Entries By dominic cifelli

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 - 10:12 pm PT

The morning weather looked promising enough for early rising.  We launched into breakfast and made the decision to take one last acclimatization day before moving up to 14 thousand feet.  That meant that breakfast turned into brunch and that we would spend the day aggressively resting so as to be ready for a move tomorrow.  It was generally fine weather down on our part of the mountain and we got in good naps and meals and snacking sessions.  By afternoon and evening, clouds were stacking up on the mountains around us but things remained calm at 11,000 ft. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, June 28, 2021 - 9:59 pm PT

We were up by six this morning, braving the chilly shadows (the sun hits 11,000' Camp at 9:15) in order to get on the trail early.  Although it was tough to tell just what the weather was going to do, it seemed there wasn’t much wind evident on the ridges we wanted to be around.  After a deluxe breakfast in the dining tent, we geared up for climbing.  So nice to be putting on crampons instead of snowshoes, so nice to have an ice axe in hand for the steeper terrain we were getting on.  We were able to do our carry without hauling sleds, so -although the packs were heavy- it felt like a day of freedom in some respects.  The first hour got us up Motorcycle and halfway up Squirrel Hill.  After a long week down in the valleys it was wonderful to have the views from the ridges and rises we were topping.  Just about the time when the sun might have hit us and warmed things up, the clouds began to gather, which kept us pleasantly cool.  We took a second rest break in the Polo Field and by just after noon we were sitting at a windless Windy Corner.  A shorter stretch took us up and around the corner and into our intended cache site.  We spent a pleasant hour there at 13,500 ft, getting some good views of the South Peak of Denali and the West Buttress while we dug in and buried our supplies.  We worked extra hard to make the cache raven-proof. It then took just ninety minutes to descend with lightened packs to 11,000' Camp -most of that was spent walking in thick cloud.  We rested and ate dinner as it snowed lightly through the afternoon and evening.  We’d love to move up to 14,000' tomorrow, but we shall see what the morning brings. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, June 27, 2021 - 8:18 pm PT

An easy day for our team with mostly sunny and calm conditions. We only needed a few of us to snowshoe back down to 9,500 ft to retrieve cached food and fuel. The gang sorted gear and got ready for carrying up past Windy Corner. We hope for nice weather in the morning for that mission.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, June 26, 2021 - 10:40 pm PT

The bad weather hadn't finished, but we made our break for 11K Camp just the same.  What is Denali without some wandering in whiteouts?

It took about four hours and that put us into 11K at 3PM.  So nice to see our friends in Mike Walter's group. We dug in right next door to them. Still light snow falling and a lot of cloud, but we are delighted to have different scenery when we can see it.  Tomorrow we'll go back down to retrieve loads.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Friday, June 25, 2021 - 6:35 pm PT

This will be our third night hunkered down at 9,500' on the Kahiltna Glacier.  It got snowing around midnight last night and just kept going.  We checked the weather every hour or so to see if we could get a lull for climbing, but no.  Thankfully the winds never got to more than about 20 mph, but they blew steadily throughout the day.  We’d taken the precaution of pulling down the dining/cook tent at 1 AM so it was an easy enough thing to build it again at 8 AM to have a dry and calm space for breakfast.  Bagels and salmon and a few laughs together before we climbed back in the tents to ride out the storm.  By dinner time the snow was falling thick and fast and we were happy to be high enough to be avoiding rain.  With dinner complete we did a round or two of chores to strengthen our camp and then crawled in for the night.  According to the forecast, tomorrow should be partly sunny.  Until then it will be anybody’s guess as to how many hours of noise we’ll endure as the wind and snow pummel the tent fabric. 

Cheers, 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Thursday, June 24, 2021

It clouded up a bunch in the night, just as the forecast said it would. By 1 AM when we hoped to get up and climb, it was snowing and socked in, just like they said it would be.  We kept checking it for a few hours and it kept seeming wet and a little ugly -poor conditions for moving camp.  We stayed put and then conditions improved.  But we were already a little past what we’d calculated to be the optimal time of day for traversing the sometimes tricky lower glacier.  Then conditions improved considerably.,. Where we’d been led to believe that we’d have a snow/rain day to wait out, instead we had a “bluebird” beauty of a day -to rest- when we hadn’t really thought we needed a rest.  Oh well.  We slept, we read, we ate, we drank.  We went through our gear and supplies one more time, thinning out and weeding excess weight wherever possible.  We listened to a thousand giant avalanches.  We heard so many rocks fall off nearby Mt. Francis, that it was something of a surprise to come out for dinner and see her still standing.  We bided our time.  That forecast was still calling for cloud and sloppy weather at basecamp tonight… perhaps we’ll see that, but otherwise it looks perfect for moving this time when the cool hours roll around. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

At 2:30 this morning, things looked pretty optimal for moving on up the hill.  There were still clouds coming and going, but the glacier surface had frozen up nicely and there wasn’t much for wind.  We dressed up, ate, packed up and got moving by just after 5 AM.  Ski Hill needed climbing.  Definitely tougher terrain to move on than yesterday’s level stretches, but far fewer crevasses to deal with.  One hour took us halfway up, a second hour brought us to the flat at 9,000 ft and a final pull got the team onto the rolling plateau at 9,500 ft.  We were plotting out a new camp in the snow by 8:35, just before the sun hit the upper reaches of the Kahiltna Glacier.  It was pleasantly colder in our new home… just the way it should be.  We hope that any storms will now be snow rather than rain, but we shall see.  One is forecasted for tomorrow.  We may have to wait it out here, but our hope is to sneak up to 11,000 tomorrow morning before it hits.  We rested away the afternoon as the clouds built up.  Even with them we enjoyed some views far down the glacier.  Not quite to its terminus 44 miles away, but in the neighborhood for sure.  Dinner was devoured in our comfy dining tent on benches cut in the snow.  All are feeling good and pulling strong. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, June 21, 2021 - 6:23 pm PT

This time the weather forecasts were off, but in our favor.  They predicted snow and showers overnight and we didn’t get them.  We were up at 1 AM and although there was a good bit of cloud around, it wasn’t low on the glacier and it wasn’t trapping the heat.  The snow at camp was still mushy, but we had high hopes that things would freeze to make for easier and safer travel conditions.  It takes a bit of work to knock down tents and get packed and moving that first time.  With a little breakfast on board, we were out of camp and walking by 3:40.  Our climb began with a downhill stretch.  We just got used to having snowshoes on and heavy sleds teathered to our packs as we trudged down the SE Fork to the main Kahiltna Glacier.  By then the first sunshine had found Mt Foraker’s northeastern hanging glaciers making for some fabulous color.  Once on the main glacier, the gentle uphill began -although very little of it felt gentle with our heavy loads.  The freeze had taken place, right on schedule, and the walking was as easy as it could be.  We moved around and across a few ugly crevasse bridges in our first hours, taking rest breaks every hour or so.   It was nice to be able to bump fists with JT Schmitt’s successful RMI team as we passed on the glacier. There were great views of Denali and the West Buttress for most of our journey but then the clouds started to roll in for real.  We pulled into our intended camp by about 9 AM and set to building tents, a kitchen/dining area and a latrine.  In other words -we did some digging in the snow.  The first snowflakes fell just as we were putting finishing touches on our new digs.  The real showers didn’t begin until we were well into nap time.  By the time we came out for dinner, the snow had quit but clouds were still obscuring our views.  We sat in our dining tent for a bit, but then turned in early, anticipating another alpine start for tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Just like that… we woke up in Talkeetna and the clouds were gone.  We scrambled on over to the airstrip at 8 AM and started putting on the big mountain boots.  By a little after 9, we were up in the air in two glorious DeHaviland Otters… prop driven ski planes built in the 1950’s.  The Alaska Range was visible in full from the moment we cleared the Talkeetna tree tops.  Denali was spectacular and seemed bigger and steeper than in previous years.  We flew straight at the peak and then moved a little West as we crossed into the mountains.  Our K2 Aviation pilots eased the planes down on to the SE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at 7100 ft and we slid to a stop at basecamp.  A few minutes of shuffling and shuttling loads in mushy snow ensued.  We built our camp and got settled in before a day of light training and a review of glacier travel techniques.  As the day proceeded, we went from hot sunshine to cool overcast, but the clouds didn’t rob us of the magnificent views of impossibly big and steep mountainsides.  We watched a handful of ginormous avalanches drop off various surrounding mountains.  We capped the day with a burrito dinner and an early bedtime.  Our hope would be to get up in the night and climb in the cool part of the early morning tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, June 19, 2021 - 11:00 pm PT

Today was about prepping and packing.  We got out to the airplane hangar early for a fine safety briefing by a National Park Service climbing ranger.  We then conducted gear checks and set about organizing and sorting personal equipment and group gear.  This took us through mid afternoon and culminated in a weigh-in with the K2 Aviation ramp crew -the folks responsible for loading and unloading the aircraft.  We were happy to be sheltered within the hangar as it rained off and on through much of the day.  The rain mellowed by the time we got into town for dinner at the brewery.  Plenty of tourists in town enjoying the weekend, but we seemed to fit in just fine.  Tomorrow, with a little luck, we’ll get on the mountain. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn