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Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Move to 9,600’

May 13, 2012

Posted by: Mike Walter, Pete Van Deventer

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,600'

This morning we awoke to our first views of the Alaska Range. After sitting out the storm in Talkeetna and flying on with clouds still in the area, we were pleasantly surprised with a beautiful sunny day. Our first big hill of the trip greeted us right out of camp, but even with this challenge we moved well up to camp at 9,500'. The Kahiltna Glacier is in great shape which made our travels nice and fluid. Base camp received 3 feet of snow while we sat in Talkeetna, but this just made for great navigating and smooth sailing for us. As we moved into the steeps of Ski Hill, there was a perfect trough to keep our sleds in line and upright. With our first challenges behind us, we rolled into camp around 5:00 and made a yummy birthday dinner for Carl...61 today!! Now, we're resting up for another big push tomorrow to 11,000' camp. Happy Mother's Day to all of our moms! Goodnight. RMI Guides Mike Walter, Pete Van Deventer & Maile Wade

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Team, We wish you GREAT LUCK on McKinley. Be safe. Sara and Bill McGahan

Posted by: Bil McGahan on 5/17/2012 at 3:40 pm

happy birthday carl & best wishes for great weather.
summit on!

Posted by: lars on 5/14/2012 at 6:37 pm

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Vinson Massif: Dave & Team Carry Supplies Amidst the Storm

December 5, 2011

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 7,200'

The storm rages on. When we could catch a glimpse of the Vinson Massif today, it was continually capped in thick wind-sculpted cloud. But it really wasn't bad down here on the Branscomb Glacier. Our basecamp is nicely sheltered... so far. It is rare for big winds to find their way into our valley, but it does happen. This storm isn't finished yet either. Our forecast from ALE suggests it will be with us at least another day. Today we did manage to get a carry of food and gear in to "half camp" about 2.5 hours above Vinson Base Camp. It was great to stretch legs and it will certainly ease our eventual move up to low camp. We took about an hour to scoot back down to base in cold and shadowy conditions. A hot dinner in our dining tent got all feeling good again. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Mt. Rainier: July 9th Teams Summit!

July 9, 2021

Posted by: Grayson Swingle, Jess Matthews

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

Clear skies and light winds greeted the Four Day Team on the summit of Mt. Rainier. RMI Guide Jess Matthews called in to let us know the team reached the summit at 6:05 am. They spent some time on the summit before starting their descent. The team will be back at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon to celebrate!

Congratulations to today's team!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Congrats, little brother! Can’t wait to hear about it!

Posted by: Bill Lively Jr on 7/10/2021 at 4:27 am

Way to go RG3 (David L) and team. Super proud of your efforts & accomplishments!!

Heck of a distance to climb, that’s awesome. Can’t wait to hear about the experience.

Posted by: Matt B on 7/9/2021 at 8:41 pm

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Ecuador: Nugent & Team Summit Cotopaxi!

June 29, 2012

Posted by: Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: Summit

Success! The gang went to bed with another deceptively improving weather trend only to wake up (for the third time this trip) in the middle of the night to more stormy weather. We decided that since this was our last chance we'd give a hail Mary attempt. After a quick breakfast and some tinkering with gear and backpacks the time came for us to push out. Surprisingly, the winds had started calming down, which heartened the guides at least a little bit. As it turned out, that abatement was indeed only temporary... We climbed to the edge of the glacier and roped/cramponed up, and after only an hour or two in the elements we were starting to ice up. Somehow everybody kept it together and we continued upwards into worsening winds, winding our way through a jumble of a glacier and then skirting around the massive rock face of Yanasacha. Weather was bad most of the day but after reaching the upper slopes of the mountain we were fully exposed. When we reached the summit (half of us crawling) we were elated but couldn't stay long because of the blastingly continuous 50 mph wind and the fact that were covered with over and inch (yes an inch!) of ice from being in a freezing lenticular cloud all day. The guys were a little beat but pulled it together to descend like champs all the way back down to the refugio. All in all we were out in the storm for a little over 10 hours, managing to bag the summit and safely descend. We were greeted back at the refugio by Victor, our driver, who had hiked up from the parking lot to hang out. Knowing our ride was waiting down the hill, we celebrated with a quick beer and crammed all of our crap into our packs. A short walk down a scree field brought us to the van which brought us back to civilization in Quito! The team showered up and hit the town for a fabulous multi-course meal complete with wine and pisco to celebrate properly. Hopefully folks weren't too ragged making their early a.m. flights. I'd like to thank a great group of guys for making this such a fun and memorable trip (pako's ipa, triple cheeseburgers, two left crampons, pansies, sock boiling, knee taking, etc.) and thank Jaime and Diego for being awesome guides and a pleasure to work with. Thanks again everybody! Signing off, for now... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hell of week for cotopaxi huh?

Posted by: Nate on 7/3/2012 at 10:45 pm

Wow!I’m impressed and awestruck. You guys still have all of your toes?? :-)

Posted by: Paula on 6/30/2012 at 4:18 pm

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Mt. Baker: King & Team Summit via Coleman Deming Route

July 22, 2021

Posted by: Mike King, Camille Leininger, Leif Bergstrom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 10,781'

RMI Guide Mike King and the Mt. Baker Coleman Deming July 20 - 22 team reached the summit this morning. Mike reported a cold and windy day with firm conditions on the Roman Headwall. The team returned to camp shortly after 11 am. After packing up camp they descended to the trail head and concluded their program.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Vinson Massif: Clouds…

December 17, 2011

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 7,200'

The clouds and fog took over Vinson basecamp again today. There was slight improvement by late afternoon, but not enough to get airplanes moving our way. Our team hasn't been particularly worked up or worried by the enforced downtime though. Naps are popular, reading and mathematical puzzles pass the time. We went for another glacier walk today. Meals together never fail to entertain. The forecast apparently calls for better weather tomorrow. Fingers Crossed. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Sterling..following your climb via the blog…its great to read the daily progress of the group….Dave Hahn is a terrific writer! Dan and I are thinking of you and cheering you on to the summit.
XO Nadine

Posted by: Nadine Douke on 12/11/2012 at 9:52 am

Enjoy the rest! Hope that you all have a great day. Thinking about you. Love, Suz

Posted by: Suzanne De Maio on 12/19/2011 at 5:52 am

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Denali Expedition: Champion and Team Prep for Carry up Fixed Lines

June 4, 2022

Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

June 3, 2022 – 9:29pm PT

Quiet day over at 14 camp.

We woke up with the sun and had a long breakfast consisting of breakfast burritos and multiple rounds of hots. We spent the rest of the day resting and reviewing fixed line travel before our carry day tomorrow. We hope to wake up early and carry all the way to 17 if everything goes smoothly.

Another great day, with great weather. Check back in tomorrow!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

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What an inspiring journey! I look forward to being regaled by stories and taking in images of your mighty adventure. Thinking of you and hoping you are safe throughout each day.
So much love to you, Jeff-Rob!
Your sis, Lynn

Posted by: Lynn on 6/5/2022 at 8:23 pm

Keep
Climbing Rob!!
What a wonderful adventure!!
Can’t wait to have an evening with you and Patty having you walk us through this amazing experience!!

Posted by: John Shaw on 6/5/2022 at 5:04 pm

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Mt. Rainier: August 6th Teams Summit!

August 6, 2021

Posted by: Joe Hoch, Devin Guffey

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Climbs led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Devin Wilkinson climbed above the clouds to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. Joe reported sunny skies and light winds with a cloud deck at around 9,000' this morning. The Weather was holding and provided the team will good climbing conditions.

Congratulations to today's team!

Aconcagua: Hailes & Team Rest Day

January 18, 2022

Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

After three nights of strong wind gust, fitful sleeping and high altitude we were all ready for a full mountain rest day today. Rest days are simple and look similar to your cat’s daily routine: eat, then nap, then casual stroll, then eat, then nap. Today, our highlights were hot quesadillas for snacks and we walked across the valley from camp to an abandoned hotel to enjoy even more spectacular views.
All around a great rest day and everyone is ready for more climbing tomorrow.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Let’s go Boys! Congrats on your progress, see you at the TOP!

Posted by: Craig Straub on 1/19/2022 at 1:59 pm

Great job fellas! You will make it!

“The wonderful things in life are the things you do, not the things you have.” Reinhold Messner

Posted by: Dirk Gilliard on 1/19/2022 at 1:37 pm

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Mt. Everest: Rest Day at Everest Basecamp

May 3, 2013

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall, Mark Tucker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

It is tough to realize just how hard Everest is on the human body until one comes back down to "normal" altitudes like 17,500 ft Basecamp. The first night of deep sleep convinces you that whatever you thought you were doing for twelve hours a night at 21,300 ft was not actually sleep. A plate of breakfast that you actually want seconds on makes you think of how easy the mountain would be to climb if you could have had your normal appetite up at ABC. Life is easy for us today at Basecamp. Chairs with backs to lean against. Oxygen and air pressure in abundance. Cellphone connectivity. Showers and mostly clean clothes. And very little risk for a change... Unlike looking forward to a day on the Lhotse Face or a morning in the Khumbu Icefall. Not so much can fall on us on our rest day and we aren't likely to step on anything that collapses without warning. Lots of good things about life at Basecamp... once the morning flurry of helicopter flights is finished, there is peace and quiet and a billion dollar set of views out every tent door. Today the views included jet stream winds raking the upper Lhotse Face, driving snow a thousand feet higher than the mountain itself. We are catching up on the news and trying to beat Mark Tucker at a game or two, but he has all of the advantages while our brains are still fuzzy and our bodies are tired. Tomorrow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Most Popular Entries

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Move to 9,600’

On The Map

Vinson Massif: Dave & Team Carry Supplies Amidst the Storm

Mt. Rainier: July 9th Teams Summit!

Ecuador: Nugent & Team Summit Cotopaxi!

Mt. Baker: King & Team Summit via Coleman Deming Route

Vinson Massif: Clouds…

Denali Expedition: Champion and Team Prep for Carry up Fixed Lines

Mt. Rainier: August 6th Teams Summit!

Aconcagua: Hailes & Team Rest Day

Mt. Everest: Rest Day at Everest Basecamp

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