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RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from Advanced Base Camp.
On The Map
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Guide News
On May 9th Jake and I departed from Base Camp around 8:00 AM, skiing down the Southeast Fork through the cold, crisp morning air to the main flow of the Kahiltna Glacier. We continued down the glacier for another half hour and reached the West Ridge of Mt. Hunter. Here Jake and I cached our skis and began climbing. We approached this objective in a light and fast technique, known as “alpine style,” bringing four days of food, a small stove, a lightweight tent, and no comfort items. As we started climbing we found a very nice boot pack leading up the ridge that made for extremely efficient travel. At first we felt guilty drafting behind someone else breaking trail, but soon decided that each of us has done our fair share of trail breaking on other peaks and that we ought to just enjoy this one. As the two of us climbed higher on the West Ridge with ear-to-ear smiles we decided on a plan, “Lets climb until we’re not having fun and then camp there.” Well, the climbing on the West Ridge was extremely fun and after twelve hours of navigating the corniced ridge, peppered with exquisite sections of rock, steep snow and ice, we found ourselves at the 11,400’ bivy - tired but still smiling. We set our tent in a small notch and ate freeze-dried dinners with a fantastic view of the Alaska Range. It was truly an awesome place to be.
The next morning brought beautiful weather and a sense of excitement for where we were and what lay ahead. With our approach of simply having fun, we enjoyed the morning views and a few cups of coffee before breaking camp at noon. Moving quickly relishing every step and with a swing of an ice tool we ascended steep snow pitches and navigated gaping crevasses. Soon we found ourselves on the summit plateau at 13,000’ walking across the largest stretch of horizontal terrain we had seen in thirty hours. From there we ascended the final 55° slope that took us to the summit ridge. From there, forty more minutes of easy climbing gave way to the summit of Mt. Hunter. While standing on the summit Jake and I hooted and hollered with excitement, “What a fun climb!”
Soon we began our descent with the same approach we used on the ascent - climb until it is not fun and then set up camp. Down the ridge we went back to our bivy site, where we decided to descend via the Ramen Route. Quickly Jake and I realized that we had made a wrong turn into the entrance of the Couloir. This meant that we had to do a few tricky rappels and down climb through seracs to get ourselves back on route. Once we were back on track, we had a few more rappels before softer snow conditions allowed us to down climb to the base of the 3,300’ Ramen Coulior.
Now, for the second time in two days, we found ourselves again on flat glaciated terrain. At this point it was getting late in the day, but we were still enjoying ourselves and decided to continue our descent. Due to the time of day we chose to navigate the extremely broken-up glacier since it provided more camping opportunities if we needed to set up camp. This was a time intensive descent however as Jake and I soon found ourselves in a world surrounded by incomprehensible seracs and crevasses. A couple more hours brought us back to the main flow of the Kahiltna Glacier and our skis. After forty-two hours we arrived back at Base Camp exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and smiling. Employing our tactic of “climb until we are not having fun” had been the perfect strategy for this route.
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RMI Guide Geoff Schellens is a senior guide leading trips on Aconcagua, the North Cascades, Mt. Rainier, as well as, guiding Ice Climbing and Mt. McKinley. He is currently preparing for his next adventure this spring on Dhaulagiri, an 8,000 meter peak in the Himalayas. See more of Geoff's mountain photography on his website.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Elevation: 16,067'
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Dave Hahn from the Vinson Summit
Congratulations Everyone! Sounds awesome!
Posted by: cheryl on 11/27/2011 at 12:02 pm
Great job Billy and team. We’re so proud of your accomplishments.
Posted by: Jan Minorini on 11/27/2011 at 8:09 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, Tyler Reid, Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,600'
Congratulations to the entire team. Paul we are so proud of you!! Stay safe. Love you!
Posted by: denise heinen on 7/5/2012 at 11:07 am
Woohoo! Congrats, Joe and Will! At least, I THINK I see you in the group there, somewhere… Hard to tell under the parkas! Nice work- I’m so proud of you both.
I love you, William!
Posted by: Abby Smith on 7/5/2012 at 10:06 am
On The Map
Great hearing about the venture. Good luck. Looking forward to photos and hearing about your ventures. Be safe. ABQ Uptown #985
Posted by: Rachael C. Lujan on 4/2/2013 at 9:43 am
I look forward to reading and looking at photos of your amazing adventure. Good luck team. “Mayor” Tucker is a great title. I can just see Mark holding a “town” meeting and getting the good citizens of basecamp rolling.
Posted by: Stephani on 4/1/2013 at 11:57 am
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Paul Maier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410
In the words of Ryan Newton ” I’m so glad my dad got to climb all the way to the top of the mountain!”. Great job we can’t wait to hear all about it!!
Posted by: Kelly Newton on 6/14/2012 at 2:44 pm
Stephanie and Brian Ciske - did you summit today?
Posted by: Jean Ciske on 6/14/2012 at 12:39 pm
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
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RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls in after successful summit.
On The Map
Congratulations to Bruce and Michael. We are soooo happy for you! Rest, relax, and celebrate when you are ready! Cheers, Katherine and Reid
Posted by: Katherine Mitchell on 7/1/2014 at 7:55 pm
Congrats to Bruce and Michael Freedman and all the rest of the team. Great to see that you made it through all the weather. Cant wait to hear the stories.
Posted by: Ron Holt on 7/1/2014 at 7:07 pm
Posted by: James Bealer, Roland Scott, Michael Murray, Bryan Mazaika, Dominic Cifelli, Evan Sather
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides James Bealer and Bryan Mazaika led their Five Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reached the crater rim at 6:15 am. It's a beautiful day with blue sky and no winds. After taking in the views and getting all the photos the team started their descent. They will return to Camp Muir, pack their gear and continue the remaining 4.5 miles back to Paradise. We look forward to greeting them at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon where they will celebrate their efforts and good fortune before completing their program.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Elevation: 12,400'
On The Map
Bruce, been enjoying reading the blogs. Good luck, be safe and stay warm!
Posted by: Tara Zier on 12/12/2012 at 7:24 pm
Wow…the photos are incredible and reading the blog brings chills. You guys are amazing! Sending good wishes for an awesome day tomorrow.
Paula Selland
Posted by: Paula Selland on 12/12/2012 at 5:54 pm
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