Entries By leon davis
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
May 22, 2014 - 9:32 pm PT
Another pleasant day today, albeit cold and cloudy. This morning we went for a walk out of base camp toward the east ridge of Francis. We passed the large granite face of Francis, and through old icefall debris, up into a small cirque. Great views of Hunter and Base Camp from this small snowy cove. Once back at camp we rigged sleds and packed gear for our departure tomorrow up to Camp 1. The team is excited to venture out and experience another part of the Alaska range.
Until tomorrow...
RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
May 21, 2014 - 11:16 pm
Today we spent a full day rotating through stations of crevasse rescue and beacon searches. The team did well grasping the concept of producing mechanical advantage and they ran through the drills multiple times. By the end of the day, I think most ended up with an understanding of how the systems work. Clouds are moving in slowly and may linger for a few days here but that won't stop us from venturing out onto the surrounding glaciers. We have one more day here in base camp to prepare for our move north.
Goodnight to all.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
May 20, 2014 - 11:57pm PT
Today was a glorious day full of sun and cooler temperatures. We left camp early this morning and headed west, down to the main flow of the Kahiltna glacier. The team got first hand experience of how we move across such massive fields of ice and the views both up and down glacier were amazing. Felt like we were in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Our objective was a small formation called the pizza wedge and as we got closer the crevasses got bigger. So big that our desired approach was cut off by a 200' wide crack over a mile long. Despite being rewarded with great weather and cooler temps, this years snow isn't making things easy. So we trekked back to camp and resumed training for a full day tomorrow of crevasse rescue and beacon searches.
All is well and beautiful here!
RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team
That looks like such an amazing experience. Have fun and stay safe, Wendy.
Posted by: Chris Bertran on 5/22/2014 at 6:49 am
Hey Dad,
I hope you’re having a great time! It sounds like you’re doing some pretty awesome and intense stuff! We hope you and your team have a great next few days and stay safe. Love you.
Love,
Linds, Ryann, and Mom
Posted by: Lindsay H on 5/22/2014 at 5:00 am
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
May 19, 2014 - 11:14 pm PT
Hi Everyone,
We had a pretty busy day here on Kahiltna's SE fork. Consistent and gusty winds from the north had us building a fortress of sorts around our tents and kitchen. There was some time in the morning for basic skills training in groups but by early afternoon the whole team went into wall building mode. It was pretty amazing to see how well everyone cooperated and their work ethic was close to exhausting. So much so that a small news team noticed the action from below and came up to video everyone working and interview a few folks. So tune in to KTVA Alaska 11 News on their website and you might see a friend or loved one on TV!
Tomorrow we are going for a day mission across the Kahiltna toward Mt. Foraker.
Stay tuned for more good news tomorrow!
RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team
What beautiful surroundings! Im at the beach with our daughters but we are checking on Chuck and hoping for the best for his adventure!
lori Harrelson
Posted by: Lori Harrelson on 5/21/2014 at 7:09 am
Thanks for blogging this trip! My husband is there and our boys and I look forward to your daily notes and photos to track daddy’s climb! Good luck and God bless!
Posted by: Brooke Q on 5/21/2014 at 1:43 am
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
May 19, 2014, 1:05 am PT
Hello all -
Our team is just crawling into their sleeping bags here at Kahiltna Base Camp. Our pilots at K2 Aviation found a way in between a few windy spells and at 5:45 pm we touched down in sunny cool weather. By 9:30 pm we were having dinner and very happy about making it onto the Kahiltna glacier. Many of the team could barely hide their enthusiasm from the moment they boarded the plane until we crawled into our sleeping bags for bed time.
All is great!
Goodnight friends and family -
RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King and Katrina Bloemsma
On The Map
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
May 18, 3:27 pm PT
Greetings friends and family!
The second Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Expedition team is here in Alaska and almost ready to fly! Most of our gear is packed and weighed and now we are waiting for departure time. We have a few hours to go so we are setting up tents and prepping for our first night onto the glacier. Fingers crossed for an on time flight!
RMI Guide Leon Davis and Team
Hi Katha,
you look great!!
Enjoy this fantastic experience. Looking forward to catching up with you afterwards.
Big hug
Katharina
Posted by: Katharina on 5/19/2014 at 10:18 am
Posted by: Leon Davis, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Greetings from Talkeetna!
So we made it off the glacier just in time! This morning we woke at 3:30 am to start the 5.5-mile walk back to basecamp. The forecasted storm was slowly creeping in from the southwest and as we walked down glacier in the twilight, clouds came spilling over Mt. Foraker, threatening to shut down visibility. At 11:30 we could hear the mosquito hum of K2's Otter as Randy flew in just below the cloud ceiling and set the plane down on the runway. Forty-five minutes later we were in sandals and t-shirts in downtown Talkeetna enjoying the warm air and flowering fauna. It has been an excellent experience for our folks. As we dry our gear on the lawn, everyone is quietly reflecting on the last six days spent in the Alaska range.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Hi everyone!
Well today we went for Kahiltna Dome and we got higher than any other RMI seminar in recent history. Soft snow and punchy crevasse bridges put a halt on our upward progress close to 11,000 feet. Despite the early start, temperatures never allowed the snow to freeze solid enough to prevent us from dropping into the many cracks that guard the ridge. The guides put the question to our seminar participants about whether it was safe to continue and the entire team made some very rational common sense arguments on the decision to turn back. We do believe these folks are starting to understand their limits while making good decisions, as we hoped this seminar would help impart!
We are safe and happy back at 8700' camp hoping to fly off tomorrow if the forecasted snow does not interfere.
Good night and see you all soon!
RMI Guides Leon Davis and Eric Frank
Good evening friends & family,
The team is here at 8,800' camp on the Kahiltna, 5.5 miles from base camp. Today we walked with a few days of food and fuel up glacier under clear skies and later a blazing sun. It seems to be unseasonably warm here for early May, but we can hardly complain about great weather!
Early tomorrow morning we will leave camp and make an attempt on Kahiltna Dome and we are all excited to see what the mighty Kahiltna looks like from 12,200'!
Until tomorrow, good night from us all.
RMI Guides Leon Davis and Eric Frank
We can't complain about the two days of bad weather that prevented us from flying on when it is this beautiful at base camp. The weather here is stellar and watching the sun track across the greater Alaska range has the team in awe. Distant Avalanches off Mt. Hunter and Foraker provide awesome viewing in between skills training. Today we traveled up the SE fork of the Kahiltna for an attempt on Horiskey's Hump (Radio Tower) but poor slope conditions turned us back. Not as much snow sticking to the slopes here this year and firm conditions on steep terrain forced us to make a conservative decision. The team is very thankful for the chance and they learned a great deal about themselves.
Tomorrow we train and prepare for an attempt on Kahiltna Dome!
RMI Guide Leon Davis and Team
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For the May 20th Team (Brent Okita)
Great Picture of the May 20th Team! This is a special greeting for Daniel Akerman: We are so proud of you Daniel and we are following you and your team every step of the way. Go, go, go….We love you!!! Mom & Rob
Posted by: Lena Akerman on 5/23/2014 at 7:06 am
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