Entries By jack delaney

Brrrrrr! You know what they say “clear skies, cold nights” and boy howdy was that true last night. Thankfully the team has the equivalent of at least two gooses worth of down to stay warm. Sun didn’t hit camp until 9:30 so breakfast was a puffy pants and big parka affair. Thankfully the solar radiation at this altitude works quickly and it was hotter than the center of a hot pocket before we knew it. In order to beat the peak of the days heat we quickly geared up and headed down hill to grab our cache at 13k. We loaded up and trudged back to camp with day dreams of eating the snacks we had cached.  The rest of afternoon was spent lounging and devouring meats, cheeses and cookie dough. Tomorrow is a full rest day where excessive snacking is encouraged!

See ya later alligators!

Avery, Jack, Liam and The Team.

Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - 10:43 pm PT

Well would you look at that, we’re back at it again. We walked the same stretch as yesterday but today it was both hotter and harder. The team persevered and marched into 14,000' Camp in good style. It was a long day breaking down camp, moving and then setting up again. After a quick burrito meal everyone crawled into bed for some well deserved rest.

Sweet dreams blog reader. I know we will be sleeping well tonight.

Chip chip cheerio,

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team.

Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - 9:46 pm PT

Welcome back to another fine edition of the Denali blog! Today we awoke to somewhat stormy conditions so we hit the snooze and waited an hour for the weather to improve. Once the sky was looking happy we snarfed breakfast and took off towards the 13k cache garden. The first obstacle was the intimidating hill directly out of 11,000' Camp known as Motorcycle Hill, which was no problem as the team zoomed up it. We then turned the corner and surmounted the famous Squirrel Hill (less long and steep but with more exposure). Next we galloped across the long but flat feature known as the Polo Field! We took our last break at the edge of the infamous Windy Corner, which happened to be windless today! Finally after another hour of walking we were at the cache garden.  Luck would have it that we found an empty cache hole! We tossed our excess supplies in it, covered it up and turned down hill. In the blink of an eye we were back at 11,000' Camp relaxing till dinner time. Tomorrow should the good weather continue to hold we’ll move to 14,000' camp!

Thanks for tuning in…

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the team!

Monday, June 6, 2022 - 11:18 pm PT

Today began with a very difficult decision. Should we eat a full breakfast of cereal and fig bars? Or should we just coffee and charge down hill to the cache where a supreme breakfast awaited? Well the team decided, drink coffee, get cache and then have a relaxing brunch feast. What meal could be so enticing that we would exert ourselves on a retrieval mission with only caffeine running through our veins? Well glad you asked! It was breakfast burritos. Specifically pepper, onion, hashbrowns, eggs, Beecher’s cheese and MOOSE meat burritos. So yes, it was worth the wait. The rest of the day was a mix of napping, snacking, chatting, stretching, reading and card playing. It was an ideal day. Tomorrow we’re heading uphill to cache around 13,000' and along the way we’ll experience a series of classic Denali features! You’ll have to wait for the next update to learn all about them, oooh what a cliff hanger!

Until next time dear reader,

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the Team

Greetings from the bottom of Ski Hill. We’ve been keeping our trend of staying on east coast time (3am wake up Alaska time) in order to keep up with the stock market and take advantage of the cooler temps and firm snow. This morning we packed up all our excess supplies and gear and headed uphill to cache them. Conditions were ideal again as we were able to climb without the aid of crampons or snow shoes. Apparently, granola breakfast was the breakfast of champions because the team crushed it! They marched uphill without tiring and kept cheerful smiles while doing it. The sunrise was incredible and even saw what could be described as a non-traditional rainbow in the distant rains near Talkeetna! We soon climbed past the traditional cache spot around 9,500 and stopped just below the last hill to 11 camp. The only reason we didn’t go all the way was to save the experience of seeing what will be our new home for tomorrow.

The afternoon was spent back at ski hill, napping, relaxing, snacking and trading stories. Some of which seemed too good to be true.

The weather is beautiful and so is the team.

Yours Truly,

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and the Team

Friday June 3, 2022 - 8:54pm PT

We are on the move! The team woke up at 2AM to break camp, rig sleds, and get walking early in order to finish this first push before the midday heat set in.

The heavy loads couldn’t suppress the bubbling smiles on the faces of the climbers, as the Denali came into view with a glimmering sun behind it.

At the base of ski hill, we made camp and enjoyed a power nap before eating a spicy jambalaya dinner.

The team is feeling strong and stoked to continue upwards!

RMI Guide Liam Weed and Team

Thursday, June 2, 2022 - 9:45 pm PT

We did it! We’re here! The Alaska Range! After a stressful day and half of packing we’ve finally arrived. We took off first thing in the morning to avoid a hot mushy landing strip. The flight was beautiful, cloudless and most importantly smooth. The views were spectacular and plane ride mostly silent as we looked on with awe at the majestic mountains wearing glaciers as hats. Once we landed at base camp we set to unloading our nearly 1,500lbs of gear. Then began the real fun, setting up camp. We dug caches, a kitchen, a dining room and 4 tent platforms. Then we erected our tents and got moved in. After that we did what smart mountaineers do best, lounged in our tents to avoid the heat and intense sun. Eventually it cooled down and we did a delightful burrito dinner. Now we’re laying down for an early (and short) night as we’ll be walking in the wee hours of the day in order to have firm snow and reasonable temps.

Spirits are high! Our elevation is low! And the team is excited to move up the mountain.

RMI Guides Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed and team

According to the TV Show Lost - all good looking people sit on the right side of an airplane. Well, that's clearly what our team did because we have a great looking crew! After meeting up at the Anchorage airport we hopped in the shuttle and headed towards Talkeetna! There was no awkward silence as everyone quickly started chatting and getting to know one another. A quick grocery stop and 2 hours later we were in Talkeetna with amazing views of the Alaska Range! Our travel weary team rallied the last of their energy for a group dinner and then we wandered back to the bunkhouse for some well-deserved rest. 

RMI Guides Avery, Jack, Liam and Team

Hello world, it’s us the Camp Muir Seminar!

Yesterday, we awoke early, donned our technical gear and launched towards the Ingraham flats to train before the next storm system hit in the mid afternoon. Sadly the storm had other plans and hit Camp Muir around 9am. We retreated in a white out with winds averaging 58mph during our time on the Cowlitz glacier. The storm has been impressive in its power and consistency. It is not snowing so much as it is launching ice pellets at us with high velocity. Moral stayed high as we continued to practice various technical skills in the bunkhouse. The team took brief forays into the violent snow globe that was the outside world to shovel out the bathroom. We were highly motivated to maintain our access to the facilities.

We are excited to find a lull in the weather to head down hill, dry out and enjoy some pizza and beer at the Basecamp Bar and Grill. 

All is well - The Muir Seminar Team

There we were, finished up with our day of training, enjoying the amenities of the Gombu Hut. A screeching howl ripped across Camp Muir - the wind was here. We spent the rest of the evening discussing altitude illness and taking bets on the high score for strongest gust. Ends up we were all wrong, so so wrong. The darkness fell and our winds averaged 70mph with gusts in the 90mph. Things were knocking, shelters were rocking, and we hunkered down. This morning we awoke to thick solid ice rime covering the surface of our world. We affixed Everest style hand lines to the bathroom. Full battle gear mandatory. Today we will practice the most important mountain skill, entertaining ourselves while the storm rages.

RMI Guide Jack Delaney and the Muir Seminar signing off, till tomorrow...