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RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Aconcagua Basecamp.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Sean Collon
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
On The Map
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 10,000'
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Daniel May, Lacie Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 27, 2024 - 7:05 pm PT
The Denali Bingo card formulated by our team.
1. Get uncomfortably close to filling your pee bottle in the middle of the night.
2.Make eye contact with someone from the next camp while pooping.
3. Stand outside your tent for more than 30 minutes because you want to go pee before you get into the tent because once you're in you don't want to come back out.
4. Wear your bootys instead of your boots outside and almost slide to your death (or fall into the kitchen tent)
5. Have more than 5 blisters.
6. Read out loud to your tent mates for entertainment.
7. Read all the books you brought/watch all the shows you downloaded before day 16.
8. Eat 3 servings of breakfast/dinner.
9. Drink your warm food bowl cleaning water (gross)
10. Get very frustrated when you realize that all the music you downloaded on Spotify isn't working.
11. Eat a questionable snack.
12. Get woken up from condensation drops on your face.
13. Dig yourself out of your tent after a storm.
14. Be thankful for all the life choices that brought you here
15. Regret every life choice that brought you here.
16. Taste your last meal in your current meal.
17. Use your pee bottle for warmth.
18. Skip brushing your teeth because it’s cold outside
19. Use pee bottle as spit bottle when brushing teeth.
20. Tent yoga.
21. Finish packing your pack and then fully unpack because your gloves are at the bottom
22. Unusual shaped sunburn
23. Eat a pound of cheese in 3 days.
24. Get blasted by snow in the kitchen tent during an entire dinner
25. Wear the same pair of socks for more than 10 days
Denali bingo brought to you by Sharon and the team. We are all winners in this one!
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition, May 12, 2024
“Make eye contact with someone from the next camp while pooping.”
Yikes, lol.
Posted by: Some guy from Puyallup on 5/28/2024 at 6:34 am
Posted by: Mike Walter, Jess Wedel, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 9,400'
We woke to 6-8" of snow at the base of Ski Hill. Light snow was still falling as we ate breakfast, but the trend was improving so we started packing up camp.
By the time we started climbing it was mostly sunny and quite warm. Climbing up Ski Hill in base layers was a treat. Clouds increased and winds ramped up during our climb. By the time we got to our second break, visibility was down to near zero, winds were steadily increasing, and temps had dropped enough to remind us we're in Alaska. It was obvious that conditions would continue to deteriorate, so we put our camp in at 9,400'. It's pretty nasty outside but we're all safe and cozy in our tents. We guides are suiting up to go set up our cook tent so we can fire up stoves and get everyone fed. Hopefully this weather passes overnight, and we can push camp up to 11,200' tomorrow. Time will tell, but 9400' will be our home for tonight. We'll check in again tomorrow with an update.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition, May 5, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 9,350'
The whole team arrived safely in Ecuador and with bags, which is always a good first step. I think we all experienced some bit of turbulence as we escaped the North American winter, but fortunately no door panels removed themselves unexpectedly during anyone's flights.
Yesterday's city tour happened without any hitches. Due to the recent political events, the streets are a bit quiet, but it seems like life is more or less returning to normal. It was great to have our city tour guide to help answer our questions and help us sort through what may have actually happened and what is a bit sensationalized in the American news media. Along with that, we made our first steps in acclimation both to the altitude and a different culture. Some physics experiments at the Museo do Intiñan (the indigenous equator museum) were capped off with us balancing eggs on a nail before heading to old town Quito and seeing some attractions.
Today, we awoke to another beautiful morning. Typically it is rainy in the afternoons here, but for our first two days we have been treated to nice days, start to finish. Blue skies made for a lovely hike up Rucu Pichincha and everyone did really well. We even had a few folks reach new altitude records, congratulations! Hopefully, there are more to come on this trip. The remainder of our evening involves cold plunging, hot tubbing, group dinner and one final night in the hotel before departing for the countryside.
Dustin
New Post Alerts:
Hey Dustin!
All the best to you and your Team!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/26/2024 at 4:26 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Thanks everyone for following along and once again, a shout out to Farmer Dave for all the encouragement!
Climbing Orizaba is never easy. We ended up having a great weather day and route conditions were also favorable. But it still felt like a hard push after the long week of being rained off of big mountains and spending hours drying gear. The team can take pride in their perseverance and their summit of Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America.
Last night we celebrated in Tlachichuca at the Servimont hostel, where there is always a nice meal and cold drinks. Most people were in bed by 8pm, it was quite the party. Now we are on one final bus ride, to the airport this time, and will return to normal life tomorrow. The muddy, dusty gear we are bringing home will remind us of the good times we had in Mexico.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Hey Dustin! Way to go getting your Team to the Top!!! Brought back Awesome memories!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 10/15/2023 at 10:33 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello, Nikki Champion
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
What an awesome team. The best part of mountain climbing is being on the mountain and experiencing nature first hand. We are really proud of you all.
Posted by: Randy Salo on 7/7/2018 at 9:47 pm
Hey gang. Congrats on a great effort. It sounds like Mother Nature was tuff today. I’m glad you’re all well and safely at 11k camp. Enjoy the good air and a safe trip to the airstrip. It was a treat sharing time in the mountains with all of you. Jon
Posted by: Jon on 7/7/2018 at 7:40 pm
Go KB and the rest of the team!! The view from the armchair is great!
Posted by: Geoff Clark on 7/5/2014 at 6:02 pm
Dave, Always enjoy your climbing blogs. Good luck and safe climbing to you and your group. (Jeff Olson of Whittaker/Viesturs climb turned Hahn/Tucker).
Posted by: Jeff Olson on 7/5/2014 at 11:06 am
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