Entries By luke wilhelm
May 30, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 9:26 PM PT
Howdy howdy. Its us again but this time from new location. We decided to pack up camp, load the sleds, and go for a walk. The clouds came and went, giving us gorgeous views of the surrounding peaks and than closing in us making it look like the inside of a pingpong ball. Regardless of where the clouds were though, the furnace was turned to high and sweat ran down our faces. The saying goes freeze or fry in the mountains and we felt the fry. Once we arrived to our new home, we put on our working gloves and got down to business. It's a lot of work putting in a new camp. You gotta make flat platforms for the tents, dig a bathroom, and dig a kitchen. But at the end of the day it feels good to work hard and do some shoveling. Tomorrow will be less work and more play hopefully. Looks like the weather will hold for one more day before the next weather system moves in. So we will take advantage of any sunshine we can get and go explore.
Time to catch some Zzz,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
May 28, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 8:50 PM PT
What a day! We woke to great weather, so we saddled up and hit the glacier towards Radio Tower. Felt great to stretch the legs and walk up hill. We zigged and zagged around crevasses, booted up some steeper terrain, and walked a narrow ridge. At the end of it all was great views of the surrounding peaks. Such a fun day to use the skills we have learned and be rewarded by jaw dropping beauty. After walking down in what felt like a microwave of heat, we all took a well-deserved nap before dinner. Nothing like laying down in a warm tent full of down to make you doze off into a dreamy state. Tomorrow we plan on packing up and moving camp up glacier to go explore more of the area. We will see what we get to play on or in in the next coming days.
Talk to you all later,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
May 28, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Monday, May 28, 2019 - 9:47 PM PT
You never know what your are going to wake up to in the morning, but today we woke to a fresh blanket of snow and the sun trying to peak through decreasing clouds. We ate breakfast, packed our things for the day and headed to a beautiful crevasse. Crevasse rescue was the focus of today. Everyone on the team got to feel what it is like to catch a person falling into a crevasse, to run the rescue scenario, and got to enjoy the hypnotic beauty of a crevasse as they sat in their harness looking in awe. The weather cooperated all day with bouts of sunshine mixed with light snow flurries. All in all it was a fun day. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will see if we can go up Radio Tower. A nice objective to use some of our skills we have learned the last few days.
Adios,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
May 27, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 9:37 PM PT
Snow fell from the sky all day today. A wet, heavy snow. Sounded like rain pitter pattering on the tent. It made for a great background noise for afternoon siesta. But the snow didn't stop us from more learning. Today's topics were anchors and crevasse rescue. We did practice rounds on flat ground by our tents of making a 3:1 pulley system to haul out a fallen climber. Next time we practice we will be able to practice in a crevasse. Very exciting. We will see what tomorrows weather will bring and roll with what ever mother nature throws our way. As for now, we will fall asleep to the sound of snow falling onto the tent, which sounds like the snap crackle pop of rice krispies.
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
May 26, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 7,300'
Saturday, May 25, 2019 - 9:31 PM PT
Good evening all. We crawled out of our tents today to clear sunny skies. A perfect day to take a walk and learn some skills. After filling our bellies with bagels and cream cheese, we learned about rope travel. The best way to learn is to do, so we took the learning on the road. After a short stroll we came across a perfect place to park it for the day and learn different techniques to walk efficiently and also how to self and team arrest. Our day finished with a lesson on knots and hitches as the clouds descended and snow flurries danced from the sky. It looks like some weather might be moving in, but that's alright. We will just learn about defending camp and how to stay occupied in our tents. Crucial skills on big mountains.
Nighty night,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
May 25, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Friday, May 24, 2019 11:03 PM PT
There is nothing better than starting your day with a pancake bigger than your face and your morning commute on an otter plane. The clouds stayed at bay and we were able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier. The views are mesmerizing. Words cant explain how beautiful it all is. We gathered are things from the plane, said goodbye to our pilots, and settled into camp. Excitement continues to grow for what is to come in the next week. But for now we are snuggled into out tents ready to catch some Z's.
Talk to you all tomorrow,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Happy to hear you made it to the glacier. We’re excited to hear what you learn.
Posted by: JShears on 5/25/2019 at 6:06 pm
May 24, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 348'
Thursday, May 23, 2019, 10:36 PM PT
Good evening lower 48, it is us up here in the northern state of Alaska. The team gathered this afternoon in the Anchorage airport with a high stoke level for what is to come in the next ten days. The next ten days will bring beautiful views of pristine glaciated terrain that will be our classroom for learning the skills needed to do a Denali Expedition in the future. We made our way to Talkeetna, the launching pad to Denali and are all getting use to the 24-hour light as we settle into our hotel. Tomorrow will be a busy day of packing and shuffling gear so we can hopefully fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier.
Keep your fingers crossed for blue skies,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
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Is it cold and snowing up there? What do you do when you are stuck in your tents because of bad weather?
Posted by: C_shears on 5/26/2019 at 7:02 pm
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