Entries By dave hahn

What a difference a day makes. Things didn't seem a whole lot better, first thing this morning. Talkeetna was still a little dim and grey with low cloud lurking as we headed out to the airstrip. It took a few hours of waiting for things to come around. Our pilots figured out a clear path in to the Kahiltna, despite a fair amount of lingering clouds hiding the mountains. What we were able to see was stunning and spectacular, as if to make up for all that was hidden. Unbelievably steep and immense mountains began to pop up all around us as we entered the heart of the range. Glaciers, snow and random ice seemed to hang on every possible flank. The K2 pilots did their normal perfect approach and landing with the big ski equipped DeHaviland Otters. We'd taken off from town at 11:30 AM and we were unloading gear on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna 35 minutes later. At basecamp it was intensely sunny and warm with no wind whatsoever. The cloud cover evaporated and we were treated to grand views of Mount Hunter, Mount Foraker and even Denali on occasion. We built camp and began reviewing glacier travel techniques. There was plenty to get done and we worked throughout the afternoon and evening at divy-ing loads and getting rigged for an early morning move to camp at 7,800 ft. What we could see from the planes backed up what we've been hearing from other climbers... conditions on the lower glacier are excellent. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Update at 12:12 pm PST: The team is flying into basecamp! The weather cooperated for flights and we expect to hear from the team once they are settled on the glacier. 12:00 am PST: The plan was for us to get started with our Denali expedition today. We needed good mountain flying weather. We had high hopes, but as it turned out, we also had low clouds. It was on the dark and rainy side if things as we finished breakfast and walked out toward the airstrip in Talkeetna. During the course of the day, the cloud cover would lighten here and there and we monitored alternating reports that it was getting better or worse now and again at our intended basecamp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier... But in the end, the upshot was that conditions never really got good enough for our pilots to risk flights into the range. The team took the delay without great concern, we passed the time hanging at the hangar, playing ping pong, listening to music and catching up on email and current events. We enjoyed fine Talkeetna meals at various restaurants and we took advantage of the comforts of one more day of civilization. Into the mountains tomorrow. Possibly. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

We've finished one of the more challenging days of any Denali climbing expedition... Packing, sorting gear and generally getting organized for leaving Talkeetna and getting on the mountain. It wasn't all hard work and suffering though, we certainly enjoyed a great breakfast at the Roadhouse. National Park Service personnel at the Talkeetna Ranger Station gave us a warm welcome and Joe Reichert delivered a fine and informative orientation slideshow. Our flight team out at K2 Aviation made us feel right at home in their hangar, which was where we got our food, tents, stoves, ropes, pots, shovels, fuel, snow saws, snow shoes, packs, ice axes, boots, crampons, sleeping bags, etc, etc, and etc. ready. Finally, we'd earned a break and a relaxing dinner at The West Rib Pub. Folks then drifted home early for a last comfy night in the Talkeetna Motel. The plan is for the team to meet bright and early for breakfast and then to hustle on out to the airstrip... If all goes well and the weather is stable, we could be loading airplanes shortly after 8AM and then winging our way toward the Alaska Range. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Before sunup on the 24th of May, the RMI Everest climbing team left Camp III at 24,000 ft on the Lhotse Face, bound for a shot at the top of Mount Everest. The only trouble was that everybody else on the mountain had the same idea at the very same time. We were shocked to see how many climbers were already on the fixed lines. Estimates ran to as many as two hundred, although it was later figured that a fair proportion were simply doing carries to the upper camps and weren't intent on staying at Camp IV or climbing for the summit. Suffice to say that we couldn't set our own pace for climbing, but eventually, by keeping going when other teams elected to take breaks, we made it into the open above the difficult Yellow Band at 25,000 ft. The Geneva Spur didn't present a significant barrier to our reaching 26,000 ft by late morning. There we found a steady wind and our Sherpa team building tents on the South Col. It was easy enough for our team to get in and start re-hydrating and resting for a summit climb, but it was tougher trying to get a read on the conditions that climb would be undertaken in. A quick count revealed about fifty other tents pitched on the Col, and a few impromptu meetings with other climb leaders decided us that perhaps in excess of a hundred climbers would be going for the summit that night. The winds continued and the latest forecasts confirmed that a ribbon of 50 mile-per-hour air would still be menacing the mountain for a further 24 hours. We looked at the steep triangular face and saw that its middle third would entail loose rock with a good chance for some of that getting kicked loose onto teams below. So there were three things that didn't work well for us… rock, crowds and wind. We made preparations for a climb, but we also began to explore the possibility of delaying 24 hours and shooting for May 26th as a summit day. We each knew that we'd be putting all our eggs in one final basket by doing such a thing. We had resources for such a delay, but we didn't have unlimited resources. If we skipped the 25th, with its known problems, we'd have to take the 26th with its unknown problems… or go home without a summit. We tried to hedge our bets, telling our Sherpa team that we'd still prepare to get up in the night unless the winds were still blowing. At 10 PM, long after the other teams had left for the top and were to be seen as a Christmas parade all up and down the Triangular Face, the winds were still strong. We committed to the next night. It was a slightly surreal day, as always, hanging out at 8000 meters on May 25th. We wondered whether we'd missed our shot as the neighboring teams came down with a summit under their belts and not too many bad stories to tell, after all. Yes it had been windy and cold and crowded, but most seemed to have done ok and there certainly weren't new tragedies to report. Finally, in the late afternoon of the 25th, the winds began to die down. That was encouraging, but our headcount for the coming summit day was less encouraging. We'd assumed we'd be up the hill with perhaps fifty climbers, but as we prepared dinner and turned in, we'd become aware of about 80 or 90. And nearly all of these climbers were leaving quite early for the top (as in about 7 or 8 PM). There was no way to beat them out the door without simply aiming to summit in the middle of the night (a bitterly cold and slightly unrewarding proposition). We'd set out afterward and take our chances on being able to pass people when we needed to. Our alarms rang at 10 PM and we ate, drank and geared up for two hours in delightful stillness. The South Col was dead calm and quiet with the wind absent and the vast majority of the climbers already well up toward the balcony. Lam Babu Sherpa would stay at the South Col, just in case, while Tsherring, Kadji and Passang accompanied the four person climbing team. We set out at midnight and four hours later topped the balcony in perfect conditions. A half hour later we experienced an incredibly colorful sunrise and things got slightly easier, even as we took on the steep slopes below the South Summit. At the South Summit around 7 AM we crested to see an amazing and at first, frightening, phenomenon. There were at least a hundred climbers lined up waiting to descend the summit ridge. At any given point there seemed to be about 8 climbers simultaneously on the Hillary Step and dozens upon dozens on the tricky rock features between us and the step. We decided we had no choice but to sit and wait patiently in the small dip past the South Summit. There was no practical way that we could pass so many climbers on such awkward terrain. The wait turned into an hour-and-a-half, which made each of us quite nervous… since such a thing is very much the definition of not being in control of one's climb… but then we each had to remind ourselves that conditions were benign. There was zero wind, the sun was shining and there was plenty of time left in the day. Also, we salivated at the prospect of having the mountain to ourselves after the long conga line of climbers passed on their way down. Finally we stood up, shouldered our packs and shook off the cold. It didn't take long then to scramble across the ridge, up the Hillary Step and onto the summit. It turned out that three or four climbers were on the summit from the Tibet side, but that didn't stop us from thoroughly enjoying about 55 minutes on top. We had unlimited views and a very happy team as we connected with Lam back at the South Col, Yuberaj at Camp II and Mark Tucker down at Basecamp. The descent took just a matter of hours, since there was virtually no traffic left high on the mountain. We came back into the South Col feeling satisfied, but also knowing that the big work of the day was yet-to-come. We needed to pack up camp and descend a mile to ABC in the Western Cwm. With heavy packs and hot down suits we slid down the ropes for hours and hours. Past the Geneva Spur, past the Yellow Band, past Lhotse Camp IV and Everest Camp III… down to the part of the face that suddenly seemed to be melting under our very crampons. In the space of two days, spring had turned to summer and it seemed the climbing season was supposed to be over. We were greatly relieved to hit the bottom of the wall in safety and to trudge into ABC just after sunset. Morning still held a little anxiety for us as we each knew we'd have to successfully wend our way through the Khumbu Icefall one more time. The word was that it was crumbling and collapsing and heating up. And that turned out to be true, but we saw that the Icefall Doctors were doing a magnificent job keeping a route cobbled together through the mess. We took our time and placed our feet carefully and eventually hit all of the comfort and safety of base camp by mid-afternoon on the 27th of May. The 28th was shower-and-pack-and-keep-fingers-crossed-day for the climbing team. Showering and packing for the obvious reasons, but keeping fingers crossed because the Sherpa team still had a final day of working in the Icefall to get all the gear down. Their strength and skill and our finger-crossing worked because they emerged victorious and unscathed by mid-day. The climb was over. By the morning of the 29th, we'd heard that there were long delays for those attempting to get fixed-wing flights from Lukla. The monsoon had worked its way into the lower valleys already and the weather was sloppy with cloud and rain. Instead we arranged a series of memorable helicopter rides from base camp to Kathmandu. There was plenty of hurry-up and wait… there was awe at the beauty of mountains and gorges seen from the air, there was sheer terror at the power of thunderstorms on small aircraft, there was gratitude for the skill of the pilots we'd watched performing miraculous rescues all season long… and at the end of the day yesterday, there was an easy dinner in a Kathmandu restaurant and a comfy hotel bed. Soon there will be home. Thank You Very Much for keeping track of our expedition. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Update 2:45 pm Nepali time: Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot and team are 20 minutes from camp, so they are safely through the Khumbu Icefall! I will still keep track of the Sherpa team that is still higher up on the mountain. They need to go back up to Camp 1 either tomorrow or the next day for final loads off the mountain. Until everyone is clear of the upper mountain, I will be here in communication with the Sherpa team. What a Climb! RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker

After making great progress on their descent, RMI Guides Dave Hahn & Melissa Arnot and team are safely at Camp 2! It was a long day but sleep will be so nice with the thick air of 21,000'. I will continue to send updates as the team makes their way back to Everest Basecamp. RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker

On The Map

On Saturday, May 26th at 9:31 a.m. Nepali time the RMI 2012 Mt. Everest Expedition reached the summit! RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot led the team of climbers to the summit of Mt. Everest at 29,035'. This marks the 14th summit for Dave Hahn and the 4th for Melissa Arnot. Congratulations to the team!!!

On The Map

RMI Guide Dave Hahn contacted Everest Base Camp from the South Summit. The team is doing well and the weather is great. They are enjoying watching the sunrise and have gotten some great photos. The team is taking a break at the South Summit which will allow climbers descending from the summit to get past. The weather is great, the team is strong, they have plenty of oxygen and a good pace so far. RMI Guide and Everest Base Camp Manager Mark Tucker

May 26th, 4:30 a.m. Nepali time: Our Sirdar Sherpa, Lam Babu, is at the South Col and relaying messages during the climb. Dave Hahn, Melissa Arnot and the team are at the Balcony! The climbing team is changing oxygen bottles, having a snack and a drink. Next stop the South Summit! Here at Everest Basecamp, the top of Pumori is just starting to catch some light. No wind. It's a beautiful morning! RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker

It is 4:30 in the afternoon on the 25th of May, at South Col, Everest High Camp. We didn’t go for it last night, there a few too many people, I don’t know how many exactly, but on the order of 90 – 100 and there was a wind last night, so we didn’t pull the trigger last night. We are going to go for it tonight. We’ve got the forecast in our favor, the winds are supposed to drop down. There are other people going for it tonight but manageable numbers and we feel pretty good about it. It’s a sunny day up here at 26,000’ and we are hanging out, making plans taking care of our selves, getting ready because tonight we want to start up for the roof of the world. I’ll try to give you a call when we get up and are brewing up in the dark tonight and the cold. But all is well, we are going ahead with things. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map