Entries By jess wedel

We woke to 6-8" of snow at the base of Ski Hill. Light snow was still falling as we ate breakfast, but the trend was improving so we started packing up camp.

By the time we started climbing it was mostly sunny and quite warm. Climbing up Ski Hill in base layers was a treat. Clouds increased and winds ramped up during our climb. By the time we got to our second break, visibility was down to near zero, winds were steadily increasing, and temps had dropped enough to remind us we're in Alaska. It was obvious that conditions would continue to deteriorate, so we put our camp in at 9,400'. It's pretty nasty outside but we're all safe and cozy in our tents. We guides are suiting up to go set up our cook tent so we can fire up stoves and get everyone fed. Hopefully this weather passes overnight, and we can push camp up to 11,200' tomorrow. Time will tell, but 9400' will be our home for tonight. We'll check in again tomorrow with an update.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Thursday May 9, 2024 – 8:09 PDT

We're back at camp after a good day on the Kahiltna Glacier. We carried a cache of gear and supplies up Ski Hill to around 9700'. Yesterday we had great views and warm temps. Today was quite different, as we were navigating inside a ping pong ball and breaking trail all day. We're hoping for good weather tomorrow so we can move camp up to 11k.

We’ll keep you posted.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

UPDATE: Recevied 10:30 am PT

Just a quick dispatch this morning. Everything is flowing smoothly and we're busy making progress. We pulled heavy loads to the base of ski hill yesterday in beautiful weather. It snowed a couple inches overnight and it's snowing lightly this morning, but the sun is poking through and we're gearing up to carry a load of gear up ski hill today. Gotta run, lots of work to do! I'll check back in upon our return to let you know how our day shakes out. Mike.

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RMI Guide Mike Walter and team flew to Kahiltna Basecamp on Tuesday afternoon. They built camp and were taking in the views of their new surroundings.  They spent the night at Base camp at 7,300'.  Yesterday they started the work of climbing Denali, moving from Base Camp to the Base of Ski Hill, 7,800'.  To get to Ski Hill the team descends 400' down Heart Break hill (aptly named) and travels over five miles to establish their next camp. 

The first Denali Expedition of the 2024 Season is ready to fly to Kahiltna Base Camp. The May 5th Expedition team members met in Anchorage on Sunday and made the drive to Talkeetna where they have spent the last few days reviewing gear, packing, meeting with the Park Service and getting all the last details dialed in.  The skies are clear and the group is ready to depart Talkeetna for their expedition to North America's highest peak.  We look forward to hearing from them from the mountain.

Good luck team!

This morning, we woke up early, had our last teahouse breakfast and headed for the helicopter pad.

It was a busy day at the airport since the weather was clear. We saw planes and helicopters land, take off and finally, it was our turn.

After a 45-minute flight, we landed safely in Kathmandu.

We got together for one last team dinner tonight. Reflecting on our nearly 3 weeks in Nepal and enjoying a delicious meal at Le Sherpa.

Some of us fly home in the early hours of the day tomorrow and the rest soon after.

What a trip! Thank you for following along and we can’t wait to see our friends and family to share more about this incredible adventure when we get home.

RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison and Team.

The highlight from our walk to Lukla today was the Rhododendron. On the way in, a few trees were blooming here and there but now, it is full on Spring. Almost every tree had buds or flowers in every shade of pink imaginable. It was a sight to see. At one point on the trail, I said “it’s so quiet and peaceful today” and one of our members said “not quiet, serene” and that was spot on. We passed many teams heading uphill but we also had hours to ourselves with birds chirping, the sound of the Dudh Kosi river flowing, and our little feet hitting the ground in a rhythm we are all so familiar with now.

It was a perfect day to reflect on the trip and to tuck away some of these sights and sounds and feelings of serenity somewhere deep in our minds to be able to recall when we need them as we head back home. We made it back to Lukla and tomorrow we fly to Kathmandu, but tonight we had a very special last dinner with our Sherpa guide team and our infinitely strong porter team. We thanked them for letting us be able to experience their country and their beautiful mountains. We would not have been able to do this trip without them.

With full hearts and tired feet,

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the Lobuche Team

PC: Jess Wedel

Tashi Delek!

Last night we got to spend the night in a very special place - a traditional teahouse with views overlooking the oldest monastery in the Khumbu Valley - the Pangboche Monastery. We had a very quiet and serene night since we were the only team staying there. We woke up early, had our usual coffee, pancakes, some version of eggs (plain omelette? Veg omelette? Fried eggs? We like them all!) and got to walking.

April is one of the busiest months in the Khumbu Valley with Trekkers and Everest climbers all making their way to base camp. While we were one of the few teams walking downhill, we passed team after team after team heading up. A highlight of the morning was FINALLY seeing a baby yak. We’ve been keeping our eyes out and have seen some yak teens but today we got to see a full on baby fluff! We watched him stumble between his mama and another yak and even buck and get a little sassy from what we suppose was a bug or some other nuisance. The cutest.

After nearly five hours of walking, we arrived back in Namche. And boy, does it feel good. We’ve run into lots of friends and fellow climbers, we had a big lunch at Eat Smart (our favorite non-teahouse food of the trip!) and spent the afternoon enjoying the excited energy of this little city during the climbing season. We’re so happy to be back at Base de Camp Teahouse that has hot showers in the room and some pretty incredible views.

One more day of walking to Lukla tomorrow. It’s hard to believe this trip is nearing its end.

RMI Guides Jess and the Lobuche team

Good morning!

Today we made our way from Lobuche high camp down to Pangboche. On the quiet trail down from high camp we ran into a posse of “Nepali Chickens” these shy little animals are often heard but rarely seen. We stopped and took the time to watch them move through the valley.

We stopped for lunch in Pheriche and said goodbye to the fields of yaks as we headed down valley. We all got to walk our own pace, take in the views and reflect on an incredible trip. This is one of my favorites parts of walking back to Lukla - time to breath in the thick air and feel how incredibly special these mountains are.

We made it to upper Pangboche in the early afternoon and our tea house is located right behind the monastery with views looking out to Ama Dablam. We had an early dinner because we are all still tired from our Lobuche climb! Off to bed. Tomorrow we’ll head to Namche.

RMI Guides Jess, Sam and the Lobuche Crew
 

Sunday, March 31, 2024 - 7:10 am PT

All evening and into the night the wind ripped through our high camp and with the wind, snow and snow and snow. I laid awake thinking about if we were even going to be able to leave our camp for a Lobuche summit attempt. Just after 1:00am, the winds seemed to settle but there was a fresh 4 inches of snow. It was beautiful but when you have a couple hours of walking on steep slabs of rock - fresh snow isn’t ideal. The Lobuche team left high camp at 2:30am and immediately what should have been some of the easiest climbing of the day proved remarkably difficult. We set fixed lines, and worked together to keep moving uphill. It took a lot of guts and a lot of perseverance to keep climbing. After nearly 5 hours, we made it to Crampon Point at 18,300 feet. It’s been a very dry winter here in the Himalayas and the glacier was in rugged condition. Up steep ice steps and even some rock/ice/mixed climbing thrown into a mountain and a route that’s usually much smoother. The weather held steady and we had the time to keep pushing and I’m happy to report we stood on top after over 9 hours of climbing. The views were remarkable all day - mountains beyond mountains and this one feels special because of the effort and heart of this team. Thankfully, that sun blasted those 4 inches of snow and we were able to make it down in about 3 hours and without any of the additional fixed lines we had to set in the early morning hours. We were welcomed in camp with warm soup and fried rice and we are all now tucked in bed for some well-earned rest. What an adventure! We’re all looking forward to heading to Pangboche tomorrow and dropping to below 16,000 feet for the first time in 6 days. Thick air, here we come!

RMI Guide Jess and the Lobuche climbing team 

Saturday, March 30, 2024 - 11:10 pm PT

Hi there! Conditions were tough on Lobuche today but I'm happy to report this team is tougher. We're standing on the summit now and will head down soon. Will share more about this epic day when we make back to high camp tonight!

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From RMI Guide Sam Marjerison & The Everest Base Camp Team

We woke up to clear skies this morning and new snow on the ground here in Pheriche. After enjoying a lovely breakfast filled with coffee and lots of Tibetan bread, we had a restful day in the sun which was greatly appreciated. 

Some of us spent the day reading and walking through the town of Pheriche, others caught up on sleep. 

Jess and the Lobuche team reached the summit at around 12pm and reported tough conditions. They are back at high camp and resting before they meet up with the rest of the team in Pheriche tomorrow. We will report back tomorrow when we are all one big group headed downhill. 

RMI Guides Sam, Jess and Crew 

We woke up this morning, packed our bags and said goodbye to our home on the glacier. One last delicious breakfast to fuel some of us for our climb and some of us for our descent.

With big hugs and big thank yous to our base camp staff we took off. The Lobuche climbers headed downhill back through Gorekshep, to Lobuche village and then broke off the trail and headed up to Lobuche High Camp where we’re ready to make a run for the summit tomorrow.

We said goodbye to Sam and the trekking team as they continued downhill to Pheriche. Sam reports everyone is doing well and enjoying the thicker air.

 We’re excited to climb Lobuche but boy are we missing being together as a team.

RMI Guides Jess, Sam and crew