Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Well, we have checked all of our boxes to take off, but we weren't able to track down flyable weather to get us in to Base Camp on Denali. Fog rolled in first thing this morning on the glacier landing strip, and we spent the day on standby, waiting for it to clear. Instead, moisture continued to stream into the Alaska range, and rain came off and on to Talkeetna. With a lot of daylight up here this time of year, our flying window is long, and we stuck it out until 8pm, when we finally accepted another night in town and checked into the hotel again. What do you do on a standby day in Talkeetna? Nap in the hanger, download more movies, chat, and explore the curio shops on Main Street, ready to drop everything and run back to the hanger at a moment's notice should things clear. All of that is punctuated by frequent trips to the coffee shop. We'll enjoy another night in a bed and wake up tomorrow to see what the weather gives us. This is the game that we are playing in Alaska!
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford, and team
Looking at my Brad Washburn photo of Denali, and thinking of you all up on the Kahiltna Glacier - good luck to everyone - and special love to Henry and Caleb!
Posted by: Jennifer Huntington on 5/26/2018 at 11:51 am
Thinking of you Danny…. everyday. Praying for all of you! I m sure this will be one amazing experience!
Posted by: Ken and Beckie Ruggles on 5/25/2018 at 9:54 pm
Our day in Talkeenta progressed at a pretty leisurely pace. We started off with our orientation at the National Park Service after a visit to the coffee shop, and followed that with brunch at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, lest old traditions fail. Then it was into gear: double checking everything we brought, sorting, and packing for the plane flight to Kahiltna Base Camp. With our bags weighed and stacked, ready to be loaded into the Otters, we have done all we can do. It's in the hands of the pilots and weather now. We will head out to town for dinner, and hope to wake up to clear skies and flying weather!
We'll keep you posted,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford, and team
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Christina Dale reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver at 12,300'. The team turned due to unstable snow conditions. Pete reported mostly clear skies with a thin cap over the summit, and winds of about 20 mph from the north. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guides Pete VanDeventer and Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Pete reported winds of about 40 mph, but clear skies as they climbed above the marine layer. The team has started their descent and are en-route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Hannah McGowan led their Four Day Summit Climb teams August 29 - 1 September to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Pete reported light winds and clear skies. The teams enjoyed the views from the summit before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The Mt. Elbrus North Side expedition is a wrap. As I write, I am sitting in the Amsterdam airport, and the team is in the process of scattering to the winds; some will continue traveling, while others are headed home to family and friends. It's amazing that the trip is already over, as it flew by. We spent yesterday on a walking tour of the best cathedrals, gardens, and palaces of St. Petersburg. The sheer size and scale of St. Isaac's Cathedral was stunning, the luminous mosaics of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood were fascinating, and the history of the founding of the city and derive during WWII were enlightening. We wandered through the Hermitage, as enthralled with the architecture and ornate rooms as we were with the collection of some of the world's finest art. Degas, Renoir, Michalangelo, Picasso, and so many more were on display. We finished up the trip with a delightful boat tour in the River Nieva, seeing St. Petersburg from the vantage that most in 1800 would have seen it, via the canals. Finally we gathered one last time at the Jerome for a last celebration dinner before we parted.
It's been a fantastic trip, with an smashing bunch of new friends. We had great weather, a perfect summit day, built a hut, and tried to become a bit more worldly along the way. So many thanks to this group of climbers. Mike and I had so much fun, and we look forward to crossing paths in the mountains again soon!
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Mike Uchal
Pete and Mike-Thanks for taking great care of the team! This wife and mother appreciates what you guys do. I am looking forward to hearing all about the trip. God Bless.
Posted by: Christy Cunningham on 8/16/2017 at 1:33 pm
We said goodbye to Elbrus Base Camp and our newly made friends yesterday morning and climbed back into the 4x4 sprinter van for the drive out to Kislovodsk, but not before putting another couple of hours into the hut, finishing the roof. What's left is some trim work and flooring. It was fun to leave knowing that we had left a small mark of our passing, and had helped in some small way.
The drive out was as exhilarating as the drive in, bouncing and grinding our way up the rough dirt track with the steep green slopes of the Caucasus just to the right of our wheels. Once we reached pavement everyone let out a collective breath and settled in. Once in Kislovodsk, we did what every climber does after a long expedition: took showers, shaved, and went looking for food and drink. Those comforts of town feel so much more pleasurable after being deprived of them for a little while. We made merry, celebrating one last night as a full team, and convincing the DJ at the restaurant to bring a little of home back by playing some Garth Brooks.
This morning we will part ways with a few of our team members as they head for home, and the rest of us head to St. Petersburg to spend a day exploring the art, architecture and culture of another great Russian city. We'll try to send some photos!
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Mike Uchal, and team
With little to do today besides organize our gear for the next leg of our adventure, we might have wondered how we would occupy ourselves for a day in Base Camp. The Cunninghams took care of that worry, organizing a barn raising of sorts to build a hut that our outfitter has been meaning to put together. With furring strips, floor boards, and siding located, we went to work, only slightly hampered by dodgy extension cords that didn't always provide enough power from the generator to run a drill. The activity kept everyone occupied, and just as we put up the last siding on the walls and were considering the roof, the clouds moved over and the rain started falling.
We've been resting in tents, staying dry since. Chances are this storm quits soon, as each one has throughout our expedition, and we'll enjoy a last night in base camp before returning to Kislovodsk early tomorrow. From there it will be in to St. Petersburg and the finale of our trip. We're looking forwards to showers and Shashlik (the local barbeque) tomorrow.
From Russia with love,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Mike Uchal, and team
These updates have been great!
Good to see that the Cunninghams are doing well. Take care all, and prayers for a safe return.
Posted by: Deb Thummel on 8/13/2017 at 6:18 pm
Congratulations on a great Summit and teamwork in basecamp! Enjoy the rest of your journey and celebrate a great climb.
All good at home but look forward to Lee’s return home!! Love Ya!
Yesterday's long day let everyone find some hard sleep through the night. The sun rises early this far north though, and by 7, we were all out of our tents working on breakfast. When we get to cache loads above throughout trips, our descents often get heavy. We took several meals up high in case of weather days, but with our perfect weather, we didn't use them. That made for some larger loads on the descent, but since we only had to walk downhill for a few hours, everyone doubled down and got the job done. By just after noon, we were in Base Camp, with tents set up, and a fast moving, rapidly darkening cloud approaching. We popped up tents, and then sure of our homes, set about to enjoying the low altitudes and green grass. We started an energetic volley ball game, Russia v. US. in the end we really aren't sure who won, as each team had bright spots, but the approaching rain forced a draw.
As we understand it right now, it is high tourist season in the Caucasus, and there are not hotel rooms available tomorrow on short notice, so we will spend one more day at Base Camp, and them make our way to Kislovodsk. It's really not that bad a deal since we are in a beautiful valley with hiking, volley ball, and springs that out forth sparkling water naturally.
For now, we are happy to listen to the sheep baa, the shepherds whistle, and enjoy each other's company after a very successful climb.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Mike Uchal, and team
Kelly and Josh,
You guys are using your carpentry skills, so remember that GMS needs a picture hung!
Love you guys, and so glad the team had such a great mountain top experience.
See you soon.
Posted by: Sandy Cunningham on 8/12/2017 at 10:59 am
Congratulation everyone!.. Enjoyed following each day.
Hi, this is Pete Van Deventer with the Elbrus-Northside crew calling in. We are back at Camp 1 after a really successful summit day. Couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. We woke up this morning to warm temps, clear skies, and not a breath of wind. We made our way up relatively quiet until we merged with the southside route at the Saddle, and then we could see the line of climbers coming from that route, but we made our own switchbacks and stayed out of the traffic and cruised up to the summit in pretty good style. One hundred percent of our folks stood on top today. A really good day all the way around. A special shout out to Josh, who ended up being pretty motivated and roped up with our local guide, Sasha, and they made another trip from there over to the east side in only about an hour, so they tagged both summits. We all descended to Lenz Rocks and stopped there for about an hour and packed up camp, and then made our way back down to Moraine Camp, Camp 1. We are tucked in here, inside our tents and we're out to enjoy a pizza dinner from Nina, the cook here. She makes amazing stuff. The plan is tomorrow to head down to Base Camp and we'll take our time getting down there and spend the evening. Then the cars will come for us the day after that to take us to Kislovodsk. Everybody will be back in touch with loved ones soon and everyone sends their best. It's been a really good day here on the northside of Elbrus. Everybody's super excited. Talk later.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer calls after a successful Elbrus summit via the Northside.
.jpg)
Looking at my Brad Washburn photo of Denali, and thinking of you all up on the Kahiltna Glacier - good luck to everyone - and special love to Henry and Caleb!
Posted by: Jennifer Huntington on 5/26/2018 at 11:51 am
Thinking of you Danny…. everyday. Praying for all of you! I m sure this will be one amazing experience!
Posted by: Ken and Beckie Ruggles on 5/25/2018 at 9:54 pm
View All Comments