Entries By hannah smith

Monday, June 10, 2024

Good evening all,
Today was a good day. Today we made our carry to 13,500'. The skies were mostly clear with no breeze. We were the first team out of camp. We didn't see another team until we headed back down. The route was in great condition which made for smooth walking. We are getting closer and closer to our goal but we still have many days ahead of us. Many hard days ahead of us. We made it back to camp just as it started to snow. The snow hasn't stopped since.  We aren't sure what tomorrow will bring. If the weather is good, we will move. If the weather isn't good we will rest up for when it is good. Keep sending those good weather vibes!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Hello again,

Today we decided to take our rest day. All night the wind battered our tents and send snow swirling between the rain fly and tent body. The gusts kept up until the morning but later subsided and turned into a calm, bright, hot day. The team enjoyed the warm weather. They occupied themselves with a chess tournament. They are currently playing for seeding. Tomorrow we are looking to make our carry to 13,600' and Tuesday move to 14,000' Camp. Weather looks to be in our favor, so keep sending those good weather vibes our way the next couple days. Now we must catch some sleep for our day tomorrow. 

Goodnight all,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Saturday, June 8, 2024 - 8:55 pm PT

Greetings readers!

Today we had a casual morning eating breakfast burritos and sipping coffee. By 9:50am we were packed and roped uo for our back carry to our 9300' cache. A light wind kept the temps down and the team made fast work getting to the cache. After a bit of digging we retrieved all our things, packed it all up and headed back uphill. Up, down, up, down, sleep, eat, and repeat is the the name of the game out here. If you ain't walking you are sleeping or eating. After a bit of rest in the afternoon we reviewed walking in our crampons and packed for our carry to 13,600'. If the winds don't turn up which they are forecasted to, we will carry our gear and get in position to move to 14,000' Camp. The team is very eager to get up there. But we have to take our time and properly allow our bodies to compensate to the decrease in oxygen molecules up here. As I write the winds are picking up but maybe they will get it out of its system during the night.  So goodnight all and send those good weather vibes.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Friday, June 8, 2024 8:43 pm PDT

Good evening readers!

We are writing to you from 11k Camp. Our day started early with an alpine start thinking it was going to be the wee hours of the morning when the weather would clear. That turned out to be incorrect. We woke to white all around us. We were in a cloud. You could barely see the tents up glacier. We dragged our feet and took a nap. After a few hours the clouds started to lift so we packed up our camp.

The walking was tough today. The trail Had been blown in with lots of snow. The trail breaking was slow and exhausting but we made hung in there and rolled into 11k Camp. Feels good to be higher on the mountain. Just one step closer to our goal. At dinner we filled our bellies with Annie's Mac and Cheese and now we are all ready for a much-deserved sleep. We are all looking forward to uninterrupted sleep tonight. Tomorrow we will head back downhill to our cache to be reunited with our gear.

Goodnight, all!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Thursday, June 6, 2024 6:11pm PDT

Hello readers!

The snow pitter pattered all night. With every tap to the side of the tent snow slides off. It was a winter wonderland. White surrounded us. You could see nothing but white. With visibility being low and tents wet, we decided to lay low and hang tight for the day. The team rested and the snow Fell most of the day. Towards the late afternoon the base of the peaks became visible. An optimistic sign that maybe the weather is letting up. We are Hopeful that we can get still move to 11k camp in an alpine start fashion much like we do on Rainier. So, after dinner we are going to rest a few hours and hopefully the weather is descent, and we can make our move.

Wish us luck and send good weather vibes.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Wednesday, June 5, 2024 - 8:25 pm PT

Good evening everyone. Today we woke to clear skies above with clouds lingering over Denali. So it was go time to get our carry in. We knew the storm would come sooner or later so we got an early start and we walking by 5am. Fueled by bagels, cream cheese, and salmon we made our way up Ski Hill. The cool air felt good to walk in compared to the rather hot and sweaty walk yesterday. After gaining two thousand feet and the beginning of snow flurries, we decided to call 9300' our cache spot. We dug a big hole to fit all our cache items and then scurried out of there before more snow fell. The rest of the day we enjoyed a bunch of tent time which included naps, reading, watching shows, listening to music, and eating snacks. Some of the best sleep comes in the afternoon. Tomorrow we hope to move to 11,000' camp. This will depend on what the weather brings us in the morning. We may need to be patient but that's part of the Denali game. As for now, we are all settling into our sleeping bags as the snow pitter patters on our tents. It's quite relaxing. So goodnight all!

RMI Guide Hannah And team

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Hello followers!

Today was a big day! Skies were clear which meant we would be flying. The team got their last lattes and drip coffees before making their way to the hanger. The pilot told us half the team would fly then he would come back for the rest of us. This gave the team time to get dialed with sled rigging and tent set up before arriving on the glacier and for those on the glacier time to learn too. As always the flight in was amazing. The views are stunning. The peaks of the Alaska Range are rocky and snowy and big. A bumpy landing got the team all safely on the glacier. The pilots are truly amazing at what they do. After some quick work shuffling gear and rigging up we hit the Kahiltna glacier running. Well not running. Slowly waddling in our snowshoes and heavy packs. We crushed the downhill and made smooth work of the uphill. You can tell the team did great training and it sure paid off with the smooth sailing we had getting to camp. It's all a learning curve right now, trying to get in a groove setting up camp. In a couple days we will be smooth as butter at it. Pizza for dinner always makes the heart and stomach happy. Our outdoor seating had amazing views of the surrounding peaks. Tomorrow we will hopefully do a carry to 9,600' give or take. We are hoping the storm stays away or at least gives us the morning/early afternoon. As for now, we are all getting our gear organized and into our sleeping bags for a well deserved rest.

Goodnight everyone!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Tuesday June 4, 2024 3:05pm PDT

Hannah Smith & Team are flying onto the glacier, and will officially start their climb!

Monday, June 3, 2024

Hello readers,

Today was jammed pack with packing and sorting. The team went through their gear making sure they have all the crucial items to safely climb the mountain. Along with those crucial items is 22lbs of snack food. Everyone has a good mixture of salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy items to make them happy on the mountain. Once we knew we had all the right gear, we sorted it into our packs and duffles to be weighed for the plane. We ended our day with some souvenir shopping and a team dinner. The team is excited to get on the glacier and begin their expedition they have been training for. Fingers crossed the weather holds!

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Sundy, June 2, 2024 - 10:20 pm PT

Hello readers!

Welcome to RMI's Denali Expedition #5. Today is day 1 of our expedition. The team traveled from near and far to get to Anchorage. Quick introductions and a brief run down over the gear list and we were out the door and piled into a van for our drive to Talkeetna. Before arriving to Talkeetna we made a pitstop in Wasilla to purchase fresh food items like cheese, meats and breads to enjoy on the mountain. We off loaded all our duffels in the airplane hanger for tomorrow's gear check and packing, then made our way to the hotel. Tonight was informal to allow people time to relax or unwind before a busy day tomorrow. Some of the team made their way down to the river and man was it a view. The mountains were out in all their glory. Denali looks so huge, even from a far. What a good start to our trip to have such a spectacular view. As for now we are going to enjoy being in civilization and sleeping in beds. Tomorrow will be a busy day of prepping so we can (fingers crossed) fly onto the glacier on Tuesday. 

Goodnight readers,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team