July 2, 2017
This was THE day after all. There wasn't any question that we'd be able to make it work once we saw conditions on the South Peak at 6:30 this morning. Yes, it was plain that the storm was still with us, with much cloud in every direction out in Alaska, but it was all below us and the winds were light. We ate, geared up and got moving out of camp by 8:45. As anticipated, we went from a sunny camp to a shady "autobahn" (the long steep traverse to Denali Pass) but the climbing was just hard enough to keep us warm. At the pass, we caught a little wind -which we tended to walk in and out of all day- but it was never more than about 10 mph. We climbed the steep rolls to the "Zebra Rocks" and then the broad upper bowl of the Harper Glacier. We went past the Archdeacon's Tower and crossed the football field at 19,500 ft. Then it was up Pig Hill to the spectacular summit ridge. There wasn't much question that we'd make the final 30 min cruise along the spine to the tippy top.
It took us eight hours to get to the highest point in North America. And then we liked it so much we stayed an hour. Our descent was free of any complications -all had saved enough energy to make it down safe, with no slips or stumbles. We were back in camp by 9:30 PM and ate dinner in the late evening sunshine... amazed at what we'd accomplished together. Now it is after midnight and the sun is around the bend, so good night to all from 17,000 feet in Alaska from a lucky crew of climbers.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Jim - what an awesome once-in-a-lifetimeachievement! All your hard training has paid off! We are all extremely proud of you!
Safe way down the mountain. We look forward to seeing you at sea level soon.
Tha Hanigs.
Posted by: Marco Hanig on 7/4/2017 at 4:20 pm
Jim, Awesome does not do your feat justice. It is- as you are- in a class by itself. We much look forward to celebrating your triumph around Kraken rum drinks at the Martin Box. Meanwhile, hurry home! Your bowled over pals at sea level. Peter and Carol
July 2, 2017 6:32 pm PST
Hey, this is Dave Hahn, guiding the last RMI Denali trip for 2017. We're on the summit. We are up top on a beautiful day. Everybody's climbing strong. There are ten out of our original twelve, and we're quite proud of ourselves and feeling very lucky. It's a beautiful day, and we're going to climb safe and strong back down to High Camp and then give you a dispatch to let you know we got there safe. Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
July 1, 2017 10:53 pm PST
As expected, we took a final rest/acclimatization day at 17,000 ft. The weather was very much in the same pattern we've been experiencing, some cloud, some sun, some breeze... All in all not bad for a "storm". We had surprisingly good views down the 47 mile length of the Kahiltna Glacier and all the way down the Alaska Range to the Tordrillos. We did the usual things to prepare for a big day... eat, sleep, drink and strategize. Dinner in our high altitude posh pit was relaxed and comfortable with sun filtering through the tent wall. We are enjoying far milder conditions than many Denali 2017 climbers with lows being just a balmy -5 to -10 F. Conditions at the moment (10 PM) are perfect making us very hopeful for tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Posted by: Fredman Family on 7/2/2017 at 12:28 pm
Matt,
Good luck on the climb! we are all excited as you get closer and closer to the summit.
-Blake Schlesner
Posted by: Blake Schlesner on 7/2/2017 at 11:10 am
July 1, 2017 12:18 a.m. PST
This time we did it. But it wasn't easy by any means. As usual, there was murk and cloud around at 5 AM, but we could see the West Buttress and we couldn't see signs of big wind blowing. We packed up and ate a last low altitude breakfast. The team was climbing by 7:45 in light snow. We didn't have the perfectly packed trail this time and in the poor light of the mild shadowy whiteout, it sometimes felt as if we were climbing by Braille. At the top of the fixed lines, the crest of the Buttress wasn't universally friendly. When the sun prevailed, we were too hot and when the wind and cloud ruled, it could be kind of raw and mean. What was definitely friendly was crossing paths with Mike Haugen's victorious descending team. Climbing Washburn's Thumb at 16,600 feet was strenuous and exhilarating. The airy ridge walk after that felt slightly less airy with cloud filling the void on either side of the crest. It took us 8.5 hours, with some glitches and minor setbacks, but we got up to high camp. The weather improved at 17,200 ft as the clouds fell far below us and the sun made everything comfy and magical as the evening progressed. We'll likely rest tomorrow, but that doesn't mean we won't be looking out early to check conditions.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The "moving up" picture wasn't all that clear this morning at 5 AM. Nor was it at 6 or 7 or 8 or 9. There was plenty of cloud about and some signs of wind on the ridges where we wanted to be. By the time the weather had improved, it was our judgement that we'd be getting into high camp at a later hour than we'd prefer. We traded the physical difficulty of moving up for the mental difficulty of sitting tight for one more day at 14 K.
One more day of rest, one more day of acclimatization, one more day of anticipation.
We managed it just fine. Ultimately the clouds closed in on 14,000' Camp and took away our views. We had sporadic radio contact with Mike Haugen's RMI team as they felt their way up through higher clouds toward Denali's summit.
Tomorrow is our day to move!
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
June 28, 2017
We waited until the sun came around today to get out of the tents. That made breakfast a little more like brunch, but everybody was happy to wait for Avery's legendary blueberry pancakes. Weather high on Denali was unsettled, making us a little concerned for our friends at 17,000 who'd hoped to summit today, By midday things stabilized a little and we had a relaxing afternoon in mostly sunny and calm conditions. Hannah McGowan led a well attended high altitude yoga session for the restless. The rest of us rested and read. We're hoping for climbing weather tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
June 27, 2017
Things looked good at 6 AM today, so we rolled out, fired the stoves, rousted the team, breakfasted and got walking. All of this was in the cold shadow before the sun came around. Our pals on Mike Haugen's team were two hours ahead of us, already starting the fixed ropes at 15,000 as we left 14K. We made steady progress up the initial hills with perfectly packed snow to walk on. The sun caught us as we neared the ropes ourselves, making it a little easier to keep hands and faces warm. We launched up the steep headwall, getting into the rhythms of mechanical ascenders on rope, and moving crampons and ice axes on firm snow and ice. We hit the 16,200 ft top to the lines and continued up the spectacular West Buttress to 16,400 ft. Only Denali, Foraker and Mount Hunter were above the Alaskan sea of clouds today. We cached supplies and enjoyed the views from our lofty perch. Interestingly, this height wasn't a new record for any of our well traveled climbers. Our descent to 14,000 was relatively easy and fun with light packs. We hope our friends at 17,000 have a nice night and a good summit tomorrow while we rest.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi Dave,
thank you for your wonderful reports about your journey with all Details so that I can imagine the amazing nature you are hiking through.
The circumstances seem to be excellent and I wish all of you, specially my dear climber Hans a successful climb up to the summit.
I keep my fingers cross for you!!!! Ute
Posted by: Ute Novak on 6/29/2017 at 5:45 am
Hey Matt, keep up the great work. What an incredible journey!
June 26, 2017
Well we didn't go for our carry after all. Even though we were up early and the day was beautiful. Over breakfast the decision was made to take a rest day instead. All are well, but we've been climbing hard and we are still relatively new to 14,000 ft... we'll bide our time. We did rope up and go for an enjoyable stroll to the "Edge of The World" to look straight down to the NE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and across to the West Rib of Denali. We posed for pictures and enjoyed the sunshine. The afternoon in camp was pretty peaceful -as we'd hoped would be the case. We chatted with teams descending the mountain and read our books and took our naps. At dinner, it was story night with each team member recounting some adventure, or misadventure for the group. Tomorrow we'll get back to climbing.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Jim, You be the MAN! Onward and upward indeed. I’ll be toasting you- and missing you- at the Casino cocktail party this weekend. Meanwhile, a stiff Kraken rum drink awaits at the Martin Box. Your pal at sea level, Peter
Posted by: Peter Krogh on 6/28/2017 at 6:49 am
My jaw hit the ground when I looked up where you are my friend! Incredible to see the pictures and progress you and your team are making. Be safe and I’ll see ya back in Ohio!!!
June 25, 2017
Our weather was just plain old "good" today. No winds, some high cloud and some low cloud, but no clouds that mattered. We were up at a leisurely 7:30. The sun came around about 9:30 (from behind the mountain) and we set out to retrieve our 13,500 ft cache at 10AM. It only took twenty easy minutes of downhill walking to reach it, but it was a full hour of climbing to get back up with loaded packs. So our workout was done by noon -the approach to the mountain is now complete with the team and the precious (and heavy) fuel and food all in place for the climb. In the afternoon, we reviewed techniques for climbing the "fixed rope" section between 15,000 and 16,000 ft. as well as working through methods for climbing along the exciting ridge to 17,200... our high camp. Dinner was relaxed and relatively comfortable in our dining facility. The team stood outside enjoying views and conversation right until the last warm rays quit as the sun ducked behind the West Buttress. We'll look at carrying up onto the buttress tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Continued weather blessings! Sounds like things are going very well there for you all. So pleased! everyone here is getting ready for the Fourth of July. Weather over the upcoming weekend looks a bit mixed with high chances of rain and storms, but we’ll hope for the best.
Posted by: Sherry McFall Porrello on 6/26/2017 at 12:37 pm
June 24, 2017 10:07 pm PST
We continue to enjoy better weather than we have a right to expect. The forecasts keep calling for snow, and I'm sure it was snowing somewhere -we got about .5 inches overnight at 11,000 ft, but when we peered outside this morning it just looked like good climbing weather. We were out of there by 8 and up our now familiar hills, Motorcycle and Squirrel, we had no trouble getting to Windy Corner by noon and then we passed our cache (yesterday's high point) and made for 14,200 ft. We pulled in at 2:30 for a respectable 6.5-hour journey. There was a fine place for tents right alongside our pals on Mike Haugen's RMI trip. The afternoon was spent as a lot of ours seem to be, building camp and melting snow for water. Except now we are doing it in the legendary Genet Basin with the West Buttress and Denali's gigantic South Peak looming over us. We built a fine dining area (a giant pit in the snow with snow benches and snow tables and our dining tent capping it) and then tested it out with a team dinner. Tomorrow should be a relatively easy day, just dropping down the short distance to our cache and bringing it all home to 14.2.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Jim - what an awesome once-in-a-lifetimeachievement! All your hard training has paid off! We are all extremely proud of you!
Safe way down the mountain. We look forward to seeing you at sea level soon.
Tha Hanigs.
Posted by: Marco Hanig on 7/4/2017 at 4:20 pm
Jim, Awesome does not do your feat justice. It is- as you are- in a class by itself. We much look forward to celebrating your triumph around Kraken rum drinks at the Martin Box. Meanwhile, hurry home! Your bowled over pals at sea level. Peter and Carol
Posted by: Peter Krogh on 7/4/2017 at 7:26 am
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