Entries By ben luedtke
Posted by: Andy Bond, Grayson Swingle, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Well there’s been a blog takeover, a special thanks to RMI Guide Andy Bond allowing us to take turns writing it for the team. First a huge shout out to our guides Andy, Grayson and Ben who have already proven themselves to be super human.
We have settled into camp at the base of Ski Hill after a long day of hauling heavy things uphill. Tomorrow we are hoping to cache at 11,000’. We are learning all new kinds of new skills like how not to face plant on snowshoes and fall into crevasses, which we avoided due to stellar guidesmanship. Also, how to keep a tidy camp and perhaps most importantly, how to keep Ben telling awful guide jokes when he isn’t Macgyvering a fix for a snowshoe.
Also here at camp, we have been graced by the presence of RMI Guide Jack Delaney, the illustrious writer, and will do a group dinner with Avery Parrinello’s team here at camp as they are on their way down. Fun fact: it has been three days since a clean mountain can (CMC) disaster, which means there has been no CMC disasters. Another fun fact: we are having quesadillas for dinner! We leave you with a trivia question: which team member authored this blog post?
-- A mystery member of the Denali Expedition led by RMI Guides Andy Bond, Grayson Swingle, and Ben Luedtke
Posted by: Andy Bond, Grayson Swingle, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
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After an early breakfast In Talkeetna we loaded our gear in the single otter airplanes and changed into our mountain attire before taking a scenic flight into the Alaska Range, with the final destination being Kahiltna Base Camp. After another round of shuttling gear, setting up a quick camp and enjoying a quick dinner, it was an early bedtime as we will be getting up in a couple of hours to start our journey up the mountain to Camp 1.
We will check in soon!
RMI Guides Andy, Grayson, and Ben
Good luck Andy and Team!!
Posted by: Bob Lindskov on 6/19/2022 at 9:36 pm
Posted by: Andy Bond, Grayson Swingle, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
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It is a beautiful, sunny day in Talkeetna. The team is hard at work organizing and packing in preparation to fly into Basecamp tomorrow. Everyone is excited and making last minute decisions on oreos vs. famous amos and apple cider vs. hot chocolate. Decisions, decisions...
RMI Guides Andy, Grayson, Ben and Team
Remember Hyde, no brains…no headaches
Posted by: Josh Wimberley on 6/19/2022 at 10:42 am
Good luck with the climb. Keep us posted!
Posted by: Tomas and Kat on 6/19/2022 at 5:51 am
Posted by: Steve Gately, Ben Luedtke, Lauren Macklin, Mira Schoeberlein
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,100'
The Emmons Seminar Team led by RMI Guide Steve Gately was treated to a beautiful sunrise over Steamboat Prow as they climbed above Camp Schurman. The team turned around at 11,100' due to high winds and difficult trail conditions. They returned from the mountain yesterday evening and will be spending the day at Rainier BaseCamp to complete their training.
Photos: Ben Luedtke & Lauren Macklin
Posted by: James Bealer, Ben Luedtke, Sam Hoffman, Josh McDowell, Trevor Katz, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,400'
Today's Four Day Climb May 31 - June 3 reached 11,400' today before deciding to turn around due to high avalanche danger and deteriorating weather. The teams returned to Camp Muir and packed up. They started their descent to Paradise at 8:30 am. RMI Guides James Bealer and Josh McDowell reported that the winds were high and it was snowing hard as the team left Camp Muir on their descent. Once back at Paradise the teams will be shuttled back to Rainier BaseCamp for a closing ceremony.
Posted by: Alex Halliday, Ben Luedtke, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
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May 28 7:43pm PT
The wind died today which meant that with the sun it felt very hot on the glacier today. We moved our camp south, closer to base camp and closer to some areas that have terrain features that are good for training and climbing. We spent the afternoon hiding from the sun in our new camp, We just finished an early dinner and are going do some evening ice climbing now that the temperatures have quelled.
RMI Guide Alex Halliday and Team
Posted by: Alex Halliday, Ben Luedtke, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
Today we awoke to the same relentless north wind that made the air feel cold, but after breakfast we decided that we needed to get out and do some training. We walked to a nearby area of tension cracks on the glacier and practiced crevasse rescue until our brains were full. We are back in camp now resting out of the wind.
RMI Guide Alex Halliday & Team
Posted by: Alex Halliday, Ben Luedtke, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 - 6:36 pm PT
On Monday, we awoke to scattered clouds and cooler temps around Base Camp. As the sun rose above the clouds we left camp to refresh some of our climbing skills. After taking naps during the heat of the day we learned about knots for climbing and prepared for our attempt on Radio Tower.
The mountains are calm today. The clouds are fickle and we are now sitting back in camp surrounded by a fog that has moved up the Kahiltna Glacier. We reached the top of Radio Tower today, the small prominence that sits above camp. We were met with impressive views of the north side of Mt. Hunter and the Moonflower Buttress.
Hey Tim! It’s your grandma wishing you safe and happy travels! Love you.
Posted by: Susan Cote on 5/28/2022 at 10:31 am
Great to hear the update. Hopefully the weather will be perfect.
Posted by: Mary & Mike Macklin on 5/25/2022 at 5:42 pm
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Grayson Swingle, Leif Bergstrom, James Bealer, Ben Luedtke, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080
The Five Day Climb April 26 - 30 led by RMI Guides Avery Parrinello and James Bealer completed their Mountaineering School on April 27 and made the ascent to Camp Muir on April 28. The teams spent the last two nights at 10,080' Camp Muir. Climbers were able to ascend to Ingraham Flats but due to adverse weather conditions were unable to climb any higher. Today the team is descending from Camp Muir to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Bummer guys! Sorry about the weather! It’s all about the journey and not the destination though! I hope you learned a lot, met some cool people, and are excited for the next one.
Posted by: Constantine V on 5/1/2022 at 4:16 pm
Posted by: James Bealer, Kiira Antenucci, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
RMI Guide James Bealer led his team to the summit of Mt. Baker this morning! The route was steep and icy making for a challenging day but everyone was up to the task. They are four days into their six-day program where they are also receiving their credentials for the Leave No Trace Master Educator Course.
That sounds like Holly!
Posted by: Garrett on 6/23/2022 at 3:46 am
Sounds like the writings of renowned author Donnie Rouse
Posted by: Josh Wimberley on 6/20/2022 at 7:53 pm
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