Entries By hannah mcgowan
June 19, 2017 9:06 pm PST
Conditions were perfect at 1 AM for beginning an early morning transit of the
Kahiltna Glacier. Skies were clear and the snow surface was beginning to freeze good and hard -just the way we like it for traveling crevassed terrain with heavy packs and sleds. We got stoves going and began to dress for success. The team set out at precisely 4AM and marched down the SE Fork of the Kahiltna to its junction with the main glacier -we banged a right turn and started our climb. The glacier didn't have much good snow from the winter, so plenty of crevasses were exposed and needed crossing, but with the good freeze, the crossings were easy and uneventful. We saw ample evidence of climbers having come through in soggy, hot and heavy conditions, poking legs and bodies into the dark cold depths of the glacier. We took hourly rest breaks and accomplished our move in just under five hours total, pulling into 7800 ft just before 9. Then in calm sunshine, we set to work building camp. T
Tents went up and once all work was finished, we dove in for naps, escaping the ridiculously intense midday sun. By early evening it was tolerable outside once again and we met for dinner under the shelter of our dining tent. Forecasts for the day had called pretty definitively for new falling snow, but our reality was a pleasant summer day. We'll gladly take another day of this "storm".
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
June 18, 2017
It was overcast and gray in Talkeetna this morning when the team got in for a 7AM breakfast, but we were optimistic in any case. Things had brightened just a bit by the time we assembled in the K2 hangar, but the word was passed that fog on the glacier surface would keep planes out of
Basecamp initially. We drank coffee and fidgeted with our gear for a bit. Then we loaded the planes. Then we fidgeted a bit more. Then it was time to fly and we got our boots on. We hastily texted friends and loved ones as our two big beautiful De Havilland Otters taxied out to the runway. We were off! But then the fog came back over Basecamp and we did a u turn and landed in Talkeetna. We texted, we drank more coffee and then we loaded up for real. The flight in got markedly more dramatic and spectacular as we entered the Alaska Range. Before we knew it, we were setting down perfectly on skis on the SE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. There were about a hundred climbers assembled, ready to fly home and so it was a busy scene. We were very pleased to shake hands and give hugs to the two RMI teams finishing their adventures with Jake Beren and Tyler Jones. Then we set to building camp and reviewing safety procedures for travel on the lower glaciers. We'd stop every now and then to stare in wide eyed wonder at massive Mt Foraker and vertical Mt Hunter, towering over us. Dinner, some story telling and some packing completed our big day. We turned in at 8 PM with the sun nowhere remotely even close to the horizon. We'll get up early -weather permitting- and make our move in the cool of morning when the glacier surface is firmer and safer.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Yesterday we converged at baggage carousel #1 in the Anchorage airport... having come from far and wide to form our
Denali climbing team. A commute with Denali Overland and our driver Bill brought us into Talkeetna, Alaska by 9 PM. Today we got down to brass tacks and started preparing seriously to go on the mountain. It wasn't all drudgery as our first official team meeting was conducted over a fine Roadhouse breakfast with plenty of good hot coffee. Introductions were completed in time for our mandatory National Park Service Orientation Slideshow at the Talkeetna Ranger Station. We were reminded that it had been a tough season for weather on Denali, with only 30% of climbers making the summit so far. Indeed, we'd begun the day walking the streets in steady rain. By midday when we headed for the K2 Aviation hangar, things were beginning to look up. We conducted a thorough check of each climbers gear and clothing as big stretches of blue sky too over. We kept looking toward the Range as we went through sorting tents and ropes and food for the group, but the big peaks stayed well-disguised in the murk and cloud. By early evening the loads were in order and weighed for hefting into airplanes. The work done, we headed back into downtown Talkeetna for dinner at the bustling Twister Creek. It is high season for tourism in Alaska. We all relaxed a little and made final preparations for "getting on" in the morning. Getting on a plane, getting on a glacier, and getting on a climb.
With a little more improvement in the weather, we'll be on our way.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Our last night at Las Lenas we didn't use tents. After our asado we simply rolled pads out onto the ground and spent the night under the stars as they say. With the moon unable to be seen that night the star show was one of the best I've seen. The next morning we trekked the last four hours out of the Vacas Valley back to Los Penitentes. We meet the second
RMI Expedition lead by Mike King and JM Gorum getting their gear prepared for the walk into the Vacas Valley the following day. We stopped at the Estancia de Elias and ordered 40 Empanadas to go for the remainder of our drive back to Mendoza. Once we arrived to the hotel we all split, took the famed first shower after a long expedition and met in the hotel lobby at 8:30 to walk to dinner. We made reservations at a famous Italian restaurant in the city called Francesco's. The owner of the establishment Maria Teresa, pushing into her 90's still works at the restaurant making pasta from scratch. We all enjoyed a magnificent dinner and celebrated a wonderful and safe trip into the heart of the Andes and the
roof of South America. This will be the last blog of the trip. Thanks to everyone for following along. We had an amazing group of climbers and I look forward to hopefully climbing with all of them again in the future. Muchas Gracias, hasta luego!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
December 29, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
This morning we woke before the sun hit basecamp, had a simple breakfast of oatmeal and prepared our duffels once again to survive the journey on the back of a pack animal. The trek to
Las Leñas is a long one, taking around seven hours, most of which is in a hot, shadeless landscape. Upon our arrival we took a few minutes to arrange an area to sleep and then gathered around the fire the Arrieros prepared to cook our asado for the evening. We enjoyed carne and vegetables cooked over open flame along with a few bottles of Malbec that we had carried in to celebrate the trip. Tomorrow, four hours of trekking brings us out of the Vacas Valley and back to Los Penitentes where we will meet our transfer back to Mendoza!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
December 28, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
A little snow was falling after dinner last night but this morning the skies were clear. We began
breaking down camp and enjoying our last views from 18,000 ft. The team was excited for the thicker air of basecamp at 14,000ft. Thicker air at 14,000ft!!?? Well acclimatized after a long expedition the air at 14,000ft feels like we're at sea level as it's nice to finally be able to fill the lungs each breathe. Our decent went smooth without any hiccups and we were welcomed at Base Camp with sweet bread and juice by our staff. The team spent the afternoon reminiscing and revisiting memories of our trip. After a big dinner we were all ready for bed. Tomorrow we make the long trek back down the Vacas Valley to our first camp of the entire trip, Las Lénas, where we'll enjoy a carne asado prepared by our Arrieros and a night under the stars.
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
December 27, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
The team is all back at
Camp II safe and sound. Today was a very demanding day. I was up at 2am this morning checking the weather and temperature every 30 minutes looking for clear skies and moderate temperatures. I woke the team up at 4:30am. An hour later we were off on our way. Attempting a summit from Camp II is an extremely ambitious endeavor and the pace needed to be kept in order to be successful would daunt even the fittest of athletes. We gave it our best try and despite valiant efforts our pace fell short of what was needed to climb safely. On top of that the recent wind and snow events created steep, firm slopes of wind deposited snow. Imagine a 6,000ft+ snow slide at 45 degrees. We encountered these slopes at roughly 21,500ft and decided the risk was not worth the reward! All in all a tough day, mentally and physically. But that's exactly why we take on adventures like these, to test ourselves mentally and physically. To me, any expedition that returns with climbers safe and sound is a success for me. You get used to days like this the longer your mountaineering career. It's important to remember that the substance of experience lies in the in betweens, not the ends. A lesson that us climbers have to learn quickly! We'll spend one more night here at Camp II then descend to basecamp tomorrow to get organized for our trek out of the Vacas Valley. We'll post a couple more blogs during our descent. As always thanks for following! What a wild ride it's been!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
December 27, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 21,500'
RMI Guide Steve Gately checked in from
21,500' on Aconcagua. The team made a summit attempt today with a push from Camp 2. Unfortunately the team members were forced to turn around without reaching the summit due to poor climbing conditions. The storms of the past few days had dropped lots of new snow. The team will stay the night at Camp 2. Tomorrow they plan to descend to Base Camp.
RMI Office
On The Map
December 26, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
The storm settled out late last night and we woke to clear cold skies this morning. The forecast was calling for improving weather and decreasing winds down to 15mph throughout the day. I was a bit skeptical of this forecast as I was seeing signs of approaching weather to the West over Chile. We opted to have a slow morning to allow the weather time to deteriorate if it was going to. After getting an updated forecast speaking yet again of calm weather we opted to start packing and head up to high camp. Of course a few minutes into taking down our tents a large lenticular cloud, often indicative of high winds, formed over the mountains rocky summit. By the time we were finished packing, clouds were rolling over camp and a gentle snow had begun to fall. Not more then 10 minutes out of camp the weather turned into a genuine blizzard! We turned around, made the 5-minute walk back and started to reestablish camp. Tomorrow is our last opportunity to go for the summit before high winds plague the area again. With the forecast still showing clear skies and light winds we'll opt to try for the summit from
Camp II tomorrow morning assuming the forecast is correct. This makes an already big day that much bigger but the team is up to the challenge. Pray to the Weather Gods for us!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
December 25, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
Well it was a white Christmas here on
Aconcagua. Shortly after dinner last night the snow and winds arrived and they've been with us ever since. Tonight, things should taper and we're hoping to wake to gentler weather tomorrow morning so that we can move on up to high camp (19,600ft). More importantly though the team wanted to say Merry Christmas and pass along a few words to Ioved ones. I'll let them speak for themselves!
All is good on Aconcagua. Merry Christmas to everyone back home - Jed
Merry Xmas -Jim odonnell
Trip is going well. Hope to summit on the 27th. Merry Xmas. -Bob
Mu kallid emps ja tommar, triinukas ja au pere, padrunipeff ja imeliste klann, armastan teid kogu sudamest! - kerttu
Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday Nicole, Frank, and Pocho! Love you guys. -Jen
Nichole, Brenda, Amy, Mom, Dad and family: Love you and Merry Christmas! Everyone else, Merry Christmas and thanks for following! See you soon. -Boyd
Merry Christmas Lisa, Mom & Dad, Еllie and Everyone. happy birthday Mary! I love you all! -Rob Millman
On The Map
Good weather and safe travels!!!
Posted by: Christina perez on 6/19/2017 at 9:45 pm
Hi Hans, Anja, all climbers and guides,
I try to send you sunny weather from Germany!!!
Good luck and full energy for all members…
Ute
Posted by: Ute Novak on 6/19/2017 at 11:18 am
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