Pete Van Deventer called and the team is at 17,200' and are positioned for their summit attempt. The weather changed and the winds were high so they postponed their attempt one day. The team will be going for it tomorrow and hope to give us a call from the summit.
RMI Guides Mike Walter & Pete Van Deventer
Hey guys, this is Mike Walter calling from high camp on Denali, 17,200'. We're all doing great. We are all tucked into our sleeping bags. We moved up here yesterday and rested today. We are hoping for good weather to go for the summit tomorrow, which would be Saturday, May 26th. The forecast is for pretty light winds and some clouds so it is looking promising. We'll give you guy a shout either from up top or back at camp hopefully. Alright. We'll see you.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hey all! Greetings from 14,000 ft. Yesterday was a busy day as several teams including ourselves, packed up camp at 11k and headed for our advanced basecamp at 14k. Temperatures were cool and the sky was bluebird, making ideal conditions for climbing. Windy Corner gave us a little taste with a chilly breeze blowing as we approached. As soon as we rounded it, however, the breeze died and the sun turned on the microwave.
Move days are hard work. Not only do you have a long day with heavy packs, but at the end of it you have to spend several hours reestablishing camp. The team did great and we moved into a quite comfortable camp; important because this is where we will stage from and wait for our weather window to head for the summit. Today we will head down to retrieve our cache at 13k, and spend the rest of the day fortifying camp with large snow walls so that we are prepared for a storm.
We want to wish Maile a super happy birthday, and we're glad she's up here celebrating it with us!
Hasta luego,
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and team
Happy Birthday Mai!!! We had a cold beer in your honor! Glad you guys made it to 14 camp—looks incredible! Safe climbing! xo
Posted by: Jenny on 5/20/2012 at 7:10 am
Glad you’re having great weather and time. Not so great here (weather wise). Missed Mike at Torch Run today. I ran with CJ this year and Officer Umbs beat us. Furry kids up to their same old tricks and more…
Hi all!
We are back at 11,000' camp after a successful and gorgeous carry to cache gear at 13,500 ft, just past Windy Corner. When we woke this morning it looked like Windy Corner might live up to it's name; banners of snow were flying high off the nearby peaks from a strong north wind. We had a great smoked salmon breakfast and dragged our feet in camp for a bit to see if the wind would die, and it played ball! The carry was warm and calm, and the group moved great, happy to be free of our sleds, and to have lighter loads.
The weather forecast is sounding stellar for the next handful of days. We're going to make a game time decision tomorrow morning whether to move to the 14,000' camp or stay one more day at 11,000'. We'll let you know!
That's all for now; we're going to crawl into our warm down bags and get some shut eye.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the crew
This morning we awoke to our first views of the Alaska Range. After sitting out the storm in Talkeetna and flying on with clouds still in the area, we were pleasantly surprised with a beautiful sunny day. Our first big hill of the trip greeted us right out of camp, but even with this challenge we moved well up to camp at 9,500'. The Kahiltna Glacier is in great shape which made our travels nice and fluid. Base camp received 3 feet of snow while we sat in Talkeetna, but this just made for great navigating and smooth sailing for us. As we moved into the steeps of Ski Hill, there was a perfect trough to keep our sleds in line and upright. With our first challenges behind us, we rolled into camp around 5:00 and made a yummy birthday dinner for Carl...61 today!! Now, we're resting up for another big push tomorrow to 11,000' camp. Happy Mother's Day to all of our moms! Goodnight.
RMI Guides Mike Walter, Pete Van Deventer & Maile Wade
Hey all! Our previous two day's waiting game turned to hustle and bustle yesterday as the skies opened and allowed the planes to fly. Our flights left right after breakfast, and we landed at basecamp, resplendent with a new layer of snow. It's still early in the season, and basecamp was quiet, with just a handful of climbers waiting to fly off, or start their climb uphill.
After a couple hours spent packing, rigging sleds, and digging our cache, we were on our way, dropping down the SE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to begin our ascent up the main fork. The skies quickly closed and it began to snow, obscuring the views and dropping the temperature significantly. We made camp in light snow last night, but this AM woke to sun and clear skies! The plan is to make a move to our next camp at 9,600' today.
Happy birthday to team member Carl Devendorf, and everyone would like to wish their moms a Happy Mother's Day!
We'll be in touch soon.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the gang
The May 8th Mt. McKinley Expedition led by RMI Guides Mike Walter, Pete Van Deventer and Maile Wade is now en route to Base Camp. The weather in Talkeetna was clear this morning and the team headed for the K2 Aviation hanger.
Good luck on your expedition!
We spent the day waiting for our weather window to fly on to the glacier, but two feet of snow at Base Camp last night and continuing snow through today have so far prevented us from making it on. Rather than idly twiddling our thumbs, we decided to make the best of a warm dry hanger and practice our crevasse rescue skills and self rescue systems. Everyone is feeling better about their systems after a lot of practice and playing with knots and tricks. We still have one and a half hours to go before the planes are grounded for the night, increasingly it is looking like tomorrow morning is more likely for flying. Hopefully our next post will come from there glacier!
Best,
RMI Guide Peter Van Deventer
Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with us today, and we were unable to fly in to Base Camp once again. While it seems as though the weather is improving, the conditions were not conducive to flying; no planes left Talkeetna today with the intention of trying to land at Base Camp. We took advantage of the down time today and did some dry-land review of crevasse rescue. There were also some pretty competitive games of ping pong going on this afternoon in the Hangar as we waited on standby for the weather to clear. We’re all eager to fly, but we understand that climbing Denali requires patience. Hopefully we get a break tomorrow and can fly in to Base Camp and establish ourselves on the mountain. In the meantime, we’re enjoying Talkeetna.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Yesterday was the first full day of the 2012 RMI Denali season. After a great team breakfast at the historic Talkeetna Roadhouse, we headed to the National Park Service for our pre-climb orientation meeting, followed by a full day of packing and sorting our gear at the K2 Aviation hangar.
We're all excited for this trip to start, and optimistic that we will be able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier today. There are some clouds in the sky, and a little precipitation in the forecast, so we'll see if the planes are able to fly or not. Hopefully our next dispatch is sent from the glacier...either way, we'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Good luck guys (and gal)! I hope the sooner you get on the glacier, the sooner you get off. :) Stay warm and stay safe.
Stephenie
(Kyle H’s girlfriend)
Posted by: Stephenie on 5/11/2012 at 9:26 am
Fingers crossed the weather cooperates today and you get on the glacier. Here’s to good flying conditions and getting this show on the road! Good luck to the team. XO
Christina D
Posted by: Christina Doren on 5/11/2012 at 9:01 am
Spring came very early in Aspen, CO this year, with the last two weeks bringing 75 degree temps almost daily. Monday, Aspen based guides Lindsay Mann and Pete Van Deventer decided to take a break from spring skiing conditions to start getting into rock climbing shape for the summer. Independence Pass, just outside of Aspen, was warm, dry, and provides an ideal training ground, with a plethora of trad and sport cragging routes. Despite a relatively small snow year in Aspen, both Lindsay and Pete have had a lot of days of skiing and ski touring that have prepped them well for upcoming May Denali climbs. Monday was a great day to take a break from skiing, catch some sun, and get comfortable on rocks again!
Now we have to think of you for a whole another day already because of the stinking weather! NOT!!
You know of course that your Mom and I would be thinking of you even if you were not on a mountain such as Denali!
Hope it happens today for you all.. Be safe and I love you Mom.xoxoxo
Posted by: Ginny & Bob on 5/28/2012 at 10:33 am
I’m on pins and needles. Miss you, Rich. XO
Posted by: Christina Doren on 5/28/2012 at 9:31 am
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