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Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 9:20 pm PT
Day one on the climb is always a tough one. The excitement is swirling, the nerves are high, and the bar for entry is even higher. There is a lot to get used to during expedionary life, especially one as remote as Denali. We have to pretend we could lose our gloves at any gust of wind, lose our gear during the next snowstorm, or rip our homes if we’re careless. The mountain is tough, but today proved that we can be just as tough. The first day is one of the only days that you’re carrying everything you brought all at once. The road to Camp 1 is just too long to do the typical; carry and cache, move camps, grab the cache. So we must make the long slog to the base of Ski Hill. With cold temps, clear skies, and crunchy snow we weaved through the crevassed Kahiltna glacier and made camp at around 8:30 this morning. We’re at camp now, waiting for weather updates and refueling for tomorrows effort. We’ll cache up at Kahiltna pass.
Thanks for following along,
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
We wanted some sunlight on the Easton glacier so route finding would be a little easier after several days of rain and no summits of
Mt. Baker. By sunrise we had tried three different tracks through the broken up glacier, which all ended in absent snow bridges. Two of the guides went out to sniff out a 4th option that we could see from our break below 8,000’. The Team kept uphill for another 700’ before encountering warm snow and a snow bridge that didn’t look like it would last much longer let alone allow nine people to cross it. Being late in the morning and deteriorating visibility above us, we made the difficult decision to turn around and come back to camp. We enjoyed some great climbing and views of the surrounding peaks as we descended. At camp now after a good nap we are learning some skills and going to eat dinner. Tomorrow morning the team will pack up and descend to the trailhead.
RMI Guide Mike King
Today we got a casual start in
Penitentes, there is a lull in the season where no other groups started the trek to base camp. Our Team enjoyed overcast skies and a generous breeze on our hike to Las Lenas. We admired the bountiful shades of red, orange and brown that make up the rocky terrain. Five hours of hiking brought us to Camp and we enjoyed the warmth and solitude this camp provides. Our mule drivers got the coals started for the famous Las Lenas asado and before long we were eating grilled meats and vegetables, telling stories from past trips and previous lives. It’s always a surprise how ten miles of walking over softball-sized rocks can be forgotten with good company, delicious food and a little red wine. This camp is a spectacular place to sleep under the stars. The Milky Way runs straight down the valley and the Southern Cross is where you would expect it to be. No ambient light for hundreds of miles. When you wake in the middle of the night and look up, you get the sense you're an insignificant animal on a blue marble that’s being shot across the galaxy. Context and perspective is readily challenged in this valley. Tomorrow we continue our trek to Casa de Piedra, the Team is doing great and sends their love back home. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Kel Rossiter and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Kel reported that the team climbed for about 6 hours and 15 minutes to get to the summit. Today they had cooler temperatures and winds from the Northwest as they were climbing. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations Team!
Greetings from The Root Canal Glacier! We were able to fly in yesterday, a day ahead of schedule thanks to our fantastic air taxi,
K2, who had our logistics all planned upon our arrival in Talkeetna. We dug our camp right before the night fell, and enjoyed our first Alaskan dinner on the glacier. Today we dragged our feet and enjoyed the sunrise in our tent. After breakfast, we decided to go for a few pitches of the route, as to build team communications and to warm up for the big push. Now, we'll just take the best day that the weather throws at us; the Moose's Tooth awaits!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
This morning we headed for
Villarrica to go for a ski, knowing that the forecast was probably not conducive to going to the top. We managed to hide from the wind for 3,000' of mostly skinning, edging into frozen snow with our ski crampons. Above us, a lenticular cloud was growing over the summit. Below us, we had clear views of Lago Villarrica's azure waters, the bustling town of Pucon on its eastern shore, and Llaima and Sollipulli in the distance.
We had a nice long run back to the van, where our driver Juan was waiting with his usual warm greeting. The weather looks better tomorrow, and we're going to take another crack at Villarrica... stay tuned!
RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Chile Ski Team
Hi all!
Billy here checking in for the last time from this year's
Denali expedition. Our team showed tremendous poise after our butt kicking on our first summit attempt and rested through another marginal day on the way to our eventual summit day that was absolutely beautiful. We encountered some moderate winds in the 30 mph range but generally enjoyed clear skies and decently warm temps. It took us just over 12 hours of solid work to make the round trip mission from our high camp at 17,000' and the whole team was pretty worked by the end. The next morning we awoke at a leisurely hour, packed up camp and descended the West Buttress back to Camp 4 at 14,000' where we were greeted by Dave Hahn's expedition with cheesy bacon quesadillas! Quite the treat... After picking up our cache at 14 we continued down through extremely deep snow to 11,000' where we ended up camping again because the team was pretty wasted yet again. Our final day on the mountain was surprisingly clear with only occasional sections of whiteout as we marched down the Kahiltna towards Basecamp. Except for a little excitement involving a crevasse fall the trip was mostly a slog. And as we arrived at the lower airstrip around 6 pm we could see the runway markers of the upper airstrip but were relieved to hear from Lisa that we wouldn't need to travel any further. K2 was already on the way and going to land right next to us. And just like that we were in the land of the living slamming burgers and downing beers with all of the tourists in Talkeetna. Talk about a culture shock! Needless to say, the gang went big rocking the Fairview and ended up closing down the Teepee (and nearly getting kicked out!). A proper way to end a successful Denali expedition. Too much fun!
I'd like to thank both Mike King and Sean Collon for their hard work and the good times and the rest of the team members for persevering despite crummy weather forecasts and tough odds. It's a trip I won't forget for a while.
See ya next year!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent.
Our team sorted our gear in
Tlachichuca and is ready to tackle Orizaba tonight. We've loaded up the 4x4 and are on our way up to Piedra grande.
We'll check in upon return to Tlachichuca tomorrow.
Cheers,
RMI Guide
Zeb Blais & Team
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer checked in from Camp Muir at 6:45 am. The
Four Day Summit Climb team was forced to turn around at Ingraham Flats due to deteriorating weather. They experienced gusty winds, drifting snow and heavy precipitation. Camp Muir had a small accumulation of snow throughout the morning.
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz led by Elias de Andres Martos checked in from their high camp. The team was expecting to make their summit attempt today but we unable to do so due to the poor weather. The team experienced a very stormy night with consistent winds.
The Four Day Summit climb will return to Rainier BaseCamp later today. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz will continue their training and spend another night on the mountain. They will return tomorrow afternoon.
Yesterday the weather deteriorated during the afternoon, wind picked up to 30 mph and clouds bringing snow arrived. It was the first time that we were forced to have dinner inside the tents. The weather this morning improved a lot at Camp 1, but we could see how hard the wind was blowing by the spin drift. The weather forecast that we got last night for the next few days estimates that the strong winds at 18,000' would continue until this evening and then they will drop significantly. So we decided to spend an extra day at Camp 1 today and to avoid moving camp in these windy conditions. Now, the afternoon conditions at Camp 1 are very nice, so hopefully we are enjoying the beginning of the good weather window that the forecast is calling.
Tomorrow we will move to Camp 2 and then rest a day there.
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Love the photos - what extraordinary scenery you’re experiencing. Will be looking forward to each post (would be great to see your team via a group shot, if there’s a chance)!
Posted by: robin & rex on 6/16/2023 at 2:14 pm
Thank you for the update stay safe saurabh and take care all the climbers
Posted by: Anjali Sharma on 6/16/2023 at 9:43 am
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