Thursday, June 5, 2014 5:23 PM PDT
It's always a little hard to leave the food you love in a cold dark hole on the glacier...wondering when you can get back there, whether it's going to snow so much that you can't find it again, or if the industrious ravens will dig into it. Fortunately for us, none of the above were issues today, and we completed our cache retrieval without incident.
We started the day with snow showers and overcast skies, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese quesadillas with coffee and cocoa (clearly, we're not starving). The food was just the fuel we needed for our two hour mission - we fired downhill, dug up the group gear and food we cached two days ago, and packed up our sleds for the trek back to camp.
The snow continued to fall as we pulled into camp, within 15 minutes we had all the gear stowed and were tucked into our tents, as warm and dry as we can hope to be. Now it's time for a little lunch indulgence with the treats we brought, continued hydration, and resting from the output over the last few days. Tomorrow's plan is a little up in the air - we'll see if the weather cooperates for a carry or if we take a rest day here. Keep it locked in for more updates from the team!
RMI Guides Garrett Stevens, Tyler Jones, and Bryan Hendrick
Hi Paul. We hope that you are continuing to enjoy your climb. We are also hoping that you have good weather, and are looking forward to seeing the pictures of you and your team on the summit.
Love Ronda, Alex, Meeka and Max
Posted by: Ronda Kinneberg on 6/7/2014 at 7:31 pm
Dave, I hope you’re enjoying yourself. The food you all are eating sounds like quite a menu! Please stay safe and keep having fun. All of us on the east coast are thinking of you and looking forward to hearing about you reaching the top!
Hello, this is Linden Mallory checking in from 11,000' on Mt. McKinley.
After five consecutive days of moving camps and loads up the mountain a break was very much in order and we decided to use today as a rest day here at 11 Camp. We savored sleeping in this morning, not emerging until the first rays of sun hit the tents. Much to our surprise after hearing more about a possible low pressure system in last night's forecast, today has been beautiful. The low hanging clouds of yesterday are nowhere to be found and just a few faint whisps can be seen hanging near mountain tops. We sat around the kitchen this morning exchanging war stories and washing down our breakfast burritos with steaming cups of coffee and tea.
We then took advantage of the nice weather to cover some more training and climbing techniques now that we are moving off of the lower glacier and onto the upper mountain - spending a few hours working with ropes and ice axes. It was a scorcher of a day (at least by Alaskan standards) with the sun beating mercilessly off of the fresh snow. Temperatures were well over 80F in the tents - nothing compared to Tuscon's 114F but very hot compared to the wind and snow we had previously. The rest of the afternoon was passed relaxing, napping in the tents, reading, and sorting gear in anticipation of our move to 14,200' camp ("14 Camp") tomorrow.
Kel and I used today to pull together a little surprise cheesecake for dessert tonight, celebrating not only the rest day but also Paul's birthday from a few days ago as well as Madhu's which is today. We had the chance to read all of the blog comments last night, thanks to everyone for their encouragement and support - the team enjoyed hearing from all of you back home. Everyone is doing well, spirits are high and we've all benefited from some down time today. We're hoping that this weather holds and are eager to move up to 14 Camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hey Willie, I was just going through some things and I realized I forgot to lend you the dutch oven. How did you make the cheesecake without it? Oh, well, I hope you find something else to carry your rocks. :)
Your climb sounds incredible. Best of luck to your whole team and keep the fantastic updates coming!
Posted by: Matt on 7/1/2011 at 7:35 am
Congratulations on 11,000 feet how awesome! I am learning so much reading your reports and they also give me much peace knowing you are all safe. As you celebrate your birthdays on the mountain we celebrate Erin’s 30th here at home and think about you Will.
We left Quito this morning and traveled south on the Panamerican highway, headed for the Iliniza volcanoes for another training hike. We hiked to an altitude of 15,700', where we took a break in the Iliniza climbing hut. After descending, we drove to the beautiful and rustic Chilcabamba Hacienda, nestled on the flanks of Cotopaxi. Tomorrow we'll head up to the climbers' hut on Cotopaxi and get in position for our summit attempt. Everyone is doing well. Saludos from Robin, Sherman, Sean, & Mike!
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Leif Bergstrom made it to the top of Disappointment Cleaver today. Route conditions and warm weather made it unsafe for our larger team to continue onto the upper mountain. The Team is back at Camp Muir and will be descending to Paradise soon.
Good evening from Huaraz!
We have officially started our 2019 multi-peak climbing adventure. Everyone arrived in Peru on time, and we proceeded yesterday to do the long drive between the country's capital and the Huaraz, the epicenter of climbing activity in this Andean country. The drive brought us over Conochocha Pass, nearing 4,200 meters of elevation and with astonishing views of the immediate massif of Pastoruri mountains, as the gateway to the Cordillera Blanca.
Without much hesitation, we continued on today with an acclimatization hike to Lake Churup, at 14,400ft above town. Beautiful turquoise waters below a steep peak of the same name, provided the best rewards for the first day of activity on our trip. The day followed with a team's lunch in town, and getting pre packed for tomorrows drive and approach to Base Camp. Everyone is excited, in great spirits and the weather looks good for the next few days. Cebollapampa Base Camp, between Chopicalqui and Yanapacha (our next objectives over the next few days) await!
Stay tuned for our updates from the mountain.
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos & JT Schmitt
June 25, 2014 - 12:26 am PT
And so it begins... The last RMI Denali team of 2014 took shape today in the Anchorage airport. We assembled, seven climbers and four guides from around the world lugging about 23 or 24 giant duffel bags of cold weather gear. The team took a ride with Denali Overland, our shuttle service to Talkeetna. The three hour trip was broken by a stop for provisions in Wasilla, but then we powered on up the Parks highway to our Talkeetna turnoff. We had pretty good views of the Chugach Range as we left Anchorage but the Alaska Range stayed mostly hidden under cloud. There were some scattered rain showers to see, and a Bald Eagle or two, but no moose this time. We were in Talkeetna by 8:30 PM and getting settled into the comfortable Talkeetna Motel not much later. The big work of preparing to fly onto Denali begins in the morning.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We woke not so early today (this mountaineering gig is rough) had a nice breakfast from the kind folks at Casa Sol and jumped in the bus for the famous Otavalo open air market. We spent a few hours cruising the stalls with food, jewelry, meats, produce, grains, spices, and of course handicrafts for sale. There's even a livestock market which is quite a sight (and smell). Clark and Garrett wanted to go looking for a live monkey to bring home but there was no such luck. I wonder what kind of papers a monkey needs to come back to the states. Anyway, we skipped Otavalo and finally headed for Cayambe where we are settling in up at the hut over 15,000'. The air is thin but everyone's doing great so far. I'll let y'all know how that notorious first night at really high altitude goes...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir led by Casey Grom and JJ Justman were able to safely climb to the top of Cathedral Gap this morning. They had clear weather, sunshine and no wind. The team had experienced winter-like conditions this week at Camp Muir but had a lot of fun training at 10,000 feet.
It is fascinating how much the weather can test us. One more day of a strong storm kept us in camp, but we find things to do to keep ourselves busy.
Here is how the day went for us:
Woke up with about a foot of new snow, had to do some maintenance in camp before any items got buried. Then time to eat breakfast. Lisa, Kahiltna Basecamp Manager, rallied everybody in basecamp to stomp the runway, then we did a class in avalanche decision making and transceiver and probing work. After dinner, Akira finished snow blocks to make an arch that marks the entrance of our bathroom. Impressive work!!! Now it is time for us to go sleep.
The strong front that is passing should start weakening tomorrow. High hopes for that.
We all are staying happy and learning from the mountain.
Living the dream!!!!
RMI Guide Andres Marin
Today we woke up with a deep blue sky and a 360-degree view. The team slept well for our first night on the glacier. After some coffee and breakfast, we all had the experience to try the CMCs which is one of the biggest novelties of the trip.
Once we were well fueled and ready to head out of camp, we traveled over to a slope close to camp and completed our snow school. Lots of learning and reviewing made for a fun day on the glacier.
All and all a great day!
RMI Guide Andres Marin
we have been thinking of you and glad to hear all is fine. been warm here in CT and undoubtedly cold there - we’d both benefit from something in between. most important, take care and stay safe.
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Hi Paul. We hope that you are continuing to enjoy your climb. We are also hoping that you have good weather, and are looking forward to seeing the pictures of you and your team on the summit.
Love Ronda, Alex, Meeka and Max
Posted by: Ronda Kinneberg on 6/7/2014 at 7:31 pm
Dave, I hope you’re enjoying yourself. The food you all are eating sounds like quite a menu! Please stay safe and keep having fun. All of us on the east coast are thinking of you and looking forward to hearing about you reaching the top!
Posted by: Patty on 6/7/2014 at 8:11 am
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