Entries By daniel may

Evening everyone,

Who knew climbing Denali had so much resting involved in it. We all train for the heavy packs, long days, thousands of feet of elevation gained. What we don't train for is all the tent time. Time in the tent is important for our bodies to adjust to the altitude but it can be a challenge for the mind. Boredom can sink in very quickly. One must be good at self entertainment and comfortable with you, yourself, and I. It's a crucial skill of the mountain life and the team is currently learning it. Even with all the down time, today went fast. Per usual for our trip so far we had sun, we had clouds and we had snow flurries. A mixture of weather keeps it interesting. Now that we are rested we are ready to move  onward and upward. Hopefully tomorrow the weather holds and we are able to move to 14k camp. It will be a welcomed move with new views, a new camp, and likely new neighbors.

Send all your good weather vibes,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Thursday, June 16, 2022 8:42 pm PT

Hello all,

The team made quick work getting ready this morning so we were the first out of camp. A quick warmup of mellow, flattish terrain gives way to a steep slope called motorcycle hill. And what did we do on this hill? We motored on up it. After a quick break we then encountered squirrel hill. Some of the sleds got a little squirrelly but pulled through. The polo fields give a break from so much uphill but still require us to bring our best game. A not so windy windy corner gave way to a holey section that might be a little sporty crossing at the end of the trip. After a few hours of walking we made it to our cache site. Once some snacks were consumed we reversed our steps and headed back to camp. The team, once again, showed they came prepared to climb Denali and are crushing. Tomorrow we will enjoy a rest before we make our move to 14k camp. Everyone is ready for a new home and to be closer to our goal. For tonight, it's time to catch up on Stranger Things.

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Wednesday, June 16, 2022 - 8:47 pm PT

Hey-O,

Man did it feel good to sleep in! No alarms just a gradual wake up with no rush to get breakfast going. Twelve hours in a tent can be difficult but it is necessary for the body to adjust to the altitude. It takes a while for the sun to hit camp but once it does it thaws the frost from the tents and turns this frozen camp into a toasty one. While rest was the main goal for today we also needed to sort gear for our carry tomorrow and review some skills with crampons and ice axe. Another team rolled into camp today. It's been quiet here so their presence is welcomed. As the air starts to chill and the sun gets lower we all crawl back into our tents and get ready for the night. Tomorrow will be a fun day getting higher and closer to our objective.

Talk to you tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Monday, June 13, 2022 - 8:50 pm PT

Hello from 11,000' Camp!

The alarm rang, we unzipped the tent and the conditions looked great. It was time to move to a new camp! Getting to 11,000' Camp is a great milestone. Here we get to spend several nights getting ready to move higher up the mountain. Step by step we are making it higher and higher. With all our camp loaded in our packs and sleds we hit the frozen trail. A brisk morning welcomed us on our trails and soon turned into a brisk breeze. A sting to the face brought us to the sunlight. We had finally climbed out of the clouds and man is it nice to be above the clouds. This camp has more teams. We are no longer alone. It's nice to see other teams around and have energy flowing through camp. Shoveling, chopping, and eyeballing the levelness of the tent platforms leads to a good looking camp. More naps and more snacking bring us to dinner. Life is simple out here. We walk, we set up camp, we sleep, we eat, we rinse and repeat. Tomorrow we will walk back downhill to our cache and be reunited with our things. It's a great feeling getting your food back. Hopefully the weather keeps treating us well and tomorrow is a smooth day.

Talk to you all tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Sunday, June 12, 2022 - 8:59 pm

Good evening readers,

After sending the dispatch last night we listened to the weather from Kahiltna Basecamp. With the weather, basecamp also reads a trivia question. And guess what? We won it! What is a group of ravens called? An unkindness. And what an unkindness they will do if you don't bury your cache deep enough. So today when we arrived to our cache spot at 10,000', we made sure there would be no unkindness done to our belongings. Once again it was an early start to our day. A few snoozes to the alarm to let the weather clear up a bit led to some oatmeal and packing up half our gear. Carrying half our gear will allow our move tomorrow to be a little more enjoyable. The team cruised up ski hill, stepping over several crevasses, and making easy work of the first major uphill of our journey. Clouds took away most of our views but every once in awhile parts of the mountain showed its beauty. It was a good day and we also got our first taste of moving downhill. Sitting at camp looking up, it's amazing how much more terrain we need to cover. In due time we will get there. Tomorrow we will repeat what we did today plus a little to bring us to 11k camp. Getting to 11k is a great feeling because it will be our first camp we truly get to nest into and enjoy a rest day. For now, we have four minutes till the weather comes on, so we will end it here.

Happy reading,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Saturday June 11, 2022 – 9:13pm PT

Greetings from the Kahiltna,

Snow pitter pattering on the tents lulled us to sleep before disappearing as our alarms rang out. Midnight came far too fast, but the snow had stopped and the clouds lifted.

The first mornings are a little hectic trying to find our groove, our routine in packing up. But with some yummy bagels topped with cream cheese and lox to fuel us, we were ready to take on the day. Our cache buried, sleds loaded, and legs ready, we hit the trail.

Luckily, the first part is downhill, a nice ease into the heavy loads. We will have to climb this hill at the end but that's for another day. The Kahiltna glacier is impressively large with giant crevasses. This glacier goes for 36 miles, and we are going to walk the beginning of it. Several hours of walking brought us to our camp. We made swift work of flattening some spots and setting up.

The afternoon was filled with warm naps, music, and reading. Everyone is enjoying all the naps and snacks. The snow danced its way back in and has been the sound of the evening. We are hoping it quits once again in time for us to begin our walk tomorrow. This trip is all about flexibility so we shall see what tomorrow brings. For now, it's off to bed to stay dry and warm.

Goodnight all,

Hannah and Team

Evening all,

We did it, we flew onto the glacier! Today is a hurry to wait kind of day. In order to be the first to fly, we were the first in line for coffee. On our way to coffee we saw a fox on the railroad tracks. The last time I summited Denali, I saw a fox before flying. So I think this is a good omen. We shall see. Any who, with caffeine surging through our bodies we are ready to fly. Since our odds looked good for flying we said good bye to the flip-flops and hello to our mountain boots. These bad boys would be our mode of transportation for the next few weeks. With the planes ready for us we began shuffling our gear to the planes. Excitement rushes through you as you walk across the tarmac knowing the moment is here. Next stop the Kahiltna glacier. Seatbelts buckled, headphones on, and the smell of the engine signals its time to fly. The views are so beautiful one can not put it into words. Huntington, Foraker, Hunter, peak 11,300 and many more awe-inspring peaks keep us wide eyed and trigger happy on the camera. After a loop up the Kahiltna showing what we will walk on tomorrow we descend into basecamp with a bumpy landing. It's a quick fire line to move the gear from the plane to the glacier before watching our ride fly away. We are on our own now. We decided to bump down to the lower airstrip which gave us practice pulling the sleds. The team is in tip top shape. Once camp is set up we enjoyed some down time followed by a refresher on skills. Some gear sorting and deciding what hot drinks to bring on the mountain led us into our pizza party dinner. Why eat mountain food when you can fly on pizza! It's an early to bed for us since for the next few days we will be on the night schedule, walking during the cool part of a day.  

Tomorrow is the day we take our first steps toward our goal of the summit. Here's to a great journey!

RMI Guides Hannah, Kiira, Dan and Team

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the start of our Denali Expedition!

The team arrived in Alaska yesterday. After loading 24 duffels into the van, equaling far too many pounds to mention, we made our way to the launching point of our trip: Talkeetna. Talkeetna means where the rivers meet and it is also where many different groups of people meet. It is a dead end down bustling with energy and great food. Tourist from cruises, climbers sunburned and ravenous, fresh climbers with wide eyes and eager all gather at the various restaurants to enjoy a drink and soak in the scenery. 

Today was our prep day to get ready to fly tomorrow. After a scrumptious breakfast and several cups of coffee we headed to the hanger and exploded our gear. Before committing to the glacier we need to make sure everyone has the appropriate gear. The team passed with fly colors. Once all our gear was back in our duffle and backpack we divided the team into two for the planes. First we weighed each climber followed by their backpack and their duffle. We are carrying a lot of weight but looking at this team I think they are going to handle it just fine. With everything weighed and sorted we are set to jet in the morning. As long as the weather holds and clouds stay away, tonight will be our last night in a bed, last time flushing a toilet, and last time with cell service. Here's to disconnecting and enjoying the wilderness of Denali for the next few weeks. 

Climb on,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team 

The Five Day Climb May 19 - 23 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and James Bealer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 8 am.  The team reported windy conditions and don't intend to stay too long on the summit.  This is the first RMI Team this season to reach the summit.  The group will return to Camp Muir for a short break and to re-pack their gear.  Then they will continue their descent to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

From RMI Guide Hannah Smith: The Mt. Rainier summit is not guaranteed but the rising sun is. Gusty winds made for a high point at Ingraham Flats- short of the summit but still challenging.  Our team is packing up and heading downhill shortly.