Entries from Alaska Seminar
May 15, 2016 - 9:39 pm
Greetings from base camp,
This morning we were not greeted with the sunny cloudless skies, but a low cloud ceiling. The precipitation fell as snow but behaved like rain once on the ground. That did not stop us from fortifying camp with snow walls which the team dispatched of quickly. It's a fast hard working crew we have here. A few folks ran some crevasse rescue drills in the fog while the rest of the team did some training around camp. Tomorrow we plan to explore the southeast fork and try to climb something while getting some real field immersion training. Rain or shine we will be getting some real
Alaskan expedition training in. That's a goodnight from us here in midnight sun country.
RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King & Megan Budge
Saturday, May 14, 2016 - 11:47 p.m. PDT
Good evening friends and family!
Today our
Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Expedition flew onto the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier in unseasonably warm temperatures. Talkeetna is experiencing temperatures that are 20 degrees above average and it's hard to wait around dressed in climbing clothes. But things are all good here in the mountains. The Cliff Hudson Fly In was going on in Talkeetna today so we were able to experience various aircraft showing off their abilities in honor of the late bush pilot Cliff Hudson. It was very exciting to share the same airport with old WWII planes and newest bush planes. Stay tuned for more seminar stories...
RMI Guide Leon Davis and team
On The Map
May 10, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Monday, May 9, 2016 - 10:37 p.m. PDT
Today was our last full day on the lower slopes of Denali and it was a beautiful one. We had hopes to give
Kahiltna Dome another shot but the weather remains the same with snow and low visibility. So we packed camp and made our way down the Kahiltna Glacier towards base camp. We passed a few teams on their way up, slowly moving under their heavy loads and exchanged the customary greetings. We had the nine mile trek down glacier almost all to ourselves and the silence was sublime! Things are quiet here on the lower Kahiltna as no team has flown on in a few days. It is indeed a rare day to have such silence and solitude, without the drone of the planes that regularly come and go. It has been a great trip with a great crew and many are counting the days until their return to give Denali a try.
RMI Guides Leon Davis and Mike King
On The Map
May 9, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 9,600'
Sunday, May 8, 2016 - 9:39 p.m. PDT
Today the team learned that not everyday can be blue skies filled with unicorns. We woke early this morning, fighting the temptation to stay in our warm cocoons, to a complete whiteout. Everything that came in contact with the atmosphere grew a layer of frost overnight and we could barely see more than 10 feet in front of us. But we brewed up, ate a quick breakfast, and began the waiting game. We would need full
VFR (visual flight rule) conditions to venture onto
Kahiltna Dome but alas the weather never improved. After some tent time the team went out to investigate some ice fall debris fallen from the east face for some classroom sessions. The biggest block, close to the size of a two-car garage, provided some fun ice climbing routes. We hope to wake up tomorrow to better weather in hopes of giving the Dome one last shot before heading back down stream.
Goodnight from the great white north!
RMI Guides Leon Davis and Mike King and team
May 7, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 9,600'
May 7, 2016 - 8:31 pm PT
Good evening everyone,
The team is hunkered down here at 9,600' camp near the base of the east face of
Kahiltna dome. It was a fine warm day to drag our loads out of 7600' camp and set ourselves up for an attempt on the dome tomorrow morning. Lots of snow here off the beaten track so we are going to have some work to venture up the east face. Our team of four paired themselves down to one tent in order to lighten the load and sleep a bit warmer at night. Early to bed for us and an early rise in the morning. Hope everyone at home is warm and comfortable.
RMI Guides Leon Davis & Mike King
Friday, May 6, 2016 - 9:40 p.m. PDT
We held our breath this morning peering outside the vestibule, expecting to see a foot of snow and nothing else. Instead we found an inch of new snow and a cloudy glacier with low visibility. We enjoyed a pancake breakfast and packed as much gear as we could without taking the tents down. By late morning the cloud ceiling rose just high enough for us to see and that was good enough. By one o'clock we we walking down Heartbreak Hill with enough supplies to last four days. It was a beautiful quiet walk up the main flow of the Kahiltna and by 4:30 we were at the base of Ski Hill making camp next to Mike Walter's
Denali team and a group of soldiers. Our crew is strong and looking forward to moving camp tomorrow to 10,000 ft, provided we can double down on our bet that the weather forecast will prove wrong one more time.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 6, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Today the
seminar team had a fine time learning and drilling crevasse rescue techniques. Colder today than the previous few, we bundled up and traveled a few minutes from camp to a nice staging area above a deep blue hole. The team first drilled pulling a snow-filled duffel out before practicing with a live load. Everyone got the opportunity to experience the inside of a crevasse as well as pulling a teammate out of one. Clouds are starting to build over Foraker as a southwest flow moves it's way into our area and by late morning, silence filled the arena that hummed with the activity of planes flying into Basecamp. Before dinner we rigged our sleds and packed some gear for our anticipated move from
BC and up the Kahiltna glacier tomorrow. An early and quiet goodnight from the expedition skills seminar.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
May 5, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 10:29 p.m PDT
Today the team went out to stretch their legs and explore the various corners of the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. We left camp early in the cold, biting air of morning and made our way up to a basin on the north side of the
Radio Tower. Recent snow made for a lot of trail breaking to gain the north ridge. After crossing the bergschrund, we found the ridge to be very steep, firm underfoot, and very exposed. Our options were limited with the gear we had and the nature of the potential consequences. So we made the summit ridge our high point and descended to set up some fixed line work and anchor building. The team is in good spirits, eager to learn, and attentive to their well being. Tomorrow we explore the inside of a crevasse to see how deep the rabbit hole really goes.
RMI Guides
Leon Davis and
Mike King
On The Map
May 4, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Tuesday, May 3, 2016 - 9:31 p.m.
This morning we woke up to a few inches of light snow and little visibility. Our goal today was to fortify camp with walls cut from snow and our team worked fast together. By early afternoon the sun cast a blue light down glacier and the north buttress of Hunter made itself present with its steep rock and ice. The team finished by 1300 and relaxed for a short while under a warm sun. Before dinner we sat together to review some knots and hitches and prepare for a climb up
Radio Tower tomorrow morning. Every once in a while I catch the team standing quietly, shovels in hand, pausing to take in the surrounding splendor before returning to their work. All is very well here in our snowy castle.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 3, 2016
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Monday, May 2, 2016 - 10:03 p.m.
Greetings Blog Followers!
Our first
Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Expedition is doing fine at Kahiltna Base Camp! Our morning in Talkeetna, AK was anything but slow and leisurely as we performed many logistic moves in order to get ahead of the changing weather forecast. We made it onto
K2 Aviation's Otters by noon and made camp quickly in great weather. Despite being thrust into action on a compressed time schedule, the team worked very well together displaying great work ethic and sense if humor. It's 9:00 p.m and we are all warm and happy in tents looking forward to fortifying camp tomorrow.
Good night friends and family from the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier; we'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guides Leon Davis and Mike King
On The Map
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Hi Greg
It sounds like your adventure is off to an exciting start - with an air show timed for your first expedition day. We hope every day is this enjoyable and exciting - and each day stays unseasonably warm.
Look forward to more news as your team ascends.
Thanks to Leon, Mike and Megan for helping us stay in touch.
Much love xo Mom & Dad
Posted by: Sue and Bob Lawley on 5/15/2016 at 2:52 pm
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