Entries By jack delaney
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel, Calvin Jiricko
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 9,800'
Hello faithful readers!
Imagine the inside of a ping pong ball. Now imagine yourself inside that ping pong ball. That was us for 8 hours today. Today the plan was to take all our excess gear and food and cache it at around 9800. After spending the morning organizing our gear, we took off slogging up “Ski Hill”. Slow and steady was the name of game. Navigation was difficult at best and a blind guess at worst. The team was strong both mentally and physically today. The effort was top notch.
After digging a very large snow hole and burying all our gear, we took off downhill. Home sweet home and burritos were calling our names. A relaxing evening and a filling meal. The simple pleasures of mountain life We hope to wake up to slightly better weather tomorrow, so please cross your fingers for us!
Cheers,
Jack and the Team
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 8, 2026
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel, Calvin Jiricko
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 - 12:56 am PT
Goodbye world, hello Denali!
Sorry for the late blog post, it's been a wild couple of days! We spent all day Monday ready to go at a moments notice. The weather was fickle, the clouds were playing games and the sunshine was promising flight potential. Finally around 4pm we received word of a potential window so we loaded planes and launched towards Kahiltna Base Camp. Sadly the clouds decided to reappear and we had to turn around back to Talkeetna. After about 30 minutes of sitting in the hangar, the pilots told us another gap in the clouds had appeared. Again we loaded up and took to the skies! Yet again the clouds were sneaky and by the time we got there they had cut us off from our destination. We circled for 20 minutes hopeful the clouds would shift and clear. Finally the pilots made the call - back to the Talkeetna again! We had a hearty dinner and were off to bed to try again in the morning.
Morning came quick with a 8am text from K2 saying the skies were clear! The team kicked into overdrive and within 30 minutes we were loaded up and flying! Smooth sailing took us right into Kahiltna Base Camp. We then got ourselves organized and took off up glacier towards our first camp, Ski Hill! Several hours of slogging later plus a couple more hours of hard work, we had camp established! It was a long day but we did it.
We were here. Our Denali expedition has officially begun.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Jack Delaney and the Team
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 8, 2026
Is Thomas making progress in English ?
Nice to see through your updates that everything is on the right way.
Climb on.
Posted by: Jean-Christophe on 5/13/2026 at 12:29 pm
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel, Calvin Jiricko
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Day 3 – Sunday, May 10, 2026
Hang time in Talkeetna!
With unflyable weather, the gang spent the whole day on standby. We practiced the critical Denali skill of hurry up and wait, and also practiced our ping pong (table tennis for those who are serious) skills.
K2 Aviation lost the Talkeetna ping pong tournament to TAT (Talkeetna Air Taxi) last year, so luckily the RMI team was there to train with the K2 pilots. Hopefully, K2 will take a win in 2026!
We also reviewed our sled rigging and had an excellent team dinner at the Lattitude 62.
All eyeballs are looking towards the weather forecast for tomorrow for flyable weather!!
RMI Guide Calvin Jiricko & Team
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 8, 2026
Congrats on reaching Camp 1. Looking forward to seeing all the progress. Be safe. Be well. Have fun.
Blessings
Daddyo
Posted by: Don Rodie on 5/14/2026 at 8:14 pm
The best from you all, the mountain and the weather!
Posted by: Steve on 5/13/2026 at 7:38 am
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel, Calvin Jiricko
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Sunday, May 10, 2026 - 11:19 am PT
Hello bloggateers!
Today was a busy day. The name of the game in Talkeetna is "Hurry up and Wait" - and hurry up we did. It was flurry of packing and organizing. The key to making sure you have everything for climbing Denali is pulling every item out of your bags, looking at them one by one, making sure you really need the item and then repacking them. After thoroughly examining everything we had and shedding any excess weight, we began weighing our bags. The pilots need the weights of all our gear and persons so they can calculate how to evenly distribute the weight amongst the planes and the gas needed to fly into the Alaska range. Finally we were able to able to call it a day and head to dinner. We enjoyed the fine ales and delicious food of the Denali Brew Pub. It was then off to another early bedtime in the hopes of flying off the next morning.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Jack Delany and the Team
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 8, 2026
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel, Calvin Jiricko
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Hello world!
Greetings from Alaska! After a long day of travel from all over the US and Europe, we all assembled at the Ted Stevens Airport in Anchorage. We then loaded up the shuttle bus with our eccentric driver Ross and drove the two hours to Talkeetna. We then checked into the Swiss Alaska Inn and got the lowdown on the winter Talkeetna gossip from the Inn's proprietor Critter. After a brief break to get settled in we enjoyed some fine pizza at Mile High Pizza Pie. The team finished the evening off with a walk to the river front where we witnessed a large ice flow break up at the confluence of the Susitna and Talkeetna rivers. Then it was off to an early bedtime to prepare for an early start the next morning to begin gear checking and packing.
Thanks for tuning in -
RMI Guide Jack and the Team!
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 8, 2026
Health and success to the entire team. Look forward to your updates.
Posted by: Mark Mises on 5/13/2026 at 5:11 pm
Was Jess allowed to participate in gear checks ? Maybe watch her around compressed stuff sacks..
Posted by: Brian Broussard on 5/10/2026 at 10:46 am
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Ben Thorneycroft, Tate Hughes, Matt Kelly, George Hedreen, Hannah Billings, Fitz Elder, CJ Rogers
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb July 24 - 28 led by RMI Guides Jack Delaney and George Hedreen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Jack reported a very cold and windy climb. The clear skies and sunshine were appreciated by the group and they enjoyed some time inside the summit crater before starting their descent. The teams will return to Camp Muir for their second night on the mountain and enjoy a well deserved rest and full night's sleep after their alpine start this morning. The team will conclude their program tomorrow, descending the remaining 4,500' to Paradise and ending with a short celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations Brad and Ryan! So excited for you! Can’t wait to hear about your experience on the mountain.
Posted by: Patrick Couture on 7/27/2025 at 7:07 pm
Brad and Ryan: your Texas Highpointer friends salute you.
Posted by: Kourt on 7/27/2025 at 7:01 pm
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Leif Bergstrom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb, led by RMI Guides Jack Delaney and Leif Bergstrom, reached the summit of Mount Rainier this morning, marking a successful ascent despite the cloud cover below. The weather was favorable, with clear skies overhead, and the team made the most of the opportunity, choosing today for their summit attempt as forecasts predict rising winds and rain tonight. After celebrating their success, they began their descent from the crater rim just after 10 am. The team will return to Camp Muir for a well-deserved rest before tackling the final 4,500-foot descent to Paradise tomorrow.
Congratulations climbers!
Congratulations to Leland and the entire team!!! Have a safe trip down to Paradise!
Posted by: Emily Hardcastle on 7/20/2025 at 7:32 pm
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Rosie Hust, Simon Kearns, Brendan Oates
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,300'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Jack Delaney made a strong effort today, turning around at the top of Disappointment Cleaver due to high winds and a cloud cap over the summit.
The team is currently descending safely back to Camp Muir and will return to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford later this afternoon.
We’re proud of their resilience and smart decision-making in challenging conditions. Safety always comes first on the mountain!
So proud of my husband and everyone who challenged themselves to the very top! Well Done
Posted by: Gosia Barnekoff on 7/12/2025 at 9:24 am
I really hope this is the hike that John and Melissa are on, if not well… I’m proud of everyone on it regardless!!
Go John and Melissa, I know you are killing it!! Can’t wait to hear about it when you get back. Ahhhhh
Posted by: Megan Fisher on 7/10/2025 at 8:29 pm
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Sam Marjerison, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Billings, Arianna Drechsler, Layne Peters, Imogen Von Mertens, Brendan Oates
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
The Five Day Climb June 28 - 2 July led by RMI Guides Jack Delaney and Sam Marjerison reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning on a beautiful day. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit before beginning their descent from the crater rim around 9 am. The climbers will return to Camp Muir for their second night on the mountain and enjoy the views and their accomplishment. Tomorrow the teams will descend the remaining 4,500' to Paradise.
Nice work today team!
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
This morning, RMI Expeditions guides Jack Delaney and Joey Manship led their Four Day Climb teams to the summit of Mount Rainier—an incredible achievement for all involved!
The teams reached the top under dynamic mountain conditions, reporting broken clouds, light precipitation, and a cloud deck hovering around 8,700 feet. Despite the weather, spirits were high as climbers stood atop the 14,410-foot peak, many for the first time.
At 9:20 AM, the teams began their descent, and are currently en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations Team!
Go Haley Go!!!
Posted by: Sydni on 5/15/2026 at 5:18 am
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