Entries By alan davis

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Place Cache and Take Rest Day

May 29, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 14,200'

Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 5:01 PM PT Today is a rest day for our team after good long day yesterday establishing a cache at 17,200 ft. We woke early yesterday to a clear but bitterly cold morning (~ -20F), ate breakfast, packed our packs and launched. We were the first team to leave camp and the only team to continue all the way to High Camp (17,200') to establish our cache. The weather and climbing conditions were excellent, and the views were unmatched. Now we're resting, acclimating, and getting stronger in preparation for our summit bid. The weather forecast looks promising and we will likely move to High Camp in the next day or two. We will keep you posted with the latest. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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OMG you are really getting up there. Luckily beautiful weather! Stay safe, and stay warm…..

Posted by: Marilyn Riede on 5/30/2018 at 9:42 am

What amazing luck with the weather and views! Thank you for this great update and we are happy to hear everyone is doing well! Fingers are crossed for continued great weather and a safe summit climb! Tom M, Myrna and Sheila are enjoying the updates! Be safe and we are sending big hugs!
Susan
Larkspur, CA

Posted by: Susan on 5/30/2018 at 7:21 am

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Carry a Cache to 17,200’

May 28, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 14,200'

Monday, May 28th - 9:48 pm PST Just a quick update: We had beautiful weather today and we took advantage of it by carrying up to 17,200', our future high camp, to establish a cache. It was a long day with beautiful climbing. I'll write more tomorrow as there is still a ton to do at camp and the sun is already behind the ridge. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Keep on keeping on Tom! Ralph and I were chatting about your climb yesterday while we wandered around S.F. with a few other souls around for the weekend. Sending positive vibes and hopefully high pressure systems bringing stable weather for your trip to the summit and back down to the thick air afterwards. And remember, don’t get stuck with the Turkey tetrazini…blech.

Posted by: Michele on 5/29/2018 at 4:55 pm

Keep it up Alexander and team!!! Proud of you and miss you!

Posted by: Becca R on 5/29/2018 at 4:54 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Visit the Edge of the World

May 27, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 14,200'

Last night was chilly once again, but today the sun is out in full and has warmed us up. It's a beautiful day on Denali today, with barely a breath of wind at 14,200' (there is some visible wind up higher on the West Buttress), and partly cloudy skies. We're taking a "rest" day today, although it will be somewhat active. After a leisurely breakfast that rolled into brunch, we headed out to the Edge of the World, a dramatic rock outcrop at the far eastern edge of Genet Basin that looks down to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, some 5,000' below. Next we will be reviewing and practicing fixed rope travel in preparation for moving above our camp. And finally, before dinner, we will work on building snow walls to protect our tents and our kitchen from strong winds. All in all, a good day of active rest. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we plan to establish a cache high on the West Buttress in order to have enough supplies available to us for our move to high camp. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Way to go Riemer!! Lots of good thoughts and vibes from us all :) Good luck from the boys and we’ll see you soon!

Posted by: Layla on 5/28/2018 at 3:02 pm

Hi Alex and Tom, Hope you are well and not too cold. All that snow makes me go brrr. Lots of rain here. And more to come(the remains of a tropical storm due from Wednesday on). Not much going on. Love you and miss you

Posted by: Pauline Reiher on 5/28/2018 at 2:12 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Ascend to Genet Basin Camp at 14,200’

May 25, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 14,200'

Friday, May 25, 2018 - 7:44 PM PT We woke early this morning to beautifully clear skies, and fired up the stoves. After an efficient breakfast, we took down camp and packed up. It was a chilly morning, the coldest we've seen thus far (-10F), plus it was the earliest that we got out of the tents so far this trip. We had beautiful weather and great climbing conditions all the way to the Genet Basin Camp at 14,200 ft, where we currently reside. It was a hard day with heavy packs, and everyone did well. After six hours of climbing at altitude with heavy packs we're all ready for some dinner and then some horizontal time in the tents. Tomorrow we will go back to 13,700' to pick up the cache we left there two days ago. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

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Hi Tom My Man!

If I have it right today is summit day. May the force be with you and may we be the wind at your back. You’ll find a pint at the summit we left for you, enjoy :-), Hujo and Katie.

Posted by: HUGH DE PENTHENY O KELLY on 5/31/2018 at 7:20 pm

Tom, rock on dude! Back in Bay for a few days, hiked with Jacquie and MSLDH’s yesterday. Back on PCT Wednesday Tuolumne north. Good luck to all!

Posted by: Christopher Rumm on 5/27/2018 at 8:55 am

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Rest Day at 11K Camp

May 24, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali

Elevation: 11,000'

Thursday, May 24, 2018 - 6:21 PM PT The snow that started last night continued into the morning, necessitating a 3:00 am shoveling session to dig out our tents. We picked up a little over a foot of snow over night, with no wind. We had a rest day planned for today anyway, so the snow was of little consequence. We simply ate a leisurely brunch and lounged around our tents, resting and acclimating. Tomorrow, if the weather allows, we plan to move camp up to Genet Basin, at 14,200'. We will let you know how that plays out. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Awesome progress and so good to hear about the good weather!! -10 sure beats -70 that was showing on the weather reports a week ago! Wahoo! Be safe and know we are all thinking of you and following your progress each day! We hope the climb to the summit is spectacular and weather remains good!
Hugs from Larkspur!
Susan

Posted by: Susan on 5/25/2018 at 8:56 pm

Alex and Tom!

Keep up the great work and motivation! You all are truly amazing and such an inspiration to me!!

Love-Courtney

Posted by: Courtney on 5/25/2018 at 5:00 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Have Another Great Day

May 23, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 11,000'

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 5:21 PM PT Our Denali team had another great day today as we carried supplies up to establish a cache around Windy Corner (~13,700'). The weather was perfect, with scattered clouds keeping the temps pleasant throughout the day. The climbing conditions we also perfect, with great, consistent névé for cramponing. In fact, the whole route so far has been in great shape. Now we are back at our 11k camp, where we are lounging around, eating, and rehydrating. Tomorrow we are planning to take our first full rest day, as we need to recover and get used to the altitude before we move up to 14,200' RMI Guide Mike Walter

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We are sure it’s ruff out there, but we are paw-sitive you two will succeed! (Dog puns are definitely intentional.)

-Isaac and Christina

Posted by: Isaac and Christina on 5/25/2018 at 4:00 pm

Enjoy your first full day of rest. Happy to hear the route has been in good shape so far and hope that continues. Not far to go!

Posted by: Mary Lou on 5/24/2018 at 5:40 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Making Good Progress

May 22, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 11,000'

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - 7:45 PM PT Another day of beautiful weather let us descend back down to ~10,200' to dig up our cache of supplies and haul it back up to our 11,000' camp. The rest of the day was spent hydrating, resting, and preparing for the next step of this climb: establishing a cache at ~13,700', just past Windy Corner. If the weather holds, that will be our plan for tomorrow. We're making good progress now, and we are all excited to exchange snowshoes for crampons and trekking poles for ice axes. Stay tuned as our progress continues. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Mike,
I hope the weather Gods are good to you this year. If you have room in your packs going down, rather than throw all that valuable stool down a crevasse, ship some to me for my fecal transplants. Business is booming.
Buenas suerte amigo.

Posted by: Dr Dave on 5/23/2018 at 5:40 pm

Hello Dave Head, Shane Kidd and Team hello from Las Vegas we love you guys so proud and love you stay safe we will continue to pray for your safety and good weather KEEP ROCKING !! you got his.

Love Mom and Dad #2

Posted by: Ken peterson on 5/23/2018 at 1:42 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Move to 11,200 Camp

May 22, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 11,200'

Monday, May 21, 2018 - 11:51 PM PT Our upward progress on Denali continues, this time moving camp up to 11,200'. Snow and weather conditions were near perfect with scattered clouds, a few snow flakes, and a light breeze to keep us cool. Now that we've established a nice camp here, our plan is to go back to 10,000' tomorrow to pick up our cache of supplies; this will set us up for moving up onto the upper mountain. Everyone is doing well and we're hoping the good weather continues. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Dave and Shane….. you guys are so close now. Great progress and great weather is seems.

May the Sun shine for you each day and the winds blow gentle.

Love,

Dad

Posted by: George Head on 5/31/2018 at 11:33 am

Alex and Tom we are so proud of you. Keep up the incredible work and wishing you all the best :-)
Love Amy & Phil

Posted by: Amy and Phil on 5/24/2018 at 12:17 pm

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Denali: Walter & Team Set Up Camp at the Base of Ski Hill

May 20, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 7,800'

Sunday, May 20, 2018 - 1:12 a.m. PDT The squirrely weather persists on Denali. It snowed all night last night, but fortunately we only picked up 4 inches or so. We woke up to more snow, wind, and very limited visibility. After breakfast we slowly started to pack up camp, hoping the weather would improve. Around noon the weather finally improved so we packed up our tents and rigged up our ropes. By the time we were ready to walk, the weather was back its former, stormy self. We decided to give it a try and if conditions worsened we would make camp down on the Kahiltna Glacier and at least make some progress on the mountain. It was a good call because we made it all the way to Camp 2, at the base of Ski Hill (7,800'). We were in a ping pong ball most of the day -- navigating using the wands marking the route, faint traces of other parties' tracks, GPS, and a little Braille (well, maybe not Braille). Our navigation techniques worked and we cruised into camp in 5 hours flat! Tomorrow the plan is to carry and cache supplies higher on the route and then return to our current camp. This will make for lighter loads when we move camp later this week and will help our acclimatization process. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Thinking about you Alex, Tom, and team. So happy to hear you are safe and making progress, thx for the updates!

Posted by: Sarah Flynn on 5/21/2018 at 7:22 am

Nice action photo, Thank you! Glad to learn that Team Water is now underway. My best wishes to the entire team, and a special Hello to Tom M -you’re all in my thoughts.
Stay safe, stay strong & thrive.

Posted by: Jacquie on 5/21/2018 at 12:26 am

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Denali: Walter & Team have landed at Base Camp!

May 19, 2018

Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 7,300'

The weather cleared up just long enough for K2 Aviation to fly our team to Base Camp in two de Haviland Otter airplanes. The window didn't last long and soon it socked in and began to lightly snow. We set up camp and lounged around for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow the plan is to pack up and move camp to the base of Ski Hill. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

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That is one Helluva “Ski Hill” . My wife JoAnn and I overnighted in Talkeetna with K2 Aviation and took a flight up to Denali over the dramatically crevassed glaciers in 1993. JoAnn then went back as a Cruise ship excursion in 2000 with her three sisters. Looking up is as close to climbing in Ice and snow as I want to be, although I summitted Mt Whitney in 1986 on Father’s Day ant took a photo with a banner I had made saying “Happy Fathers Day” to give to my father. I piloted a Cessna 172 from Torrence, CA with two other “Climbers” for that “Attempt”. We had tried in May, a month before, but were chased off the mountain after one night in a tent by a major snowstorm. Hopefully you get good weather so you can have views up there. We all look forward to more from you.

Posted by: Paul Claeyssens on 5/20/2018 at 6:02 am

Go for it and be safe.

Posted by: Garland Dobson (PAPPY) on 5/19/2018 at 3:44 pm

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Entries By alan davis

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Place Cache and Take Rest Day

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Carry a Cache to 17,200’

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Visit the Edge of the World

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Ascend to Genet Basin Camp at 14,200’

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Rest Day at 11K Camp

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Have Another Great Day

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Making Good Progress

On The Map

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Move to 11,200 Camp

On The Map

Denali: Walter & Team Set Up Camp at the Base of Ski Hill

On The Map

Denali: Walter & Team have landed at Base Camp!

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