Entries By nick hunt
May 27, 2014
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leah Fisher, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
May 26, 2014 - 10:46 pm PT
With just a little anxiousness about our carry up to 13,500', the first real climbing of the trip, the team awoke early this morning to a pretty darned reasonable day. 7:00 AM at 11,200' can certainly be chilly, and today was no exception. We washed down our oatmeal with some hot drinks to fortify ourselves for the big day, reviewing as we usually do some key points of the days.
Our climb of
Motorcycle Hill was made before the sun hit the face, making for a chilly start to the day. But at the top we were rewarded with great views of the Northwest Buttress and Peter's Glacier, not to mention the Alaskan tundra in the distance. Squirrel Hill followed and we found ourselves cramponing on perfect snow.
Conditions, in general, were quite nice all the way to our cache site at 13,500'. But what really struck us was how well the team was climbing. And how well everyone was feeling. Yeah, it was a good push for us, but we all took heart in having done well today. Our dinner of mac and cheese with loads of crumbled bacon stirred in hit the spot. There were no leftovers tonight. Cookies for dessert finished us off before we organized gear for tomorrow.
As for tomorrow ... As good as everybody is feeling, if the weather again cooperates, we might just move up to 14,200' camp. Then, we'll be ready for a couple of well deserved rest days.
We'll see ...
RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick
On The Map
May 25, 2014
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leah Fisher, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
May 24, 2014 - 11:21 pm PT
Going to sleep last night we didn't know exactly what morning would bring. The winds last night had picked up and was blowing spin-drift all around. We could hear the winds coming off
Kahiltna Pass into the wee hours, but when we finally awoke and peeked out the vestibule of the tent we were happily surprised to find gloriously beautiful weather.
Our move up to our new camp couldn't have gone better. The team crushed it! What a nice change from the loads we had making our single carries. Tomorrow we will head back down to our old camp to pick up the cache we buried there.
Getting in to camp at 1:30 this afternoon was almost like having half a rest day. We even built a 'proper' Posh House. This is a big shelter under which we cook and can all dine together. Tonight's menu: Indian cuisine, served on a bed of rice and preceded by a tasty soup. Of course, this is always followed by an after dinner drink. Coffee, tea, hot cider or everyone's favorite: hot cocoa.
Wish us luck on the weather front. It's been good so far. But regardless of what happens, we're sitting pretty right now and everyone is doing well and in good spirits.
A bientot from 11,200' camp.
RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick
On The Map
May 24, 2014
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leah Fisher, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 9,500'
May 23, 2014 - 11:11pm PT
We awoke to wonderfully beautiful skies and not a hint of wind. What a nice reprieve to yesterday's gauntlet with the persistent cold breeze that hit us head on all day. It was with this nice weather that we started our climb to our next camp. We knew that our loads would be heavy, but Ski Hill always manages to humble even the most fit of climbers. But try as it might to torture us with it's deceptively constant grade, the team managed well and arrived at 9500' with energy left over to build camp and get settled.
Our dinner of soup and burritos will hopefully sustain us for our next push: 11,200' camp. Thankfully, today was the last of the huge loads we'll be carrying as we plan on caching food, fuel and some personal gear here. We'll pick this cache up the following day and bring it up to our camp at 11,200'. It'll be nice to get to 11,200' where we'll finally be settled at the same camp for a number of days.
That's the news from the
Kahiltna Glacier these days.
Cheers,
RMI Guides Brent, Leah, Nick & Team
On The Map
May 22, 2014 - 11:00 pm PT
Our day started great. Breakfast at the Roadhouse again and an early departure from Talkeetna, courtesy of the best air service in town:
K2 Aviation. The first hint that conditions were not warm and pleasant came when we landed on some pretty hard snow. Then getting out of the plane we were hit by a chilly wind. But, everyone was excited to be on the mountain and we just put on a few more layers.
Our climb to camp went well, though we were challenged the whole day by that irritating and cold breeze. But that sure didn't slow the team down any. Everyone really did well on this ordinarily difficult day with the heavy loads we were sporting. A quick dinner in bed and the team is now resting comfortably in their tents, getting ready for tomorrow and Ski Hill.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Leah and Nick who have been making sure that were all fed and ready for tomorrow. Wish us calm winds and more pleasant travels tomorrow. Goodnight from 7,800' Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier.
RMI Guides Brent, Leah, Nick and the whole Team
On The Map
May 21, 2014
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leah Fisher, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
May 21, 2014 - 7:12 pm PT
The day before flying on to the mountain is always an incredibly full day. At breakfast we discuss our expedition goals, strategy, schedule and everything else under the sun. This is followed up by our orientation with
Denali National Park. And then on to the hangar of our air service where we spend half the day making certain we have everything we need to survive the weeks on the mountain. The other half of the day is spent putting this incredible amount of gear and food in some semblance of order so that when we actually fly on to the glacier we can pick up and go.
It's been a long day, but one well spent. Tomorrow we're all set for the flight on to the mountain. But tonight, a final dinner where we can relax with a burger and a beer. A well deserved treat after such a busy day, and one we'll be dreaming of in the not to distant future.
RMI Guides Brent, Leah, and Nick
May 20, 2014
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leah Fisher, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
May 20, 2014 - 8:29 pm PT
We are closing in on
Talkeetna enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, being driven by our shuttle driver Louisa. It's nice to finally be all together and underway after so much anticipation and preparation.
No lost luggage or late planes. Now all we need to accomplish is to unload our gear at the hanger, check into our wonderfully quirky hotel run by our friends Pam and Al, before heading out for a bite and a beer or two.
If first impressions mean anything, I think were going to have a good time on this expedition.
Cheers!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
Camp Muir reported that RMI Guides
Brent Okita,
Tyler Jones and the
Five Day Summit Climb Team reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier at about 7am this morning. The team reported clear skies and absolutely beautiful climb weather. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir. We expect them back to RMI Base Camp this afternoon.
This is the First Summit of the our 2014 summer season! Congratulations Teams!
RMI Guides
Brent Okita and
Tyler Jones are leading our first 2014
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb! The team is doing great and had beautiful weather on their ascent to Camp Muir today. Tomorrow the team will go on an acclimatization hike and get ready for their summit bid on Wednesday.
Last week was RMI's March Expedition Skills Seminar-Winter. Like every month from January to April, a team of intrepid climbers looking to learn the beauty of winter mountaineering, ventured up the slopes of
Mt. Rainier on this, our classic six-day winter program. Guides
Adam Knoff,
Leah Fisher,
Nick Hunt and myself,
ElÃas de Andrés, enjoyed the company of a dozen folks, who initally were welcomed by a characteristic March day; rain in town, snow and wind up high. Our orientation day in Ashford would include a thorough evaluation of the forecast, a task that is, regardless, part of this program's curriculum. But in this case, with a close look at a promising improving trend which would keep us excited for the remaining of the day.
The next morning, with packs ready and boots laced up, we headed into the park not without a delay due to the National Park's snow plows hard work to keep the road to Paradise open to individuals like us. Upon arriving to Paradise we rigged our equipment for the hike to what would be our first camp. Atop Marmot Hill, we built a fortified settlement "Denali style" for the evening. A "posh house" tent was erected to socialize at dinner time, just like on any expedition, really. It was a new sight for many in the group, which by now were enjoying expedition life barely 500ft above the parking lot.
Our hike to Muir started as we waved good bye to a weatherfront that had wiped western Washington for a few days, but not without great team effort breaking trail for most of the remaining 4,000 vertical feet to Camp Muir. Enjoying the clearest skies possible, our climbers who'd arrived from all parts of the country could make out in the horizon the central Oregon volcanoes of Mt. Hood and Jefferson without even squinting. To the north, some avalanches, along with ice and rock fall from the Nisqually Ice Cliff, reminded us of the interactions between the new loaded glaciers the spring-like sun of this day. The next 36 hours would continue to add to the tool kit the climbers were building for future expeditions and also, in order to face, of course, a potential climb the following day as the high pressure system was supposed to last for at least three days. Muir Peak, the AAA Gully, the Cowlitz Glacier... all provided, in the vicinity of Camp Muir, a perfect training ground.
In the morning of Thursday, March 13th, we woke up to yet another incredible day; clear skies had been swiped of clouds by the same winds that windblasted some of the upper slopes... as well as loaded others. Careful evaluation by the
guides on the go, determined a safe, wind-scoured route up the west side of the Ingraham Glacier, a seldom traveled route almost hugging Gibraltar Rock on its east side. Once at Camp Comfort, trail breaking efforts would begin again, and as the team team held it together, we were getting closer to the top in sometimes mid-calf deep snow on the now, more lower angled sections of the climb.
After 6 hours and 50 minutes of ascent, the team reached the crater rim to the now strengthening winds. But a new winter summit had been attained by another successful
RMI Winter Skills Seminar team. Our careful preparation to detail, our philosophy in approaching the mountain, the guidance of the leaders and the great application of the skills learned by the climbers allowed the feat... the
RMI way!
The next day, in a deja vu of what winter is truly like, we woke up to one-foot tall spindrifts and gusts of over 70mph at Camp Muir. Most of the guides, including myself, couldn't remember such conditions on the snowfield. Far away from feeling accomplished by the previous day's achievement, successfully navigating down to Paradise in such white-out conditions demanded now serious skill and perseverance. A team of now well-trained climbers, learned their last lesson of this winter seminar; the summit is only back at the car. Three hours later we'd bypass the remains of our camp on day 1, and as the winds decreased at 6,000ft and visibility came back to reasonable, we reached the Paradise parking lot. Celebratory drinks and a dinner over future climbing plans with the climbers was the perfect closure to a week on the frigid, yet amazing environment of winter on
Mt. Rainier.
Come play, climb and learn with
RMI! Satisfaction guaranteed.
ElÃas de Andrés
RMI Senior Guide
January 19, 2014
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
Cotopaxi summit!
We woke up at 11pm to a breakfast of coffee, tea, oatmeal and bread. We finished our packing in the dark with the rest of the hut's inhabitants before beginning our 9-hour summit bid. We got off to a bit of a stressful start when we realized that someone from a different climbing group had accidentally taken
Adam's climbing helmet, but we weren't going to let that get in the way of our climb. (The helmet was returned later in the afternoon, once we returned to the huts after the climb.)
It was windy and snowy as we stepped outside around midnight, and that continued for the first hour during the hike up to the toe of the glacier. But soon after donning our crampons and ice axes, the weather mellowed out and the good luck we've been having with the weather on this trip continued for the rest of our ascent: the clouds cleared, the winds died down, and for the next 5 hours to the summit, the weather could only be described as mild and pleasant. At one point, we could see an active lightening storm beyond the lights of Quito and were grateful that we weren't experiencing the same.
The initial climbing on the glacier was steep, but not too difficult. These moderate angles soon gave way to steeper slopes that had us rest-stepping our way up. The dry snow made traction difficult (even with our crampons), so as the terrain became more exposed, we had to kick hard with our feet to really gain purchase. An exhausting endeavor at 19k feet!
In 6 hours and 15 minutes, we had made it to the top! The group's previous high altitude climbing on
Cayambe and Antisana had definitely gotten us into shape for this climb. We moved well and as a team the entire way up! As we pulled on to the summit, the sun was just beginning to rise and we got a quick look into the summit crater. We didn't stay for long, though, since the winds picked up as we snapped our group photo. After 15 minutes up top, we began our descent.
Not only was our group strong on the ascent, but we rocked our descent, too! Despite some rather high winds at times, knocking us around a bit on narrow ridges, we continued to move well and made it back to the hut in just under three hours.
Back at the huts, we packed up our gear and descended to the parking lot, where we met up again with Victor and the magic bus. We were whisked away to La Cienega, a hotel that looks more "castle" than "hacienda", and after taking showers, we met up over dinner and a couple of games of Wits and Wagers, reflecting on our trip as a whole.
Tomorrow we head back to Quito and begin our journey back home. See you soon!
RMI Guide Nick Hunt
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You guys are doing awesome! We have been following the blog. Hope the weather is beautiful for you Nicky and Bob! <3 Jay and Cara!
Posted by: Cara Marton on 5/25/2014 at 4:43 pm
Hey Steven Hart, glad to hear all is going well! I have been following the blog daily.
Wishing you and the team good weather, be safe and enjoy. Hope the bites are helping with sustained energy as you climb McKinley. So impressive!
Bi
Posted by: Bianca on 5/25/2014 at 12:41 pm
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