Entries By chase nelson
June 3, 2015 - 3:48 pm PT
Pitter, patter, pitter, patter!
Snow day at 11,200'. Well, as we mentioned the snow started last night and throughout today we have received more that a foot of light dry fairy dust. This a has been the first session of shoveling out the tent every other hour and almost surely not the last. With a day to sleep in and recover and hide from the pesky weather. This morning we had some excellent grilled breakfast burritos packed with cheese, eggs, salsa, and of course bacon. This afternoon will work on some more skills will need higher on the mountain and spend some time building our walls higher as the storm continues to swirl. With fingers crossed will try to move our bright orange homes up to 14 camp as soon as we get a break in the weather.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
June 2, 2015 - 10:40 pm PT (Both updates received)
New heights achieved! Today we rose early to no wind and blue skies with a satellite lenticular cloud slowly inching closer, cluing us into the fact that the weather may change in the next few days. We loaded our food, fuel and other equipment making for a smooth and relatively quick trip up to our
next camp at 14,000'. We dug a large pit in the snow in the center of the Genet basin and filled it with many of the supplies that we will need for the next stages of the climb.
With the weather still holding we passed the infamous Windy Corner in breathless air. The crew flowed down hill flawlessly making a short stop at the rarely visited lunch rock bump view point. Taking in the full panorama of the enormous Father and Son wall, the upper Peters Glacier, NW Buttress and the Washburn Wall! Spectacular!
The short nap was well deserved this afternoon and the days timing was impeccable. The snow and a brisk breeze blew in shortly after our arrival. Which was followed by one of the best Ramen meals ever consumed on the slopes of Denali. Now as we crawl into our tents a light snow continues and we wait to see what tomorrow brings. Good evening all.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
June 1, 2015 Blog
Today was another great weather day! We had bagels salmon and cream cheese. Not bad for mountain food! Yet we decided after four days of hard work we took a real full rest day in order to regain our strength and further our acclimatization.
The day progressed with some tent time laying around like mushrooms on a pizza. As the afternoon rolled in we spent time training our walking skills and prepping our kits for carrying our load to
14,000 Camp. We're hoping for good weather tomorrow. Send us good vibes. As the sun crests the horizon to the north in this latitude we stare at purple sky's to the south in the shade of the mountain.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Sunday, May 31st 11:45pm PDT
Today the weather was wonderful! We woke up with the sun warming the tents. With a leisurely breakfast of pop tarts and grits we then sauntered down to hit our cache at 10,000ft. The groceries now in hand, we walked back up hill on firm snow dawning our crampons which was a pleasant change from waddling like platypus in snowshoes! Do platypus even walk anyway?
Back at camp our food bags were calling us as we climbed in our tents to beat the afternoon radiation. We welcomed
RMI teams Walter and Van Deventer back to 11 camp fresh from the summit yesterday. Great work teams!
After giving high-fives to our friends, we worked on fortifying our camp. We built walls, bathrooms and a new cook tent. Camp looks good and we are snug as a bug in a rug here at 11,000ft.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
May 31, 2015 - 2:39 am PT
Good evening from
11,000 feet! We woke this morning to more sunny skies and warm temperatures. After a casual start to the day and a nice breakfast, we ducked into the tents for a couple hours to get out of the heat. By late afternoon things cooled for more comfortable hiking conditions, so we broke down camp and got on the move! Even though it's been just a few days on the glacier, the team has adjusted well to mountain life and is traveling efficiently. So after a few hours of moving we arrived at camp, quickly put up our tents, and enjoyed a late dinner. Now we're all settled in for the night and it's time to get some sleep!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Saturday, May 30th 2:45 am PDT
Hello all! We have our gear and groceries moved up to
10,000 feet. Life is good out on the glacier for our team. Today the high pressure over the area made for very hot conditions in the low altitudes so we delayed our departure until the heat subsided late this afternoon. We are doing our best to save energy and avoid getting cooked like lobsters from the sun.
Our plan worked great and after a number of hours working our way to the cache site, we quickly dug a large hole to store our gear until after we move the camp up to 11,000 feet. On our descent we enjoyed fabulous evening light while carrying our sled like a turtle shell strapped on our backs. Hot soup and a meal warmed our souls as we settle in for the night.
Tomorrow evening if the hot and blue-bird weather continues, we will try to move up to our second camp and gain some acclimatization over the next few days. Stay tuned and we'll have a report when more progress has been made!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Thursday, May 28th 10:37 pm PDT
We woke up this morning to blue skies in Talkeetna, which meant great weather for flying! After a meal at the roadhouse we scurried over to hangar to transition from Talkeetna street walkers to
Denali climbers. With climbing boots on and smiles on our faces we enjoyed a great flight onto the mountain.
Once we arrived at Basecamp the team was highly efficient organizing their gear. After a minimal amount of time at Basecamp we embarked on our journey up the Kahiltna Glacier. Several hours later we arrived at our camp for the night at 7,800'. The team immediately set up tents to shade themselves from sun and nestled in. After a delicious meal of Annie's Mac and cheese we hunkered down for the night.
We will check in again tomorrow night after another day of good work.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Thursday, May 28th 12:32 pm PDT
The team is all assembled and packed in Talkeetna! Yesterday we had a thorough gear check and sorting session in the K2 Aviation hangar. Everyone's kits are dialed and we are ready to go. It seems like we have a great team and we are hoping for a great trip. Hopefully we have some good weather today and are able to
fly on!
RMI Guide
Tyler Jones and team
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the entire
Four Day Summit Climb team stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning! Casey reported chilly temperatures but light wind and lots of sunshine on the summit. The team is beginning their descent back to Camp Muir where they will refuel and pack up before continuing on to Paradise. We look forward to greeting the team in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
A big thanks to everyone back home! All your wishes for good climbing weather were answered! We woke up at midnight after a deafening storm of rain and hail to perfectly clear skies and calm winds.
The ascent took us just over eight hours and we spent over 45 minutes on the summit enjoying some of the warmest, calmest, conditions I've experienced at
18,600'! After taking photos and celebrating, we descended in just over three hours. We are all now safely back in town enjoying showers, cervesas, and awaiting a delicious dinner at the Reyes Compound.
Tonight we are looking forward to a well deserved rest and then heading home tomorrow!
Thanks for following along,
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall
Summit!
Solveig called from the top of
El Pico de Orizaba. It was just after 9:00 am Mexico time. The weather was nice with calm winds.
They were going to head back down to Piedra Grande Hut and will check after their descent.
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall
On The Map
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Chef Jones makes da bomb burritos!
Posted by: JT on 6/4/2015 at 11:36 am
Hi Brenda we are following you closely looks like Mother Nature is slowing down the team a little! More time to rest and enjoy the mountain. Take care LUL Richie
Posted by: Richard Larscheid on 6/4/2015 at 5:50 am
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