Sunday, May 31st 11:17 a.m. PDT
The Upper West Rib team covered some serious mileage today. We had a casual morning in Talkeetna with a big Roadhouse breakfast and then strolled to the hangar to put the final touches on our packing and preparations before flying into the range. With such warm temperatures (Talkeetna was as warm as 77 degrees) we pushed our fly time back to the afternoon to accommodate our night schedule on the lower Kahiltna Glacier. We loaded our DH Otter at 3:00 PM and shortly thereafter were flying. The flight into the Great Alaska Range is one of the most spectacular mountain flights I have ever experienced. As our small plane maneuvered through the peaks and up the the glaciers, everyone's eyes were glued to the windows. After landing at base camp we began rigging our sleds and getting ready to move. With such good weather we wanted to take advantage of the cooler temperatures in the evening for our move to 7,800' camp. We left BC just after 8:00 PM and soon found ourselves walking past beautiful peaks like Mt Francis, Foraker, and Crossen. Despite the heavy packs and sleds, the team moved very well . We arrived just before 1:00 AM and set camp, had some dinner and racked out. Everyone is climbing very well and excited to have the expedition underway. That's all for now.
Thanks for following along with us as we make our first steps toward Denali.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Friday, May 29th 12:52pm PDT
Today the UWR (Upper West Rib) McKinley team is scurrying around getting all of our gear dialed for the glacier. Planes are landing and taking off every few minutes, which keeps us motivated to stay on our tasks. Line by line we are crossing off our check lists, and the piles of food and gear are growing to epic proportions.
The weather is stable right now, and it looks promising that we will fly on tomorrow.
Thanks for following along. We'll update everyone from the glacier!
RMI Guides Eric Frank and Geoff Schellens and team
Go Kim! I’m holding down the fort in Cincy so no worries! :)
Posted by: Maria on 6/1/2015 at 6:18 am
Hi, Kimmy. My back hurts just looking at all that stuff you have to carry!! Have a great time! I’ll try and not screw up too much while you’re gone! - Helen
The Upper West Rib team assembled today at the Anchorage airport and started our journey north to Talkeetna. All of us are excited to have the trip underway. We have lots of logistics and preparing to take care of, but that will start tomorrow. Tonight we are going to get settled into our hotel, have some dinner, and relax. That's all for now, thank you for following along with us as our adventure begins.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning just before 8 am PT. Eric reported clear skies with chilly temperatures and a 20 mph wind.
The teams will enjoy some time on the crater before starting their descent to Camp Muir. After a brief rest at Camp Muir they will continue down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
RMI Teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Brent Okita led the Four Day Summit Climb and Eric Frank led the Five Day Summit Climb team. The teams began their descent from the crater rim at 7 am and reported light winds and a bit of a cloud cap. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them back at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
You did it!!! I love you and we are all so proud of you! You are awesome!!!
Posted by: Bobbie Jo on 8/12/2014 at 8:06 pm
Daddy! YoU did it! I am so proud of going after a dream and actually living it! You are such a great example. I love you daddy and I cannot wait to hear all about it! Xoxo Mari Jo
At 7:32 a.m. the RMI Mt. Rainier Four-Day Summit Climb teams began their descent from the crater rim. RMI Guides Eric Frank and Geoff Schellens reported light winds, a marine layer and cold temperatures.
We look forward to congratulating them at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon!
Brent Wolfe !! You and the rest of the team ROCK!! ...literally! Way to make it happen. I guess this shows the biggest obstacles really are just in our mind! I’m so proud of you!
Love,
Bre
Good morning, this is RMI Guide Eric Frank checking in from the summit of Alpamayo. It's just before noon here in Peru. We had a pretty amazing climb today. Woke up to gorgeous weather, clear skies. Everyone made it to the top. We are just about to start rappelling down. We will leave a message and let you know we got down safely. Thanks for following along. Bye.
Update: July 10, 2014 2:21 PM PT
The team is back at high camp safe and sound. They are packing up to head down to base camp and are looking forward to an amazing meal prepared by their base camp cook.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls in from the Alpamayo summit!
Hello everyone! Well, we are still at high camp on Alpamayo. The weather during the evening last night was a variable mix of snow and wind with periods of calm in-between. Sometime shortly after 2am, we decided to take advantage of one of the calm times and see how the route would treat us. After several hours of difficult, waist deep, trail breaking the team managed to access the main couloir on the southwest face. Unfortunately it was a six-inch deep torrent of falling spindrift and finding ice to stick our tools into was impossible. We retreated and made it back to camp shortly after 6am.
We have decided to wait one more day and hope to see an improvement in the weather. Keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow morning we will find good climbing conditions.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Although we were excited and prepared to climb when we went to bed last night, the weather refused to cooperate with us. We woke up at midnight to hail and freezing rain, along with six inches of snow already on the ground. After two hours of watching the weather and hoping for improvement, we gave up and went back to bed.
This morning the skies were scattered, but dry. After breakfast we were able to punch a path up to the base of the route. At points the snow was nearly waist deep. Most of the snow had come down from the face above and it felt like wading through Dip-n-Dots.
We are back in camp now, resting and hoping for better weather in the morning.
Thinking of our friends and family,
RMI Guide Eric Frank and the Alpamayo Team
Good luck guys. Hope you summit today. Fingers and toes crossed.
A
Posted by: andrea on 7/9/2014 at 9:33 am
We’re praying—and so are lots of others - Love, Pam
“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
It is hard to sit under Alpamayo's southwest face and not stare for an extended period of time. Our team, along with three other groups moved up to the Col Camp (17,600') today and find ourselves trying to prepare for the ascent tomorrow, but constantly distracted by the beauty of the route. From our tents the route rises nearly 2,000 feet in a vertical line of frozen snow and ice. An alpinist's dream.
Getting to camp today was a job in itself. We climbed up a glacier for 90 minutes to the base of a headwall. It took three pitches of ice to reach the saddle where camp lies. The team performed well, but climbing 60-degree ice at 17,000 feet with 45-pound packs had everyone breathing hard.
Stay tuned for tomorrow. We hope to make an attempt and will call via satellite phone to update everyone with the results.
RMI Guide Eric Frank and the Alpamayo team
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Have a great climb
Posted by: Marilyn Frank on 6/1/2015 at 4:02 pm
Best wishes for an outstanding trip!
Posted by: Leia Simmons on 6/1/2015 at 7:07 am
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