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Monday, June 19, 2023 - 10:07 pm PT

At 5 AM there were already some signs of the storm coming in up high but thankfully it was calm where we were. We left camp at 7:30 and gained 1,000' in 90 minuntes.  We put up camp at 11,000' right next to Dom's RMI team and dug in deep.  By midday it was snowing and the wind was coming up.  We sat out the afternoon in tents. Dinner was in our dining tent in reasonably good shelter as it got a bit meaner outside. We saw a number of unsuccessful teams passing through headed down. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 - 8:23 pm PT

We had a wonderfully serene rest day today. It started with a prolonged breakfast scramble brunch, transitioned to hours of lounging, and culminated in a few hours of practicing fixed rope travel and running belays. Now we're fixin' for a burrito dinner. Tomorrow we hope to establish a cache up high so we're ready to make a summit bid if and when we get a good weather window, which could come in as little as a few days. The forecast is promising, but we won't hold our breath at this altitude.

We're taking it day by day.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

THE WIND FELT PERSONAL 

The tent slapping against my face is not my favorite way to wake up. Alas that is how the team's final night at high camp was spent. I personally continued to feign sleep until finally enough rays of sunshine peaked over the horizon that it was reasonable to start rousing everyone from their summit climb exhausted slumbers. Needless to say, most of the team was already awake due to similar wind induced tent slapping. They say it takes a village to raise a child, well they should also say it takes five climbers to take down a tent in high winds. Well teamwork made the dreamwork and soon we were headed downhill towards Camp 2 with our packs over encumbered with everything that had originally taken us two trips and a porter to get there. Camp 2 was a warm, windless paradise at what now felt like a very refreshing 18,000 feet. Sadly, we still had a long way to go to get to base camp. Thankfully, gravity assists on the downhill and the air only got thicker as we descended. Soon we arrived to an enthusiastic welcome home at Plaza Argentina with the various amenities we loved, namely fresh fruit and cerveza! The rest of the afternoon was spent reorganizing, showering, packing, eating, and celebrating our safe return. A rotating cast of our favorite base camp people stopped by for a drink and a laugh. A perfect final night enjoying the incredible hospitality of base camp. After a restless night at 19,600 and then descending nearly 6,000 feet - a well-deserved sleep will be had by all tonight. 

Cheers, 

RMI Guide Jack Delaney and the Sleepy Sies 

Sunday, May 28, 2023 - 6:42 pm PT

Today didn't work out exactly as planned. When we got up it was calm as promised, but a complete white out in camp. Snow was falling lightly, straight down. We dragged our feet to see how it would evolve. As the sun came up, the clouds did push up a bit, and with some sight it was clear the wind was moving strong up high. Within a few hours, that wind made it to camp as well. So we spent the day in the tents dodging intermittent snow showers and wind gusts.

We are hoping that tomorrow brings us better summit weather and that Mother Denali let's us pass.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

On The Map

On The Map