Entries By hannah smith

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 - 9:56 pm PT

Hey hey hey,

You freeze, you fry they say in the mountains and oh did we do both. A frosty morning greeted us as we packed for our carry and ate our cherrios. Hot coffee brings you to your happy place as you thaw your fingers on the vessel. It's a quick walk to the edge of camp before the terrain steepens and we approach the bergschrund where the fixed lines begin. It's steep gaining the West Buttress but man are the views great. A birds eye view of 14,000' Camp give perspective along with the grandeur of everything around us. We bumped just another couple vertical feet up the Buttress before digging our hole for our cache. The morning started cold but soon turned to hot when the sun arrive. By time we got to our cache it was windy and clouds were swirling around us. As we retraced our steps back to the fixed lines we lost the wind and then entered a mega heat bubble. The temps swing so drastically, so quickly out here. It was a solid day of work today that deserves a rest day tomorrow. We are now in position to wait for a weather window to go for our summit bid.

Here's to waiting and being pateient,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Monday, June 20, 2022 - 8:39 pm PT

Hello all,

Well today is a low reporting day. It was a rest day. We rested. We ate. We napped. We reviewed skills. And we ate dinner. Rest days can be hard. Hard to not think about home. Hard to not think about the summit, on whether you have what it takes or not. Just hard to not get inside your head too much. That's where napping comes into play. One can simply dream of something else. These rest days are important though for our bodies to recover. Recover so we can have a good carry day and later a good move and summit. Tomorrow, as long as the weather holds, we will carry our gear higher so that we are in position to move to High Camp. Snow flurries have danced all day, so hopefully they take a rest from their twirling, dancing fall from the sky and allow us to have a good day.

Talk tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Sunday, June 19, 2022 - 8:32 p.m. PDT

It's us again!

It's day 10 on the glacier. So far we are right on schedule. Every day we have accomplished what we set out to do. Today we did our back carry down to 13,400' to dig up our gear and bring it back to camp. We left early enough in the morning to beat any heat and turns out we beat the snowfall as well. The snow has been falling all day today. It's light and fluffy and we are all wondering why we didnt bring skis. At this point we are situated to rest, make our carry to 17k Camp, and then wait for our weather window to move and summit. In theory, in a perfect world, we are on schedule to summit on Friday. But on Denali anything can happen and our perfect world could turn into multiple days waiting out stroms...who knows?! Fingers crossed we have luck and good karma on our side. Tomorrow is a rest day and hopefully the snow will stop and settle on the slopes above. It's off to bed to escape the snow.

Goodnight all!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Saturday, June 18 - 8:57pm PT

Today was bitter sweet. On one hand, we made our move to 14k camp. On the other,we said goodbye to one team member as she headed down hill having tested positive for COVID. You can't escape COVID, even in the mountains. Our climber is doing well and will be enjoying a margarita, clean clothes, and a flushing toilet soon. 

For the rest of us, it was a big day moving to 14k camp. Gaining 3,000 feet with heavy packs and a sled is no small feat. We started in a cloud and only in our base layer but quickly walked into a breezy snowfall. The snow fell on us walking to our camp for half the day. By the time we got to our cache site, we had lost the snow and gained some heat. The sun's solar intensity was immense the last hour. You could feel your right side burning up. Our sunglasses felt hot. Heat panic was a thing. The team preserved and we rolled into 14k with a feeling of air conditioning as the clouds rolled back in and we lost the solar intensity. Moving in was quick since our tents were already set up and left by Avery's team. Some Ramen for the tummies and hot cocoa bring us to bedtime. 

Everyone's bodies are excited to lay down and relax after our day and it is well deserved. We will see what the weather brings tomorrow for our agenda.

Rest well everyone,

Hannah and Team

Evening everyone,

Who knew climbing Denali had so much resting involved in it. We all train for the heavy packs, long days, thousands of feet of elevation gained. What we don't train for is all the tent time. Time in the tent is important for our bodies to adjust to the altitude but it can be a challenge for the mind. Boredom can sink in very quickly. One must be good at self entertainment and comfortable with you, yourself, and I. It's a crucial skill of the mountain life and the team is currently learning it. Even with all the down time, today went fast. Per usual for our trip so far we had sun, we had clouds and we had snow flurries. A mixture of weather keeps it interesting. Now that we are rested we are ready to move  onward and upward. Hopefully tomorrow the weather holds and we are able to move to 14k camp. It will be a welcomed move with new views, a new camp, and likely new neighbors.

Send all your good weather vibes,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Thursday, June 16, 2022 8:42 pm PT

Hello all,

The team made quick work getting ready this morning so we were the first out of camp. A quick warmup of mellow, flattish terrain gives way to a steep slope called motorcycle hill. And what did we do on this hill? We motored on up it. After a quick break we then encountered squirrel hill. Some of the sleds got a little squirrelly but pulled through. The polo fields give a break from so much uphill but still require us to bring our best game. A not so windy windy corner gave way to a holey section that might be a little sporty crossing at the end of the trip. After a few hours of walking we made it to our cache site. Once some snacks were consumed we reversed our steps and headed back to camp. The team, once again, showed they came prepared to climb Denali and are crushing. Tomorrow we will enjoy a rest before we make our move to 14k camp. Everyone is ready for a new home and to be closer to our goal. For tonight, it's time to catch up on Stranger Things.

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Wednesday, June 16, 2022 - 8:47 pm PT

Hey-O,

Man did it feel good to sleep in! No alarms just a gradual wake up with no rush to get breakfast going. Twelve hours in a tent can be difficult but it is necessary for the body to adjust to the altitude. It takes a while for the sun to hit camp but once it does it thaws the frost from the tents and turns this frozen camp into a toasty one. While rest was the main goal for today we also needed to sort gear for our carry tomorrow and review some skills with crampons and ice axe. Another team rolled into camp today. It's been quiet here so their presence is welcomed. As the air starts to chill and the sun gets lower we all crawl back into our tents and get ready for the night. Tomorrow will be a fun day getting higher and closer to our objective.

Talk to you tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Monday, June 13, 2022 - 8:50 pm PT

Hello from 11,000' Camp!

The alarm rang, we unzipped the tent and the conditions looked great. It was time to move to a new camp! Getting to 11,000' Camp is a great milestone. Here we get to spend several nights getting ready to move higher up the mountain. Step by step we are making it higher and higher. With all our camp loaded in our packs and sleds we hit the frozen trail. A brisk morning welcomed us on our trails and soon turned into a brisk breeze. A sting to the face brought us to the sunlight. We had finally climbed out of the clouds and man is it nice to be above the clouds. This camp has more teams. We are no longer alone. It's nice to see other teams around and have energy flowing through camp. Shoveling, chopping, and eyeballing the levelness of the tent platforms leads to a good looking camp. More naps and more snacking bring us to dinner. Life is simple out here. We walk, we set up camp, we sleep, we eat, we rinse and repeat. Tomorrow we will walk back downhill to our cache and be reunited with our things. It's a great feeling getting your food back. Hopefully the weather keeps treating us well and tomorrow is a smooth day.

Talk to you all tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Sunday, June 12, 2022 - 8:59 pm

Good evening readers,

After sending the dispatch last night we listened to the weather from Kahiltna Basecamp. With the weather, basecamp also reads a trivia question. And guess what? We won it! What is a group of ravens called? An unkindness. And what an unkindness they will do if you don't bury your cache deep enough. So today when we arrived to our cache spot at 10,000', we made sure there would be no unkindness done to our belongings. Once again it was an early start to our day. A few snoozes to the alarm to let the weather clear up a bit led to some oatmeal and packing up half our gear. Carrying half our gear will allow our move tomorrow to be a little more enjoyable. The team cruised up ski hill, stepping over several crevasses, and making easy work of the first major uphill of our journey. Clouds took away most of our views but every once in awhile parts of the mountain showed its beauty. It was a good day and we also got our first taste of moving downhill. Sitting at camp looking up, it's amazing how much more terrain we need to cover. In due time we will get there. Tomorrow we will repeat what we did today plus a little to bring us to 11k camp. Getting to 11k is a great feeling because it will be our first camp we truly get to nest into and enjoy a rest day. For now, we have four minutes till the weather comes on, so we will end it here.

Happy reading,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Saturday June 11, 2022 – 9:13pm PT

Greetings from the Kahiltna,

Snow pitter pattering on the tents lulled us to sleep before disappearing as our alarms rang out. Midnight came far too fast, but the snow had stopped and the clouds lifted.

The first mornings are a little hectic trying to find our groove, our routine in packing up. But with some yummy bagels topped with cream cheese and lox to fuel us, we were ready to take on the day. Our cache buried, sleds loaded, and legs ready, we hit the trail.

Luckily, the first part is downhill, a nice ease into the heavy loads. We will have to climb this hill at the end but that's for another day. The Kahiltna glacier is impressively large with giant crevasses. This glacier goes for 36 miles, and we are going to walk the beginning of it. Several hours of walking brought us to our camp. We made swift work of flattening some spots and setting up.

The afternoon was filled with warm naps, music, and reading. Everyone is enjoying all the naps and snacks. The snow danced its way back in and has been the sound of the evening. We are hoping it quits once again in time for us to begin our walk tomorrow. This trip is all about flexibility so we shall see what tomorrow brings. For now, it's off to bed to stay dry and warm.

Goodnight all,

Hannah and Team