Entries By mike walter

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Take Advantage of the Good Weather to Cache Gear

May 13, 2014

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 11,200'

Today we awoke yet again to a beautiful morning, but tomorrow that changes. With a brief disturbance blowing in from the Bering Sea tomorrow we took advantage of the good weather to make a carry to 13,500ft. There we cached gear and food that we will later retrieve and haul to 14,000ft Camp. Everyone was excited to finally strap the spikes on and go climbing and the team did fantastic navigating the new terrain and altitude. With the sun out and clear skies we enjoyed warm temperatures and fantastic views of the West Buttress proper and major features such as the Messner and Japanese couloirs. Tomorrow the team will enjoy their first rest day of the trip as we wait out the weather. All the best from Denali! RMI Guide Steve Gately

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Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter & Team Back Carry and Plan for Tomorrow

May 11, 2014

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 11,200'

Once again the weather has been nothing less than spectacular for us up here on Denali. After a breakfast of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and bagels to start the day, we headed back downhill to retrieve our cache of gear at 9,500'. We arrived back at the 11k camp a few minutes after 2pm, with plenty of time to rest in the afternoon. As well as resting, eating, and drinking, we had a couple of chores to accomplish, namely building snow walls to fortify our camp and sorting our gear to cache up higher, which we anticipate doing tomorrow. The weather forecast looks good for tomorrow, so if it verifies we'll take advantage and get a cache in up high, likely at Windy Corner, around 13,500'. All of us on the first RMI Denali expedition would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in our lives. Thanks for keeping track of our progress. We'll keep you posted with updates as we continue this awesome adventure. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hi Deepak and team,

I’m glad to hear that the weather has been good. Sounds like you’ve been eating well, too.

Have fun, and make some music on the mountain!

Laura

Posted by: Laura on 5/12/2014 at 10:25 pm

Steve and team,

Glad to hear that all is going as planned. When the weather is great on the mountain life is great!

Hike well and be safe.

Dad

Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/12/2014 at 5:00 am

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McKinley Expedition: Walter and Team Move to 11,200’

May 11, 2014

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 11,200'

May 10, 10:50 pm PT Well, the weather continues to treat us well up here on the Kahiltna Glacier. We moved from Camp 2 to Camp 3 (11,200') in beautiful, sunny weather; a light breeze kept us from over heating as we climbed up towards Kahiltna Pass. Once at camp we spent a few hours digging in and establishing a comfortable living situation. A well-earned dinner of quesadillas with fresh vegetables filled our stomachs before we crawled into our sleeping bags for the evening. The weather forecast remains good, and tomorrow we will go down to 9500' to make a "back carry" and retrieve the extra equipment we left there in order to make our loads more manageable for the journey to camp 3. We'll be in touch again tomorrow. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Climb Strong! We are all behind you from Tampa. I am reading the blog to the girls for a bed time story so please through some princess stories in there.

Love,

Lennox

Posted by: Ken Lennox on 5/12/2014 at 5:15 am

Dad (Bob Strode),

Coming home from dinner to a mother’s day message from Camp 3 on Denali made my night. And may have almost made me cry, but we’ll blame pregnancy hormones for that.

Hope the weather stays so fabulous! Keep on staying strong! We all are sending good vibes and love from Ohio!

Love,
Mandy

Posted by: MandyS on 5/11/2014 at 4:39 pm

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Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter and Team Climb Ski Hill

May 10, 2014

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 9,400'

It's another splitter evening on the Kahiltna Glacier. Our team worked hard this afternoon and it all paid off when we rolled into camp here at 9400' and enjoyed a few hours basking in the sunshine and casually building camp. Our group is becoming skilled in campsite construction, and we are sitting quite comfortably here in our massive snow fort. With Ski Hill out of the way and in the past, we are all looking forward to our move to 11,000' tomorrow. The team is doing well, spirits are high, the weather forecast looks promising, and we are all excited about the progress we've made and the climbing still ahead! RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Steve and team,

Glad to hear all is going well and the weather gods are smiling. Must be quite the view up there.

Steve: Bruins won 4-2 over Montreal and take a 3-2 series lead.

Dad

Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/11/2014 at 4:23 am

Great job team! It looks beautiful! Keep up the good work!

We’re thinking about you Dad!

Love,
Mandy

Posted by: MandyS on 5/10/2014 at 6:50 pm

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Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter & Team On the Move

May 9, 2014

Posted by: Mike Walter, Steve Gately, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 7,800'

Good morning everyone! It's a beautiful day here on the lower Kahiltna Glacier. Our team did an excellent job of moving to 7,800' at the base of Ski Hill yesterday. We got an early flight to base camp and spent a few hours getting organized and reviewing glacier travel techniques. After a solid 8 hours in the sleeping bags we are again packing and looking uphill in the direction of 9,500'. We'll be sure to check in after our move today! RMI Guide Mike Walter

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McKinley Expedition: Mike Walter & Team Arrive in Talkeetna Alaska

May 8, 2014

Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali

Elevation: 348'

The 2014 RMI Expeditions Denali climbing season is officially underway. Our team spent yesterday in the town of Talkeetna readying our gear for flying on to the Kahiltna Glacier. An expedition of this magnitude necessitates a good deal of preparation, and while our planning and preparation has gone on for months now, we still had a lot of work to do. The day started off with a team breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse before heading over to the National Park Service for our pre-trip orientation meeting. Then it was over to K2 Aviation's hangar to get our equipment ready for our glacier landing. This involved finalizing the packing of our personal kits as well as combing over the group gear, setting up tents, firing up stoves, and generally assuring that everything was in top working condition before loading it into the airplane. The weather is forecast to be very good for flying, and expect to be on the Kahiltna Glacier by midday on Thursday. Hopefully that's the case and our next dispatch will be from the Alaska Range. We'll do our best to keep you up to date with the latest. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Best wishes for continued good weather, a cohesive team, and safe, fun climbing conditions!

Avery says, “Go, Pops, Go!”! Climb smart Dad!

Extra shout out to a great guide, Mike!

Posted by: MandyS on 5/9/2014 at 10:46 am

Best wishes for a safe and fun climb. May the weather gods be kind!

Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/9/2014 at 4:13 am

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Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar Reaches the SUMMIT!

September 12, 2013

Posted by: Mike Walter, Jake Beren

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

Our Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Jake Beren reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported great route conditions, warm temperatures and clear skies. The team is now en route to Camp Muir and will spend the spend the rest of their time at Camp Muir training before returning to RMI Basecamp tomorrow. Congratulations to today's team!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Job well done!!!! Not too many people can say they did this. Congratulations…. from the other Eileen & Ty

Posted by: Eieen on 9/16/2013 at 6:29 am

YEAH! Great News Thrilling… what an accomplishment.

Love Mom, Ty ( Bluefin Tuna Fishing on Cape Cod) and Kate!!!

Posted by: meg on 9/12/2013 at 6:12 pm

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Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar Training At Camp Muir

September 11, 2013

Posted by: Jake Beren, Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,080'

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 9 - 13 led by RMI Guides Jake Beren and Mike Walter continue their training at Camp Muir. The teams ascended on Monday from Paradise to Camp Muir. They have been working on their mountaineering skills including cramponing, rope travel, running belays and ice axe arrest. The teams have been enjoying beautiful weather and spending time on the mountain. They plan to make their summit attempt this evening. We wish them luck!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

bet you don’t miss the I-phone… gr8 job.

Posted by: emerold on 9/15/2013 at 6:22 am

Eric - Awesome accomplishment!! Wishing you continued good weather on your descent. Be safe!

Posted by: Susan and jim on 9/13/2013 at 6:11 am

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Mt. Shuksan: Walter & Team Climb Well, But Weather Holds The Cards

September 5, 2013

Posted by: Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 5,700'

We had a mixed bag of weather this trip: some sunshine, some rain, some thunder, some lightning. A strong low pressure system moving in from the south has been causing heavy rain and flash flooding in Oregon and Washington, but we were able to squeak in an enjoyable climb today. We climbed from our bivy sight at 5,700' on Mt. Shuksan, climbed up through the Fisher Chimneys, on to the White Salmon Glacier, up Winnie's Slide, onto the Upper Curtis Glacier, up Hell's Highway, and onto the Sulphide Glacier before weather forced our hand and we headed back down to camp. We had a full day of climbing, and almost got to the top. Now we're back in our tents, safe, dry, and content, listening to the rain. The squirrelly weather did provide us with this beautiful sunset last night though! RMI Guide Mike Walter

Mt. Shuksan: Mike Walter’s Team Summit Via Fisher Chimneys!

September 1, 2013

Posted by: Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 9,127'

Jeff and I had a great day yesterday. We climbed from Lake Ann up through the Fisher Chimneys and established camp at the edge of the Upper Curtis. After a nice long lunch, we packed our light summit packs and headed out. We reached the summit via the Southeast ridge at about 4:50pm, and had it all to ourselves. We arrived back at camp at around 7:25 last night. Today we'll likely do some ice climbing this morning before packing up camp and heading back down through the Chimneys. But first, it's coffee time! RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Entries By mike walter

Mt. McKinley: Walter & Team Take Advantage of the Good Weather to Cache Gear

On The Map

Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter & Team Back Carry and Plan for Tomorrow

On The Map

McKinley Expedition: Walter and Team Move to 11,200’

On The Map

Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter and Team Climb Ski Hill

On The Map

Mt. McKinley Expedition: Walter & Team On the Move

On The Map

McKinley Expedition: Mike Walter & Team Arrive in Talkeetna Alaska

Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar Reaches the SUMMIT!

Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar Training At Camp Muir

Mt. Shuksan: Walter & Team Climb Well, But Weather Holds The Cards

Mt. Shuksan: Mike Walter’s Team Summit Via Fisher Chimneys!

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