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Posted by: Tyler Jones, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
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On The Map
Have fun, be safe and come back in one piece Tyson! Love you :)
Posted by: Katherine on 5/15/2013 at 9:21 am
Be safe and enjoy the adventure! Hope the weather breaks a bit - Dan, springtime has finally arrived as we are enjoying some beautiful sunny 80 degree days here in Chicago! Be strong be healthy climbers - onwards and upwards! Love you Dan xoxo
Posted by: Kirsten Weber on 5/15/2013 at 8:27 am
Seth Waterfall checks in from the Jose Ribas Hut on Cotopaxi
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Thanks for the updates! Have a great and safe climb.
I’m looking forward to lots of pictures
Posted by: Mike Erstad on 6/23/2011 at 9:56 am
On The Map
Andy, sorry I missed your call, but we’ve been thinking of you! Stay strong and safe! Mom says hi too! Good luck with the rest of the climb…..then you will need a beach vacation to recoup!
Posted by: Sybille Macke on 6/2/2011 at 1:48 pm
Pete, it’s always great to hear you all are doing so well. I’ll be with Iggy I think when you get back, so get ready for some major dog love. Bisous, Katie
Posted by: Katie on 6/1/2011 at 9:58 pm
Hello my name is Richard, I am very interested in climbing the largest summit in Argentina
Aconcagua .
I have hiked Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa two yrs Ava , then Highest mt in Ecuador.
I would like to see how many days it would have to take metro climb to top .
Also price for me including food, lodge ,etc
Please contact me as soon as possible so I can make my plans.
Thank you very much for your time.
Richard klein
Posted by: Richard klein on 8/7/2019 at 1:45 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Sunday, June 4, 2023 - 11:33 am PT
Well, Denali didn't disappoint, nor did it ever relent, but we've wrapped up a safe and successful expedition. Stormy weather bookended our trip, delaying flights both onto and off of the glacier. Not to be outdone, we endured snowy and windy weather throughout the trip, taking advantage of the sunny days in between to climb and get into position for a calm and warm (albeit cloudy with no views) summit day.
Our team was elated to see K2 Aviation's de Havilland Otters approaching Basecamp to pick us up. As excited as we were to get to town, there's always a little sadness watching the beauty of the Alaska Range, our home for the past twenty-three days, disappear underneath the wings of the ski plane.
Thanks for following our adventure. Now we're off to climb in the Cascades!
RMI Guide Mike Walter and team
Just want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone there. Rich is back in Thailand, just got done reading his journal. FaceTimed with him earlier, he had a lot to say about Mike being a beast lol. Thanks Mike for taking care of my son. A very proud mom down here, so glad he got to the summit. Bad weather seems to prevent him from summiting, so this was awesome.
Enjoy the Cascades.
Posted by: Kim on 6/4/2023 at 4:14 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 9:28 pm PT
After a another day of waiting, false starts on packing and taking down our tents, and some general finger twiddling, we suddenly got the very positive news that K2 had launched all four of their otters to come get us yesterday evening. The trusty planes hit the runway in quick succession, not unlike a military drill and we were loading duffels, packs, and sleds with excitement. We went on the slide down the runway one more time and we were off, airborne for Talkeetna. The flight out was a bit bumpy and we dodged clouds through the Alaska range to get home. It was quite evident how hard the pilots had worked to come get us.
We landed in Talkeetna and disembarked to the fragrant smell of plants, technicolor hues of leaves and grass, and gratefully removed our boots and traded for flip flops. And just like that, we had reached the end of the expedition and achieved our ultimate goal - to come home whole. We gathered at the Denali Brew Pub for a celebratory dinner and poked our head in the historic Fairview Inn for a touch more celebrating.
This morning we dried our gear, repacked bags for flights home, and got ready to head our separate ways. There is a strong bond that develops sharing tents and some trials over 23 days on a glacier. It's bittersweet to move on, but we do so knowing that this team came together in a way that made everyone stronger, they stretched to meet all of the many challenges we faced, and we came back successful. From Henry, Tatum, and myself, we would like to thank all of our team sincerely for being so strong, fun, and patient, and many thanks to everyone's families for the support and for following along. This is a long strange trip that none of us will soon forget. Flight plan closed.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,534'
Hola readers,
Today the team got to stretch their legs and expand their lungs hiking on El Rucu Pichincha. This peak stands at roughly 15k at the foothills of Quito. The nice thing about this hike is we get to take a gondola to 13k before we start walking. The team performed well and looked strong and ready for the volcanos to come.
The clouds rolled in and out through the day, creating some mystery on where we actually were. Were we in Lord of the Rings? Would a dinosaur appear? Who knows! You truly can't beat the beauty out here.
Next, we go to Fuya Fuya to continue to allow our bodies adjust and compensate for the decrease in pressure and less oxygen molecules to suck in. We say goodbye to Quito and hello to the rest of the journey!
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli, Matt McEttrick
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - 10:06 pm PT
At long last, we made it from the lower mountain to the upper mountain. The weather was perfect all day long, although forecasts hadn’t given any indication that it might be. It was a bit of work to get packed up and moving out of 11,000 ft this morning… we tend to put down roots, but by 9AM we were stretching the ropes out and walking toward Motorcycle Hill. The snow surface was firm and perfect for crampons. We moved on up over familiar terrain, but this time with unlimited views of tundra and rivers to the north. Views were spectacular as we turned Windy Corner, but of course we couldn’t gaze at them too long -lots of climbing stuff to concentrate on at the Corner. There was little or no wind to be had as we made our way into Genet Basin and the fabled Fourteen Camp at 2:30 in the afternoon. Our expedition experience changed markedly as we hauled through camp. As one of the last guided teams of the season, we’ve been mostly on our own or around one or two other teams at most. It was nearly overwhelming to be seeing so many teams coming and going from 14 Camp. Socially it was exciting -for both guides and climbers- to be seeing friends and co-workers from various companies -many for the first time since before the pandemic. A handful of teams were coming down into camp after summit bids yesterday. Briefly, all three RMI teams on the mountain were in the same place at the same time. The National Park Service B3 helicopter was in action conducting rescues high and low. As we dug in to establish our camp we felt like we’d come into the center of everything. For a short time at least. Many of those we saw will shortly go lower or higher. We still need to drop down tomorrow morning for our cached supplies parked just above the Corner. But tonight we are sleeping at fourteen-thousand-hard-earned feet.
Best Regards.
You’re almost there!!! Hope someone brought the fireworks !! Safe travels :)
Posted by: Mom and Cindy on 7/2/2021 at 4:38 pm
Congrats on the 14K level. It sounds like the camp was as busy as downtown Boston here.
The views sound tremendous & worth the effort. Good luck with the summiting.
You can ask Matt McEttrick how Denali compares with his first family climb here in Milton MA
at the top of Great Blue Hill (elevation 635’) overlooking Boston and Massachusetts Bay.
Joe McEttrick
Posted by: Joe McEttrick on 7/1/2021 at 12:47 pm
I can’t imagine the disappointment but am glad you are all safe. Can’t wait to see the pictures and hear the stories.
Posted by: Mary dearth on 6/28/2014 at 12:39 pm
Bummer! Know it was still a fabulous experience—Lots of love to Kirsten and Aaron (and Madison)
Posted by: Mary Simpson on 6/28/2014 at 12:19 pm
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