Entries from Expedition Dispatches
June 11, 2024
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, June 10, 2024
Good evening all,
Today was a good day. Today we made our carry to 13,500'. The skies were mostly clear with no breeze. We were the first team out of camp. We didn't see another team until we headed back down. The route was in great condition which made for smooth walking. We are getting closer and closer to our goal but we still have many days ahead of us. Many hard days ahead of us. We made it back to camp just as it started to snow. The snow hasn't stopped since. We aren't sure what tomorrow will bring. If the weather is good, we will move. If the weather isn't good we will rest up for when it is good. Keep sending those good weather vibes!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 2, 2024 Emails
June 10, 2024
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Hello again,
Today we decided to take our rest day. All night the wind battered our tents and send snow swirling between the rain fly and tent body. The gusts kept up until the morning but later subsided and turned into a calm, bright, hot day. The team enjoyed the warm weather. They occupied themselves with a chess tournament. They are currently playing for seeding. Tomorrow we are looking to make our carry to 13,600' and Tuesday move to 14,000' Camp. Weather looks to be in our favor, so keep sending those good weather vibes our way the next couple days. Now we must catch some sleep for our day tomorrow.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 2, 2024 Emails
I’m just here for some quality Patrick comments.
Posted by: Will on 6/13/2024 at 11:04 pm
Helloooo Tommy from Sunriver!
Keep up the good work. Love you miss you!
Chess? You have this hands down. I’m sure you’re in the finals, if I had to place a bet.
Posted by: Linda Barrow on 6/11/2024 at 8:51 am
June 9, 2024
Posted by: James Bealer, Jess Wedel, Ben Thorneycroft, George Hedreen, Hannah Billings, Claire Pennell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb June 6 - 9 led by RMI Guides James Bealer & Jess Wedel reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. At 7 am, they were starting their descent from the crater rim.
Congratulations climbers!
Congratulations Team and a shout out to Cary idler! Have a safe trip coming down!
Posted by: Tammi idler on 6/25/2024 at 8:46 pm
Congratulations! It’s an amazing accomplishment and team work!
Posted by: Tammi Idler on 6/20/2024 at 7:49 am
June 9, 2024
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Saturday, June 8, 2024 - 8:55 pm PT
Greetings readers!
Today we had a casual morning eating breakfast burritos and sipping coffee. By 9:50am we were packed and roped uo for our back carry to our 9300' cache. A light wind kept the temps down and the team made fast work getting to the cache. After a bit of digging we retrieved all our things, packed it all up and headed back uphill. Up, down, up, down, sleep, eat, and repeat is the the name of the game out here. If you ain't walking you are sleeping or eating. After a bit of rest in the afternoon we reviewed walking in our crampons and packed for our carry to 13,600'. If the winds don't turn up which they are forecasted to, we will carry our gear and get in position to move to 14,000' Camp. The team is very eager to get up there. But we have to take our time and properly allow our bodies to compensate to the decrease in oxygen molecules up here. As I write the winds are picking up but maybe they will get it out of its system during the night. So goodnight all and send those good weather vibes.
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 2, 2024 Emails
Hey Hannah and Team! All the best wishes for calm winds and sunny skies for your move up hill!! Climb high! Climb Strong!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/10/2024 at 3:32 am
Sending you good weather vibes!
Posted by: Shannon R Smith on 6/9/2024 at 3:37 pm
June 8, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom, Drew O’Brien, Mike Bennett, Charlie Harrison, Jackson Breen, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Drew O’Brien reached Ingraham Flats on Mt. Rainier this morning. New snow from recent storms, avalanches, and route concerns kept the team from continuing up hill.
The team enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and started their descent from Camp Muir.
June 8, 2024
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
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Friday, June 8, 2024 8:43 pm PDT
Good evening readers!
We are writing to you from 11k Camp. Our day started early with an alpine start thinking it was going to be the wee hours of the morning when the weather would clear. That turned out to be incorrect. We woke to white all around us. We were in a cloud. You could barely see the tents up glacier. We dragged our feet and took a nap. After a few hours the clouds started to lift so we packed up our camp.
The walking was tough today. The trail Had been blown in with lots of snow. The trail breaking was slow and exhausting but we made hung in there and rolled into 11k Camp. Feels good to be higher on the mountain. Just one step closer to our goal. At dinner we filled our bellies with Annie's Mac and Cheese and now we are all ready for a much-deserved sleep. We are all looking forward to uninterrupted sleep tonight. Tomorrow we will head back downhill to our cache to be reunited with our gear.
Goodnight, all!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 2, 2024 Emails
Nothing to it but to do it. Onward and upwards
Posted by: PCash on 6/9/2024 at 6:28 am
Nice, guys! What a beautiful picture! Shane, hopefully that dried broccoli went right in the mac nom nom. Excited for the next update!
Posted by: Tara Kallembach on 6/8/2024 at 9:33 am
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The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team trained all week to hone the mountaineering skills needed to qualify for a Denali, Aconcagua, and other big mountain expeditions. The team learned crevasse rescue, fixed line travel, route finding, and avalanche forecasting. Poor weather and high avalanche danger prevented the team from making a summit attempt via the Katuz Glacier, but the time spend training and learning the advanced mountain skills will benefit all team members on their next mountain adventure.
Congratulations Team!
June 7, 2024
Posted by: Brent Okita, Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita, and Joe Hoch climbed to Ingraham Flats, but were unable to go further due to high avalanche risk. The team enjoyed a beautiful sunrise, and will be back to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Wow! That pic is stunning!
Bummer you weren’t able to summit, but good to be safe!
Cheers to everyone!
Posted by: Katie Hernandez on 6/7/2024 at 11:34 am
Beautiful Pic! Sorry the climb had to turn back but clearly Safety First !
Posted by: Doug Thompson on 6/7/2024 at 10:39 am
June 7, 2024
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Josh Geiser
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
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Thursday, June 6, 2024 6:11pm PDT
Hello readers!
The snow pitter pattered all night. With every tap to the side of the tent snow slides off. It was a winter wonderland. White surrounded us. You could see nothing but white. With visibility being low and tents wet, we decided to lay low and hang tight for the day. The team rested and the snow Fell most of the day. Towards the late afternoon the base of the peaks became visible. An optimistic sign that maybe the weather is letting up. We are Hopeful that we can get still move to 11k camp in an alpine start fashion much like we do on Rainier. So, after dinner we are going to rest a few hours and hopefully the weather is descent, and we can make our move.
Wish us luck and send good weather vibes.
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Sign Up For Denali Expedition June 2, 2024 Emails
Hi Tommy and group, wishing you all the best of luck for better weather and a successful climb. And thank you for all the updates.
Posted by: Jen Mackenzie on 6/8/2024 at 12:18 am
Hi Tommy MacKenzie,
We love you! Michael and I say hi!
I hope you are doing well and you have good conditions.
Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful experience❤️
Posted by: Linda Barrow on 6/7/2024 at 5:53 pm
June 6, 2024
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Nicole De Petris, Bailey Servais, Arianna Drechsler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 5,400'
The Expedition Skill Seminar - Emmons team May 31 - 5 June led by RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli endured some epic wet weather during their six day training and climbing program. After two days of technical training and climbing school the team headed to the White River Entrance of Mt. Rainier donned their packs and climbed to the lower Emmons Glacier. The team spent two days in rainy and snow weather before descending to the trailhead and returning to Ashford. On Wednesday the team spent another day training to complete their program.
Here's hoping for better weather next time!
Go get em Shane. Your neighbors in are pulling for you.
Posted by: Dennis R.A. McNulty on 6/12/2024 at 4:27 am
Shane, since this is the info you’re needing while out there, I figured I’d send an update. We had ramen night tonight at home - amazing! It’s going to be a weekly thing for sure! Excited for another update from your end tomorrow, we’re sending all the good weather vibes to you all!!
Posted by: Tara Kallembach on 6/11/2024 at 7:29 pm
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