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Wednesday, May 22, 2024 - 9:44 pm PT

Another weather day in the books. We woke up hoping to carry this morning, but instead were greeted by another morning of strong winds and snowfall. After looking up Motorcycle Hill for a bit, and watching to see if weather improved we crawled back in our sleeping bags and decided it was going to be another rest and weather day. We needed winds to die down a bit to make it around Windy Corner. After camp warmed up a bit, we made some coffee and breakfast burritos and settled into another day of acclimating and resting. The weather broke a bit, and we were able to get the caches reading for tomorrow, practice putting our crampons on and just getting a bit of fresh air. Tomorrow we are yet again hoping for a bit better weather, and the chance to carry.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

With today's move to 11,000' complete, we are done pulling sleds uphill, and are retiring the snowshoes until we come down! There was much celebrating. It was sunny in camp this morning and we let that dry tents and sleeping bags for a bit, then pulled it all down, packed it all up, and started walking back up Ski Hill. It was an incredibly pleasant day and we trundled along to 11,000' in good time. The team is clicking at getting stuff done, and tents were up in no time. Good thing to, as a big black wall approached from the west and enveloped us in fat snow flakes. It's incredibly calm, but we are building an inch or so of snow an hour, falling quietly, straight down. At another time of year it would evoke holidays, wood stoves, and cozy winter vibes, but right now it's making summer feel quite far away. Our intention is to take a rest day tomorrow at 11, refresh some climbing skills for the terrain above, and get ready to cache higher the next day.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

This morning we had a hearty breakfast of fresh fruit and a locals take on huevos mexicana. The Team got packed up and organized their gear to begin the 3.5 mile hike to our High Camp. The route consists of a series of ascending traverses that gain approximately 2,500’. During this time we looked out upon the farming communities of Amecameca and Puebla. After our second break we were overtaken by some thin clouds. Thankfully they were dry and didn’t carry any lightening. More times then not we experience some thunder and electrical activity at this High Camp due to similar weather patterns that many of you have experienced in the US Rocky Mountains. If the weather gets bad we do have a hut to hide out in since it is grounded and has a few lightening rods.

The Team did well today considering the high altitude and heavy overnight packs. This camp is at 15,500’ which is a new high point for many in the group.   We will make a summit attempt early tomorrow morning and we have our fingers crossed the weather cooperates.

RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

May 26, 2014 - 10:21 pm PT Today is day 19 of our expedition, with twelve of those days spent at the 14k Camp. The weather forecast is not looking good for a summit attempt, as a significant weather system is supposed to hit Denali tonight, bringing snow and wind tomorrow. High winds are forecasted to persist for the next ten days. If this forecast verifies we will be headed downhill shortly, as we still have to make it back down the Kahiltna Glacier to Basecamp before waiting for good enough weather to fly back to Talkeetna. We will definitely wake up early tomorrow morning to see if we get lucky with a quick summit window, but none of us are holding our breaths. We will let you know how the weather treats us tomorrow. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Today, we acclimatized at base camp. We woke up and indulged in a delicious breakfast of yogurt, fruit, pancakes, and cheese bread. 

Afterwards, our amazing guides Jack and Jess took over our Grajales dome to organize our group gear into piles for each of us to carry to Camp One tomorrow. Comprised of bottles of white gas, ingredients for our mountain meals, and miscellaneous other items, us climbers packed our backpacks with our group gear and as much of our personal gear as we could muster.

In the early afternoon, all seven of us met with the base camp doctor. She assured us we were acclimatizing beautifully and ready to push on up in altitude! Many of us watched downloaded movies while lounging and napping in our tents throughout the afternoon before pre-dinner bananagrams. 

Dinner was delightful, as always. Our Grajales staff Carla brought us soup, lentil and beef stew, and a s’mores-like parfait for dessert. 

Packed, fed, and rested, the team is headed to bed, prepared to take on another spectacular mountain day tomorrow! 

RMI Climber Anne Bradford 

Wednesday, June 19, 2024 - 12:20 AM PT

Привет от 11ти лагер. Нашия екип се наслаждава на почивния ден с кравай с крема сирене исьомга за закуска. След това Доминик, нашия лидер на експедиция, поднесе информационен урок на системи за евакуиране от ледникови пропасти. До момента нашите дневници са главно фокусирани на движението ни из планината през деня, затова ще направим нещо различно, ще ви запозная с нашия екип, за да се принесете внашето ежедневие.

На моето въже екипа се състой от Доминик- лидер, Крис Брокмауер или на кратко Брок, Аз - Роси, и Крис Раитс или Скитълс. Доминик е от Ню Джързи, и живее във Вашингтон с жена си Емили, и двата им лабрадора. Дом и Емили, обичат да прекарват свободното си време в природата и тичат по пътеки. Брок е от Калифорния, но живее в Ню Йорк със семейството си. Той е присъствал на десетки Тони награди и гали по работа, но предпочита да катери и ходи на походи в Адерондекските планини. Крис Райтс  е от Саинт Луис, където е бил главен прокурор за над 20 години. Тези дни се наслаждава на живота в Брекенридж, където е ски учител и притежава  билярдна маса  на най- високото място в Колорадо. Той е проверил с неговите съседи за това твърдение.

 На другата въжена линия поведени от планинския лидер Никол, са Кери, Матиас, и Давид. Никол е от Сан Франциско, и прекарва повечето лета като гид за РМИ, през останалото време обича да катери и съчетава нейната бакалаварска степен  по архитектурно инженерство.  Кери е гръбначен хирург от Нова Каролина, който се натъква на  неговата професия след кратък период в строителството. След като се усетил, че  “има мозък” (по негови думи), той се насочва към философия и после хирургия, защото се използват отверки и пирони като встроителството. Матиас е мой съимигрант от Швеция. Той  живее в Бостън със семейството си, но неговата страст е в катеренето на високите точки на Европа и Азия. Давид, съснай- големия фен клуб от нашия екип, е от Кентъки, но в момента е директор на ски училище в Охайо. Където имат нужда от само три дни и температури под нулата натрупат машинен сняг на 100 акра терен, за да отворят ски пистите за клиенти. Много е горд от новите системни продобивки като РФИД, нон стоп воден източник  и т.н. Не на последно място е въжения екип воден от Сет. Катерачите са София, Нате и Томас. Сет е от Тенеси, но живее във Вашингтон с жена си. Най- интересния факт за него според мен е, който научих за него до момента е, че Сет е прекарал неговия меден живеят в Ню Уорк, тяхната страст е многодневни походи, и достигането на най високите точки на всеки щат. София като докторант на Философия ни обясни възможно ли е да пътуваме през времето, и различните версии на Аз, през междузвездните системи. Нещото което е очевидно от пръв поглед за Тате е абсолютната обич към София. Те ни подсигуриха със нови сладки и солени храни за останалите дни на експедицията. Благодарим ви за Вашата щедрост. Оставих един от най- оживените характери на екипа за последно. Томас, който е от Ванкувър, Канада, и е фокусиран на по техничен терен в неговата страст към планински терени, именно ледниково катерене, много стръмен терен из Аляска за сега. Денали е просто тест за сега. Той учи да бъде кинезеотерапевт и е инструментален в тези почивни дни като ни показва упражнения за специфични мускули, който ни помагат да сме във форма. Отделно той е главния ресурс на шеги и забавни истории.  Това е нашия шарен лагер обединен от една обща цел - върха на Денали! ефърт  20 мили и 5000 фута височина до базови лагер и обратно,  да се върнат при нас и да продължим да катерим към 14ти лагер.

RMI Climber Rossi Simeonova

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - 2:51 pm PT

With our cache established around Windy Corner, our team is resting at 11,000' Camp. It's a bit breezy in camp, much windier up high. A good day to chill.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Monday, June 3, 2019 - 7:33 AM PT It was a busy day yesterday. We woke to clear skies with great views of Foraker, Hunter, and Crosson. As we crawled out of the tent you could here the sweet sound of the planes coming in. At that moment we knew we were gonna fly out. This was not a drill, but go time. In record speed we packed up camp and dragged all our gear to the airstrip. Somewhere near 100 people stood around waiting anxiously to board a plane. Like clock work the planes landed, loaded up a team, and flew off so another plane could land and repeat. We waited our turn, a lot like waiting for your number to be called at the DMV, we waited for our name to be called. After a couple hours, it was our turn to load up the plane and hit the slide to the sky. Showers, beers, and comfy beds were in our future. After organizing and cleaning gear, we loaded into a van headed to Anchorage. We enjoyed one final dinner together, reminiscing about the fun time we all had together the last week and a half. It's been an amazing adventure with great people. Lots of laughs, lots of learning, and lots of great memories were shared by all on the team. As we all load planes going to different states to rejoin our normal routine, I wish the best of luck to the entire team on their next adventure. Till next time, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Friday, May 24, 2019 11:03 PM PT There is nothing better than starting your day with a pancake bigger than your face and your morning commute on an otter plane. The clouds stayed at bay and we were able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier. The views are mesmerizing. Words cant explain how beautiful it all is. We gathered are things from the plane, said goodbye to our pilots, and settled into camp. Excitement continues to grow for what is to come in the next week. But for now we are snuggled into out tents ready to catch some Z's. Talk to you all tomorrow, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Good evening from Alpamayo High Camp. We are sad to report that the SW face is not in safe condition to be climbed, and we're not going to aim any higher. Everyone did a great job today and pushed through the upper glacier that is steep as usual, but we will descend tomorrow to Base Camp. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team