as your climbing and blogging inspire and instruct us.
Dad and Darla
Posted by: Jerry and Darla on 2/3/2023 at 10:55 am
We’re so proud and excited for you Dada! We miss you and hope you are able summit. Just remember it’s about learning, living, and coming home safely. Hugs and kisses - we can’t wait to see you and get some snuggles!
Mama, Teddy and Everett
Posted by: Jessica Sowinski on 2/3/2023 at 10:40 am
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Monday, January 30, 2023
It takes the sun seven minutes to send its rays to Earth. It likely took the same amount of time for those rays to wake up the team once the sun was shining upon camp. We awoke to sapphire blue skies with out a cloud to been seen. The temperature quickly began to climb as the solar radiation has little to deflect it at this altitude. We too would soon be climbing but not quickly! Here on this mighty stone sentinel, we are but turtles, slowly but surely heading uphill. A symphony of grunts, moans and creaking joints was heard as the team emerged from their tents. A most excellent breakfast of bacon, eggs and bagel sandwiches was served slowly, giving everyone time for their coffee to kick in and to slowly stretch and limber up their bodies. Today is our third day on the move and the team is feeling the repeated days of exertion at these high altitudes. This continued movement uphill with no rest days since basecamp is not a punishment for poor expedition behavior, but instead a strategic move. Getting to Camp 2 (also known as Guanacos Three) will put us within striking distance of Camp 3 and the summit. We will rest here, acclimatize, and wait for the best possible summit day to appear. Tonight we will settle into our new altitude, enjoying each others stories during dinner while we sit outside basking in the pleasant weather, taking in the magnanimous views of the Argentinian Andes laid out below us, as far as the eye can see.
With much love from high above,
RMI Guide Jack “Gator” Delaney and the team.
Way to go Steve!!! We are so proud of you! Holly & Marko
Posted by: Holly & Marko Smith on 2/20/2011 at 1:23 pm
Conrats everyone, we are so proud of you Bob, talk to you in a few.
Posted by: Jeff Colston on 2/20/2011 at 12:58 pm
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