What a difference a day makes. Things didn't seem a whole lot better, first thing this morning. Talkeetna was still a little dim and grey with low cloud lurking as we headed out to the airstrip. It took a few hours of waiting for things to come around. Our pilots figured out a clear path in to the Kahiltna, despite a fair amount of lingering clouds hiding the mountains. What we were able to see was stunning and spectacular, as if to make up for all that was hidden. Unbelievably steep and immense mountains began to pop up all around us as we entered the heart of the range. Glaciers, snow and random ice seemed to hang on every possible flank. The K2 pilots did their normal perfect approach and landing with the big ski equipped DeHaviland Otters. We'd taken off from town at 11:30 AM and we were unloading gear on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna 35 minutes later. At basecamp it was intensely sunny and warm with no wind whatsoever. The cloud cover evaporated and we were treated to grand views of Mount Hunter, Mount Foraker and even Denali on occasion. We built camp and began reviewing glacier travel techniques. There was plenty to get done and we worked throughout the afternoon and evening at divy-ing loads and getting rigged for an early morning move to camp at 7,800 ft. What we could see from the planes backed up what we've been hearing from other climbers... conditions on the lower glacier are excellent.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Well the snow continues to pile up. Our storm board is reading 68 cm of snow in the past 36-hour period. The wind has been picking up, intensifying the storm. Turns out, this storm is a little bigger then they first thought.
We spent three hours this morning digging out our tents and the cook tent. We're all staying busy here on the glacier, experiencing the other part of Alaska, the weather.
Well not too much else to report, hopefully we'll be off the glacier sooner then later.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
48 card deck! hilarious. i thought that only happened at my house. i can’t believe you are STHUCK! (christmas story) Brandi, am i seriously going to have to drink wine by myself in Anchorage tomorrow?!?!? stay warm. see you soon. i need to get back to packing… elizabeth
Posted by: elizabeth on 5/11/2012 at 10:38 pm
Good luck on the climb. Have fun walking up and down the runway at base camp. Been there and done that.
Bill and Sara sure don't seem much affected by the altitude. They both came in to breakfast cheerful, well-rested and ready to get on with a fun "rest-day" schedule. It was a spotless bluesky morning and so we took advantage by going for a hike out the back door. Back door hikes in Pheriche can get one to incredible vistas in not very much time at all. We gained about two and a half thousand feet and marvled at the scenery. Cho Oyu (sixth highest mountain in the world), Makalu (fifth highest), and Lhotse (fourth highest) were expectedly grand, but so were Ama Dablam, Baruntse, Island Peak, Taowoche, Kang Tega, and Thamserku. We bumped into a number of friendly trekkers and we spied at least a half dozen hawk/eagle/vultures riding the thermals above us.
All in all, it was a fine acclimatization hike and we were back down at the Himalayan Hotel for lunch. Our afternoon should be a relaxing one and an educational one as well. We will be attending the Himalayan Rescue Association's altitude lecture this afternoon... giving Sara good material for her high school science project and giving each of us a little more understanding of the challenges we'll face in the coming months. The HRA clinic here in Pheriche has always welcomed and enlightened our teams.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hello friends, families, Farmer Dave and anyone else out there who might be following our blog. We have just kicked off the first Ecuador Expedition of 2023. It started with a rainy travel day and a rainy day for our Quito city tour (although a few of us still managed minor sunburns). Today, we took our first acclimatization hike and were surprised/delighted to wake up to partially sunny skies!
The hike up Rucu Pichincha is really quite scenic. I think it’s my favorite day hike in the world that is more or less in a major metropolitan area. A gondola takes us to 13,000’ where we begin our ascent to the summit of Rucu Pichincha (13,354’). Along the way there are a variety of wildflowers and the final push to the summit is engaging, involving a short section of class 3 scrambling.
I should also mention that the team is in good health, especially thanks to the newly renovated penthouse spa here at the Hotel Mercure. Many of us have used this opportunity to cycle cold plunges and wet sauna or cold plunges and hot tubbing. Henry, the ultimate masochist, prefers cold plunge only, first thing in the morning.
Tomorrow we will depart Quito early to head north. The itinerary of this trip has us working our way from north to south, making attempts on Cayambe, Antisana and Chimborazo. These are the 3rd, 4th and 1st highest mountains in Ecuador, respectively. We also hope to capture a glimpse of Cotopaxi, which is normally on the itinerary but was scratched this time due to recent eruptions and a moratorium on summit bids. Better to witness that from a safe distance.
Two adventurous young women! Wishing them and all of you the best on both continents.
How great to stay in touch and be able to go along on your climb laptop-wise.
Posted by: Coreen on 1/13/2023 at 11:25 pm
It’s got to be Sarah that has a sunburn in the cloudy weather :-D That’s a Hillebrand special! Wishing you all a safe journey and glad for the blog updates!
It feels good to be in the mountains! Our team is nestled in the Altzomoni Hut near 12,000 feet! Of course we enjoyed a great breakfast fit for Kings and Queens before we arrived here. After a brief stop to do some last minute food shopping we arrived at camp early afternoon.
The rest of our day was filled with final packing preparations for our endeavor to make high camp on Ixta tomorrow. Everyone is doing fantastic. The weather is a little dreary but it's not stopping us from having fun! And just because we are in the mountains doesn't mean we have to act like it. Instead of freeze dried food, Solveig and I prepared a fresh Mexican carne asada dinner for the team. The fresh guacamole was a hit. It was devoured in seconds!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Solveig Waterfall
Hi everybody, it's Billy checking in with another dispatch from Quito, Ecuador. Today's events brought us some of the first exertion of the trip. After a pleasant breakfast the crew geared up and headed out in taxis to the teleferico where we rode a gondola up to 13,600'. From there we began our first acclimitzation hike up on the volcano, Rucu Pichincha. We hiked up through bright green hillsides and skirted some large volcanic cliffs, moving in and out of the clouds, all the while with the sprawl of Quito far below. It was a pretty cool place to get things started with some amazing views when the clouds parted. After stretching our legs and working our lungs a bit we headed back down to Quito in the late afternoon. The day finished with a thorough gear check for the mountaineering to come and a team dinner on our last night here in Quito.
Tomorrow, an early rise and escape from Babylon will take us out to Cerra Fuya Fuya (13,986') for our next training hike. We'll check back as soon as we can!
Thanks to Dawn Kim for the photos in this post!
1:00 p.m. PDT/ 1:45 a.m. Nepal Time
Hi, this is Michael Brown calling from the South Col of Mount Everest. It's a very blustery snowy night and we've made a decision to wait another day so we'll be here 24 hours more. Been monitoring the weather and it looks like we might have a little bit more wind tomorrow; but, possibly less snow because at the moment it's snowing and there's clouds all the way over the summit. Chances are we would be climbing all the way up in the snow and back down again in the snow so not really a very pleasant day for climbing. Give it 24 hours and hopefully we have a better result tomorrow. Thanks for standing by and we'll stay in touch, we'll keep calling and letting you know what's happening. Take care.
12:25 p.m. PDT/ 1:10 a.m. Nepal Time
Our group has continued to evaluate the weather and has now decided to postpone their summit attempt until tomorrow. Spirits remain high and everyone is hoping that the weather looks better tomorrow.
10:15 a.m. PDT/ 11:00 p.m. Nepal Time
We just heard from our team at Camp Four. They have been watching the weather and have decided to hold tight for a little while and hope for clearer skies. We will let you know when they depart Camp Four.
6:10 a.m.PDT/ 6:55 p.m. Nepal Time
A quick update from Mark Tucker at Basecamp says that the summit team is currently at Camp 4. Everyone is doing well. They have had dinner and hot drinks and are heading for their tents for some sleep before they begin their summit attempt.
We wish them good luck!
Our luck with good weather persisted this morning and when we woke up for our summit bid perfectly clear night skies greeted us. After pulling on our boots and gobbling down breakfast we grabbed our packs and climbing gear and headed out.
It was a gorgeous night with the stars speckling the sky. Being in the heart of the main climbing season on Elbrus dozens of other climbers were attempting their summit bid as well and their headlamps danced up and down the route, reflecting the stars above. We climbed strongly, picking our way up the broad snow slopes below the East Summit, and by dawn we were approaching 17,000'. Just before sunrise, in what seems almost cliche in retrospect, a barrage of shooting stars streaked over the mountain's shoulder, eventually obscured by the rising sun.
It was crisp climbing in the darkness and we kept our breaks short to keep from getting cold. The sun finally found us leaving the saddle between the East and West Summits at close to 18,000'. We warmed up quickly in the morning sun as we climbed the steep slopes to gain the plateau of the Western Summit and we were quickly shedding our coats and thick gloves. Around 9 am we ascended the final snow ridge to Elbrus' summit and suddenly there was no more left to climb.
Standing atop Europe's highest point, the views were nothing short of spectacular. To our south stood the chain of the Caucasus, the peaks looking a bit less imposing when viewed from above. Behind them we could peer into Georgia while looking north into Russia the rolling alpine pasture land of the Caucasus foothills stretched to the horizon. A light haze layer - most likely from the wildfires raging far to the east - hung just below us, giving the sky striking layers of different hues of blue. There was hardly a breath of wind on the summit, by far the best weather I have experienced up there.
After celebrating on the summit we turned our sights back to where we had started and began the descent. We made remarkably quick work of the 6,000' descent and by midday we were back at the Barrels, with tired legs but feeling quite content.
True to its pattern, the clouds built by midafternoon and as we rested in our bunks rain spattered the metal barrels, making the sleeping bags all the more alluring. We are tired but thrilled with the climb this morning, we couldn't have hoped for a better day. It was a fantastic climb and we feel very fortunate to have gotten so lucky on a mountain notorious for its fickle and uncertain weather.
We are staying here at the Barrels tonight before descending to Azau tomorrow for hot showers and to celebrate our climb.
What a day and what a team. Our luck held out with an evening that was clear, windless and fairly warm. At 12:30am we were walking after being fed by our great kitchen staff. Our slow pace was key to not overheating the engines when climbing in the rarefied air above 15,000'.
We got to Stella Point just after dawn then on to Uhuru Peak, the summit, shortly thereafter.
Did I mentioned that EVERYONE SUMMITED! Yeah, the team rocked it today, enjoying sunshine and warm temps while taking summit photos at 19,340'.
Our descent back to camp went smoothly and we were treated to another wonderful meal before packing up and hitting the trail for the thicker air of Mweka Camp at 10,000'. Dropping down from 15,000' does amazing things for the body, and so worth the effort to get here after a hard summit day.
And now, dinner awaits before a well deserved sleep.
Goodnight from Kilimanjaro on our last night on the mountain.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
Congrats, Mary!!! I am so proud of you. Way to be amazing!
Posted by: Jen C on 7/28/2019 at 3:59 pm
Mary, You did it congratulations! And congratulations to the team. Mary, I can’t express the joy I have for you right now. I will tell you when I see you. And I can’t wait to hear of your adventures, May I say you are truly a bad ass woman with a purpose!Again team well done ,My hat comes off to all of you and everybody who walked that mountain.
June 15, 2015 4:42 pm PT
Hi everybody it’s Tyler and the team. We are on the summit of Mt. McKinley currently.
We hope that everyone is doing well at home. We have a lot of hours of work left but we did a really good job getting up here. We can see hundreds of miles. There is a light wind up here and everybody is doing great. We have had a spectacular trip and we are half way now.
We will give you a report when we get back to 17 Camp and hope that everyone is well. We will be in touch.
Cheers –
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
RMI Guide Tyler Jones calls from the summit of Mt. McKinley.
A huge congrats to you and the team, Ken. You are a man of your word—you said you were going to do Denali and you did—all the way to the top—20,320 feet—WOW! A colossal achievement. Cheers to you and the team from hapless Hollis.
Budd
Posted by: Budd Burnett on 6/21/2015 at 1:34 pm
Congratulations to all on reaching the summit, be safe travels down. Ken, we are anxiously waiting your return to hear all your wonderful stories, be safe!!
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Mark, great going!
Watching as I prepare to head into 120 degrees of the Mojave Desert. Send some ice!
Jan
Posted by: Jan Wilson on 7/2/2012 at 5:57 am
Sounds amazing. Enjoy. Thinking of you
Posted by: Carolyn on 6/30/2012 at 6:53 am
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