Entries By erika birkeland
May 23, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Erika Birkeland, Leif Bergstrom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Sunday, May 22, 2022 - 11:33 pm PT
After a solid bit of work yesterday, and due to the team going the extra mile on the carry day and going all the way to 14,000' Camp, today was a full blown rest day. We waited for the sun to hit the tents, brewed up coffee and made brunch burritos, and spent the day enjoying the fine weather. We spent a bit of time this evening refreshing our fixed line skills to prep for an initial trip up the headwall. That might be tomorrow, or we might wait, weather depending.
RMI Guides Pete, Erika, Leif, and team
May 21, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
Friday May 20 - 11:42pm
We made full value out of our rest day today. We woke late, had a brunch of blueberry pancakes and maple syrup, lounged for the better part of the day, and capped it with burritos for dinner. We have had no problem eating well.
Our main entertainment has been a very large team made up of members of the British military. We are all on a similar schedule, and subsets of their team have been filtering into camp the last couple days. As of today, our camp is encircled on three sides. The main constant in the wide variety of British accents constantly around us is the abundance of the F bomb. That word cuts through all accents and after our informal survey today shows up on average as every third word. There has been general hilarity listening to their banter through our tent walls and it was a main topic of discussion over dinner tonight.
We plan to move up to 14 tomorrow. Rested and refreshed after today, it should be done enjoyable climbing.
If anyone sees the “BRIT” soldiers can you tell a certain ADAM OCONNOR that his mum and dad are rooting for him and the rest of the group that fingers crossed they get to the top…
Posted by: David on 5/23/2022 at 2:21 pm
Is Roy Kent climbing with the British group? :) Hello to Chris, Steve and Stu! Good luck on the next stage! Be a goldfish!
Posted by: Kimmy Romine on 5/21/2022 at 12:03 pm
May 20, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
Thursday, May 19, 2022 - 10:57pm PT
It was a perfect day to switch from lower glacier load hauling to actually climbing. The weather was clear and calm in the morning, so we pumped through a bagel breakfast, grabbed loads of food and fuel, and set our sights on motorcycle hill. Many teams cache at 13,5k just past windy corner, but we had our sights set on 14. The first several hours were pleasant. Sunny, but with just enough air moving to keep us comfortable. Rounding windy corner, there wasn't a breath of wind. The sauna turned on and we all had mild cases of heat panic. We cruised on into 14,000’ camp and got to say hi to Mike Walter and team, who were kind enough to top off some water bottles. With our goal secured, we turned and beat feet back to camp.
It was a solid day out and hard work, so we will reward ourselves with the first proper rest day of the trip tomorrow.
RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and Team
May 19, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,000'
Thursday, May 18, 2022 - 12:46 am PT
We took our time over coffee and breakfast burritos this morning, enjoying the slow start and the warming sun that doesn't hit camp until 9 am. Satiated, we left camp and moved quickly downhill to our cache at 9600', relishing the opportunity to stride it out and cover ground. We passed a lot of teams headed towards 11,000' Camp, slowly trudging under the loads of big packs and full sleds. With our cache retrieved, we worked out way back uphill to our cozy camp. Overall, 11,000' Camp felt like it doubled in size today and lots of folks were strolling around, enjoying a warm afternoon. We'll look to continue our momentum tomorrow caching a load of fuel and food up high near Windy Corner.
RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and team
Wonderful reading the news. We are with you in spirit. Enjoy. Love, Barbara
Posted by: Barbara Corona on 5/20/2022 at 6:11 am
May 17, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
Monday, May 16, 2022 - 9:37 pm PT
At 4 am this morning the wolf tried his first huff. He then continued to huff and puff and try to blow down our house but we had built it strong. While we hunkered in our tents it was clear that it wasn't a day to try to walk anywhere. It blew for the morning but by early afternoon began to abate and have us a chance to get out of the tents and stretch our legs. This evening turned gorgeous as the wind went calm and the skies cleared. We should have smooth sailing for a move to 11,000' Camp tomorrow. We'll touch base.
RMI Guides Pete, Erika, Leif, and team
Albert!!!
Imagino que podràs rebre el nostre missatge. Pel que veig, de moment dies amb bones vistes i només un dia de fort vent. Espero que estiguis bé i en forma i que l’expedició estigui anant bé. Les fotos del blog es veuen espectaculars. Molts ànims des de Catalunya!!! Endavant amb l’expedició!!
Posted by: Marc on 5/22/2022 at 11:08 pm
My wife and I are in Alaska and have a flight planned on Sat, 5/21 at 13:30 to view Denali and land on a glacier - with K2. Stu - I hope to see ya somewhere around the 14K camp - from the air. Good luck Stu - and the entire team. Kyle
Posted by: Kyle Martin on 5/20/2022 at 11:54 pm
May 15, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Sunday, May 15, 2022 - 1:10 am PT
It was an auspicious start to our May 12 Denali Expedition today. When we called K2 in the morning to ask how things looked they replied "unlimited visibility and perfect". We rallied a hasty breakfast and headed for the hanger. We had gotten all of our bags set yesterday, so it didn't take much to get the planes loaded and launched. The pilots were taken with how clear and gorgeous the day was too, taking several detours to show us stunning corners of the Alaska Range on the way.
We landed and hit the ground running. Fully loaded sleds and packs were an indication of the magnitude of our undertaking, but the team cruised through the 5.5 miles of mellow glacier travel, and we rolled in to our first camp looking fresh. Everyone is fed and tucked into warm sleeping bags and as we write, a stunning full moon is rising over Mt. Hunter.
We plan to carry a load up towards Kahiltna pass tomorrow and then return to camp. We'll be in touch.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland, and team
May 9, 2022
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Steve Gately, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 6,600'
The Mt. Baker Summit and Ski Descent team led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer wrapped up their time on Mt. Baker today. The team took advantage of short periods of sun breaks to ski around Sandy Camp. Low clouds, snow, and poor visibility prevented the team from ascending too far out of camp. Pete reports great skiing and a happy team, making the most of their time on the mountain.
August 5, 2021
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Kiira Antenucci, Erika Birkeland, David Shuer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,500'
The Emmons Seminar August 1 - 6, 2021 made their summit attempt today after several days of training and climbing on the mountain. Leaving Camp Schurman the team climbed to 13,500' before deciding to turn back due to difficult route conditions and fatigue. The team returned to Camp Schurman this afternoon and will spend their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will continue their descent to the trailhead near White River Camp Ground and make the return drive to Ashford.
We hope you enjoyed your week of training and climbing on Mt. Rainier!
July 31, 2021
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Grayson Swingle, Erika Birkeland, Cal Smith, Keeley Rideout, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,000'
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Grayson Swingle, turned at 13,000' due to an impasse on the route. The team reported light wind and precipitation earlier this morning. They are currently descending to Camp Muir where they will pack up their remaining gear and continue onto Paradise.
Best of Luck and Best of Experience !!
from
Baldev Raj Narang
Rakesh Bala Narang
Varnali Narang
Posted by: Baldev Raj Narang on 7/31/2021 at 8:26 am
July 24, 2021
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Erika Birkeland, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,541'
The Glacier Peak Climb was on top with 100% of the team! RMI Guide Hannah Smith reported a beautiful day and good climbing conditions.
Well done, team! Passed you on our way down Thursday below White Pass! Cheers!
Posted by: Peter on 7/24/2021 at 4:55 pm
Thank you so much for the beautiful photo and news. Hope the good weather holds out as well as
your bodies, minds, and spirits. Can’t wait to hear all the stories. You all are in our prayers. Mom/Barbara
Posted by: Barbara J Corona on 5/24/2022 at 7:41 am
Any euchre tournements up there Stu?
Posted by: Jay Kessler on 5/23/2022 at 8:41 am
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