Entries from Denali
June 18, 2023
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
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June 17, 2023 8:56 PM PT
The weather had other plans for us up here at the base of ski hill. We woke up to wet snow hitting the tent and an ominous cloud staring at us from our intended path.
When Denali speaks, we listen. After a lot of watching and waiting, we turned our move into a rest day. We ate, slept, played cards, and read books to pass the time. Luckily, it’s in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Tomorrow, we’ll try again. Wear your pajamas inside out for us.
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli and Team
June 17, 2023
Posted by: Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
June 16, 2023 11:38PM PT
On this glorious morning, we awoke to partly sunny skies and light snow showers (for those who don't know, this means mostly cloudy.) As temperatures warmed, we all gathered in the posh for another round of pancake Hibachi. Yours truly went for broke and landed a double pancake flip (that is one pancake flipping twice). Unfortunately, the blast wave of this extreme maneuver broke our big strong Andy's fork.
To make the most of our relatively mild weather and rest day, we headed out of camp and practiced fixed line travel and clipping pickets. The team did great and is ready for whatever gloves the mountain throws at them.
Famished, we made our way back to camp to gorge on snacks, mainly cheese. This helped quell our toilet paper crisis for the near future.
After dinner and a sweet treat of Jack's cheesecake the team retired to hopefully sleep deep and oxygen rich.
June 17, 2023
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
June 16, 2023 10:20 PM PT
Day 2 started with a much enjoyed few extra hours of sleep as light snow delayed our alpine start. The skies cleared quickly though, and we were able to begin our work for the day - carrying a load of gear and food to cache just below 10,000’.
Everyone put in a good effort, and we were back down to out tents just as light snow began again. The rest of the day was filled with naps and relaxation in preparation for our move to 11,000’ tomorrow.
June 16, 2023
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 9,800'
It was snowing at Kahiltna Base last night when we wanted to get going, so we pushed back the wake-up time to a leisurely 4 AM. Conditions improved as we ate breakfast in the shadows. We were climbing by 6:50 AM. Conditions were excellent due to recent snows and cold temps.
The dreaded crevasse crossings of the lower Kahiltna Glacier were practically nonexistent. Sled pulling was quite easy (relatively speaking), though everything was heavy as usual. We reached our intended camp at ski hill in five hours and built a fine home. We dove into tents to beat the afternoon sun.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and team
Way to go, Team Hahn! We are thinking about you and praying for each of you. Mitch, I’m so happy your knee is holding up! I love you!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all the Father’s up there!!
Posted by: Leslie vance on 6/18/2023 at 8:17 am
Hey Dustin! All the Best to You and Dave and your team! I’m following along.
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/18/2023 at 3:19 am
June 16, 2023
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Michael Murray, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 9:20 pm PT
We couldn't hang around Talkeetna long enough for breakfast this morning. Denali was calling and we heeded the call. We snacked as we were gearing up to fly. The planes took off at 9 AM and at about 9:45 we were in basecamp unloading. We built camp. It is pleasantly cool for mid June. We made it a training day. We watched airplanes and helicopters come and go as we reviewed glacier travel techniques. Tomorrow we're going climbing.
June 16, 2023
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
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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,
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
June 16, 2023
Posted by: Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
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Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 9:07 pm PT
Good evening and welcome back to The Bond Girls Late Night blog, where you get all your juicy mountain deets and feats. Today we woke up to the most astonishing scene of Hunter and Foraker, something this resident Alaskan only sees from time to time from the Fred Meyer parking lot. For almost all of us, it was a frigid night, you can bet for night two at 14,000' some of us will be breaking out the toe warmers. As the sun rose this quickly changed. We ate a big breakfast of bacon and crème cheese bagels and got on the move down to our cache at 13,500'. After about an hour and 40 minutes we were back at our new base camp, where we enjoyed some stretching, field baths, trashy realty tv and naps.
Please see below for all of our members and their spirit animals deemed by me:
Katherine - Tucan / Mongolian horse
Linhardt - earth worm (healthy) / Guinea pig
Joey - clownfish / stink bug
Andy - black footed ferret / sting ray
Scott - eel / camel
Stephan - porcupine / platypus
Andy (guide) - sloth bear / manatee
Jeff - musk ox / horn toad
Jack - north Texas hare / anteater
Steve - pigeon from Italy / moose
Mikayla - gull / sewer rat
Kevin - warthog / Airedale
Shout out to my girl Mack who’s completing a tour oversees here soon, and to all of my friends and family who helped and inspired me to get here.
PS Alex I know your birthday is in July I was just delusionally tired when I wrote that last blog lol.
Signing off for now, Mikayla (Pony Rider / Goldie Locks) and the rest of the girls!
Appreciate the shout out homie, can’t believe y’all’s journey so far! I’m so proud of you Mikayla! Y’all are absolutely killing it! You are gunna have to tell the story on these spirt animal picks when you get back haha!! Stay safe!
Posted by: Mack on 6/17/2023 at 4:42 pm
Hello to Stephan and the other team members. We really enjoy reading about all your adventures and are deeply impressed by your energy, perseverance and team spirit. We are looking forward to more reports and photos of this amazing expedition.
Your family
Posted by: Margret and Hans Schiffer on 6/17/2023 at 5:40 am
June 15, 2023
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 7:38 am PT
Talkeetna was cloudy and sometimes rainy but our team used the day to get all set for a Denali expedition. We started with a team breakfast meeting and then moved out to the hangar on the Talkeetna airstrip for getting organized. Guides and climbers set to work organizing both group gear and personal equipment. Finishing touches were made to the 22 day food supply. We stood outside for a briefing from National Park Service rangers on safety and environmental procedures.
We were happy to watch our fellow climbers in Dominic Cifelli’s RMI team load up and take off for Kahiltna Base as the weather improved. Our day finished with a weigh-in and final division of the supplies into two piles for two airplanes. We met for dinner in town to relax and talk once more on strategy for the climb.
Best Regards
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Mark Twain says to go slay this mountain already!
Posted by: Tam on 6/15/2023 at 3:17 pm
June 15, 2023
Posted by: Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 11:19 pm PT
Greetings from 14,000' Camp. We packed up 11,000' Camp this morning and climbed up Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill passing the Father and the Son wall. We strolled along the Polo Field and climbed past the 13,000' cache garden where we left supplies yesterday. The terrain on the route is steep and strenuous. The Bond Girls were carrying heavy loads with our sleeping bags, tents, personal gear and one piece of group gear each. But the reason I asked to do to the blog today was the loads carried by Andy, Jack and Joey. Their packs were overloaded beyond imagination and the sleds they dragged were piled high with gear! More than twice the weight any normal person could move. I worked on the railroad most of my life and have witnessed people doing extraordinarily hard jobs under extremely difficult conditions many times but the efforts of these three men today left me in disbelief! I stand at 14,000' Camp tonight looking at the beautiful sight of Mount Hunter and Foraker humbled by the efforts of the men that made it possible.
Jeff Ebeling aka Trashman
Hello to Andy Geldean and the rest of the group. I’ve been following the blog and am exhausted just reading about your journey. You all amaze me. So proud of you Andy. Can’t wait to see pics.
Posted by: Dawn riewe on 6/15/2023 at 2:50 pm
Moving on up! Go, Scott go!! Congrats guides and team on conquering a long, hard day! Hot cider cheers from Nashville! CKP
Posted by: Christine Perkinson on 6/15/2023 at 11:33 am
June 14, 2023
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:11 pm PT
All present and accounted for in Talkeetna, Alaska. Most of us came together in the Anchorage airport this afternoon. Some traveled today, others in the proceeding days. We joined forces for the van ride up to Talkeetna under overcast and sometimes rainy skies. We busted up the three hour drive with a pause in Wasilla to round out provisions. All of this got us in to Talkeetna by about 7 PM. We did an easy evening of pizza downtown and came back for a rest at the Swiss Alaska Inn. The real business of the expedition starts tomorrow morning.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Just keep climbing.
Posted by: Shannon on 6/16/2023 at 10:17 am
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Thank you for the updates!!
Posted by: Jenni on 6/19/2023 at 5:56 am
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