Entries By bridget belliveau
Good morning friends and family!
The
Alaska Seminar team here in Talkeetna is getting things done in great style. Weather is looking better with each passing hour and everyone did a fantastic job with rigging their gear. Here it is noon and we are just about ready to fly! So the team is gonna grab a last meal in town and our next communique will be from base camp!
Have a lovely day everyone,
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 9, 2015
Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
Good evening warm comfortable people!
The team here at base camp continues to thrive midst the constant storm. We needed to stick our heads in it so we packed our sleds and made our way to the main flow of the Kahiltna and started walking upstream. Although the visibility was only a few hundred meters and the snow fell wet, we managed to make a seven-mile round trip journey up the expansive long frozen river. Everyone performed well and lessons in self care were earned. With the weather outlook looking bleak, we may have to take the first flight out tomorrow morning. Hopefully in time to call our mothers on Mother's Day!
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 9, 2015
Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
Greetings from inside the tent! Well we hoped to get a break today and move our bodies across some glaciers, but, the sky gods had different plans. Lots of snow falling and we can't see much past the tents, but the team is taking it in stride and they are
master knot technicians! Tomorrow is a new day so stay tuned.
Good night and good luck,
RMI Guide Leon Davis
May 8, 2015
Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
We woke early today, hopeful that last night's forecast would be wrong. Alas, the snow that had been predicted had shown up overnight, so we hit the snooze button and rolled over to wait it out. Well, after an hour and a half it became apparent that the snow was here to stay, so we got up and got the day underway.
Our breakfast of bacon and eggs fueled up the bodies for another day of training. We had hoped to head up the main Kahiltna Glacier towards some climbing objectives, but the lack of visibility combined with the unsettled weather kept us in camp. We made the most of the day by focusing on more involved crevasse rescue systems, more technical training, and swapping stories about the adventures we've experienced.
Dinner was a welcome break from the cold and snow, and the laughter and conversation from our posh tent drifted over the glacier as we wound down the day. The snow continues to fall, so we're nestling in for the night, excited to be here in the heart of the
Alaska Range. Hopefully we'll see a break in the weather, but we'll see what it looks like when the alarms go off tomorrow! Stay tuned, thanks for reading.
RMI Guides Leon Davis, Garrett Stevens, Bridget Belliveau and the team
On The Map
May 7, 2015
Posted by: Bridget Belliveau, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
May 7, 2015 12:39 am PT
Greetings,
Today the team spent a full day doing technical training, building foundational knowledge in hopes of breaking camp tomorrow and moving towards our next objective:
Kahiltna Dome.
The weather has so far been excellent, so if you are out there reading this, do a little anti-snow dance for us!
Cheers from Alaska,
RMI Guides Leon Davis, Garrett Stevens and Bridget Belliveau
On The Map
May 6, 2015
Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
May 5, 2015 11:27 pm PT
Hi everyone.
Another beautiful sunny day on the glacier! Perfect to go out for a bit of
climbing and training. We left this morning in the cold shadow of Mt. Hunter and made our way up into a small basin on the north side of Horiskey's Hump. Stopping periodically to study the glacier and identify some key features that make this frozen river so interesting. The team made great time and we were able to stand on top while getting some good practice on fixed line travel. By late afternoon the team was back at camp building a few more walls and celebrating Cinco de Mayo courtesy of John and his guacamole. Good night.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
May 5, 2015
Posted by: Leon Davis, Bridget Belliveau
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
May 4, 2015, 9:46 pm PT
Good evening friends & family! The first
RMI Alaska Seminar of 2015 is on the SE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Our team spent today buffing out camp, which overlooks the airstrip, with snow block walls and a bathroom. We taught a clinic on climbing fundamentals, watched Mt. Hunter shed some large ice blocks and enjoyed a nice dinner of burritos in the cook tent. Tomorrow we will venture to the north side of Horiskey's Hump for some more training and climbing. Good night from a cold sunny glacier far far away.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
Hello from Talkeetna, Alaska! The
RMI Alaska Mountaineering Seminar is underway here, and so far it's nothing but blue skies, sunshine, smiles and excitement. The team all arrived yesterday in Anchorage, and despite one delayed flight we were all able to rendezvous with our shuttle and make tracks north. A short shopping stop in Wasilla let us get all the final little treats that we'll want to eat on the glacier for the next week or so, and then we finished the drive to this quaint little town at the end of the road.
After a good night's rest, the team met this morning for breakfast at the fabled Roadhouse, followed by a stop at the ranger station to complete all our paperwork. We headed over to the hangar to finalize our packing and preparation, and then it was off to the races with training. Tent craft and now rope work, with the team learning a lot of new skills that we'll use over the course of our program.
We're scheduled to fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier this afternoon, so once we get the final weights of all our gear, we'll suit up and head into a very different world! We'll trade the trees and grass for snow and ice, but that's what we've all come to do.
Keep it tuned in for more updates, and thanks for reading!
RMI Guides
Leon Davis,
Garrett Stevens,
Bridget Belliveau, and the expedition team
The
Four Day Summit Climb Team led by
RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Leon Davis reached the Summit of Camp Muir today. The teams reported great climbing conditions and clear skies.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
The Mt. Rainier
Four Day Summit Climb led by Mark Falender reached the summit at 6:00 a.m. this morning. At 7:15 he radioed from 13,000’ on their descent reporting blue skies, a bit chilly and light winds. Congratulations!
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by Seth Waterfall are traveling to the White River Campground beginning their approach to Camp 1.
Hope everyone is having a great time. Mom/Grandma and Pop/Grandpa - we all miss you and love you. Have fun in the snow.
Love,
Joe, Suzanne, Lilliana, and Sophia
Posted by: Joe on 5/22/2015 at 6:02 am
Lookin good! All the best from the NC gang.
Posted by: Chad on 5/17/2015 at 11:49 am
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