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Prvyet from Camp 1 - The team is doing great. It was our third night here at Camp 1 and our bodies are adjusting well to the altitude. The winds that started blowing last evening remained constant throughout the night, with gusts up to 25 mph. Our hope was that the winds would die down by morning, but there was no noticeable change when the alarm went off at 7:00. We decided to postpone our wake up call for an hour to see if it might improve, but no such luck. Just as the winds would let up 15 minutes later they would return to full force. Since establishing Camp 2 in these conditions would be very difficult we chose to take a weather day instead. Although it can be difficult to wait out a rest day knowing our summit push is approaching, the down time will certainly benefit us as we move higher. The plan is now to move up to Camp 2 tomorrow and then make our attempt for Elbrus' summit on Monday, weather permitting. The forecast is calling for improving conditions, and all we need is a 24 hour window of good weather. We had an early dinner and as we crawled into the tents the cloud cap on the upper mountain began to break apart. Within minutes the twin summits were in full view and the West Summit was showing all the colors of a beautiful sunset. A very good sign.

Monday, May 17, 2021 - 6:17 pm PT

We took advantage of a beautiful day today and kept pushing that pesky rock up the mountain. This time we donned crampons and traded trekking poles for ice axes. We had an amazing climb up Motorcycle and Squirrel Hills, across the Polo Fields, and up around Windy Corner, leaving a cache of food and fuel at around 13,800'. The weather and climbing conditions were perfect, and we were afforded spectacular views of the upper mountain.

We were back at camp by 4pm with plenty of time to lounge in the sun before dinner. Tomorrow we will take our first full day out of boots and get some rest. We'll check in again tomorrow.

"Some come to laugh the past away.

Some come to make it just one more day.

Whichever way your pleasure tends,

if you plant ice your gonna harvest wind." -Robert Hunter

 

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Another sparkling and clear start to the day. Mt. Meru, our 15,000ft neighbor to the west, stood out like an island in the sea of clouds that cover anywhere below 10,000ft. Great views above of the summit as well. Our usual large fresh breakfast then off we went up a nice smooth gentle but steady ascent to the famous Lava Tower outcropping situated at 15,000ft. Snacks and a lot of breathing then down we went. Two thousand feet lower has us tucked into another beautiful camp called Barranco. The team is a bit tired after what ended up being about an eight-hour day. All is well and looking forward to dinner. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Tuesday, June 2nd 11:23 am PDT Hello, this is Adam Knoff reporting from high camp on Mount McKinley. I am happy to report that the entire team summitted Mount McKinley yesterday. It was an exciting day in the morning. We were anticipating moving back down to 14K camp to wait out a pending storm that is supposed to arrive this evening. But instead we were granted a weather window in the afternoon that allowed us to go for the summit and achieve the summit. Everyone did great and this morning we are exhausted but happy that the sun is out. We are packing up camp, high camp, and will be moving down to 14K, where we will potentially be waiting out the storm that it supposed to hit us tonight. Stay tuned for more tomorrow. Thank you. Bye. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

On The Map

Shira Camp is our new home for the night. At 12,500 ft it is nice to still see bushes and grasses. Don't let life forms other than humans fool you, it is a very harsh place to be. Unlike places like Alaska where the latitude away from the Equator keeps plant life well below here. It was nice to see the whole team at breakfast this morning healthy and happy . For some, it was was a new experience spending the night in a tent at 10,000 ft. Before we turned in, a discussion about strategy for the night and talk of what we can do to help adjust to the altitude paid off. Another day of perfect weather for the climb and it couldn't have gone smoother. Incorporating the same techniques used on all these big hills went very well with a team of strong climbers arriving at Camp 2 right on schedule. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

When the team met this afternoon at the Anchorage Airport, it was impossible to ignore the weather here. From soggy Seattle or the still frozen north, here in Alaska it's sandals and shorts weather. Our team is assembled and now in Talkeetna slapping mosquitoes and laughing with new friends and teammates. Tomorrow we will pack, prepare, and hopefully fly onto the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Before bedding down we paused to raise a glass to the upcoming adventure. RMI Guide Leon Davis

On The Map

RMI Guides JJ Justman and Andy Bond led the Four Day Summit Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The teams stood on Columbia Crest today with hazy skies (thanks to wildfires in the east), a slight bit of new snow and brisk temperatures. Teams hit the top just before 8:00am PST, spent an hour at 14,000 feet before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's teams!

The Four Day Summit Climb July 12 - 15 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Casey Grom and their teams checked in from the crater rim at 7:40 a.m. PT. They reported clear and sunny conditions with a steady wind. Congratulations to today's teams!

Hello, this is Jake Beren with the RMI McKinley Expedition. We would like to wish everybody a Happy Father's Day from 14,000 feet on Denali. Today we rested at camp and used the opportunity to practice our fixed line and running belay techniques to get ready for the upper mountain. With the weather system kind of sitting over the mountain right now it looks like we might have another day or two here at our 14,000’ camp. But our fingers are crossed that will be heading up to 17,000’ and then getting our chance at a summit attempt in the not too distance future. So wish us well from down low. Again, Happy Father's Day to all the proud papas out there. We'll be checking in from either here or higher up. Thanks everybody, and will be talking to you soon.

Hello from Shira Camp, It rained a little last night, but when we woke up this morning, the sun was trying to shine through the cloud cover. While the sun never completely came out, we had a dry day with perfect temperatures. The weather even cooperated so that we could have a nice lunch stop along the way to our camp. We got out of camp early today in hopes of getting a little head start and be in front of the other climbers and porters. But we weren't the only group trying this strategy, and we ended up having a fair amount of trail traffic getting up the first climb out of camp. It's a narrow trail, so we just took our time and enjoyed the views around us. On the section after lunch, we got to see quite a few flowers starting to bloom, thanks to the recent rains. Usually this is a pretty dry portion of the trail as we traverse west towards the Shira Plateau, but today there were numerous little streams which were all flowing with water. The mountain above us is still covered in the dusting of snow from a few days ago. It is really beautiful and is giving us lots of great pictures.Today was a short day of hiking and we made it to camp with plenty of time to enjoy the Shira Plateau. Of course we had popcorn and other snacks waiting for us when we arrived. And we spent a big chunk of the afternoon snacking, drinking tea, and sharing some stories. A perfect reward for the 2500' we climbed today. Tomorrow, we are going to set a bunch of new altitude records when we go to 14,900', at the base of Lava Tower. Stay tuned for our next dispatch from Barranco Camp. Best regards, RMI Guide Jeff Martin and Team

On The Map