Entries By sam marjerison

Sunday, June 23, 2024 - 9:33 pm PT

There seemed to be general agreement that last night's sleep was a good one. That could mean that we are getting acclimatized to 14,000'. But it could also mean we were justifiably tired after yesterday's carry. Today was easy, in any case. We ate, took naps and sorted gear for the big move up tomorrow. It was calm and sunny through the morning, but the afternoon clouded up and light snow started falling. It still doesn't count as a storm though.

We just need a couple more good days. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison & Nick Sinipius 

Saturday, June 22, 2024 - 10:23 PM PT

Best day of the trip (so far)! Certainly as far as weather goes, this was a sweet day clear and cloudless at the start, calm and sunny throughout. But also, as far as climbing goes, this was the best. We left 14K at 9:30 AM, which was plenty cool as we were still in shadow.  We made steady progress up the steep glacial slopes -breaking a few people's personal altitude records in the process. And then we tackled the steeper ice of the fixed rope section. Topping out the ropes at 16,200 ft in perfect weather (basically we had light sweaters on) it was hard to resist forging on. We went another 90 minutes up the crest of the spectacular West Buttress, passing Washburn's Thumb, we reached 16,800 ft. There we dug a raven-proof cache and left our supplies. Our descent was careful but steady. We reached our 14K camp at 6:10 PM. We got in a good dinner before the sun went behind the mountain at 9 pm. Tomorrow we'll rest.

Best,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

First thing this morning it looked a little windy up on the West Buttress. That was enough to switch our program to a rest day at 14,000. Of course, the wind died down and neighboring teams had no trouble climbing today, but we were happy to rest. Clouds came and went during the day and there were a few snowflakes but overall, the good weather is sticking with us.

Tomorrow will work just fine for that carry.  

Best Regards,

The RMI Guides & Team

An easy-ish day at 14K. The weather stayed decent, a little cloudier, some snowflakes, but not really a concern. We ate a slow breakfast and then geared up. As expected, it was just 20 minutes descent to reach our cache and then an hour long slog to get it back up to camp. We napped through the afternoon and tried to catch up on hydration. Before dinner we did a short review of the techniques we'll use on the "fixed rope" section that gets us onto the West Buttress. If all goes well, we will carry up to about 16,200 ft tomorrow.

It was good to see Hanna Smith's RMI team come into camp this afternoon. They hit the top yesterday evening. We patted them on their backs and pumped them for info and tips on the route.  

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius & Team

Wednesday, June 19, 2024 - 10:19 pm PT

Such a difference to be camped at 14,000' on Denali.  Radically different views, of course, but it is also the feeling of finally being on the mountain rather than on the approach. Being above Windy Corner rather than below it. Being higher and colder. It wasn't easy, but we got here in good time today - 5.5 hours. We left 11,000' Camp at 9 AM and pulled up the now familiar hills. It was another good weather day, thankfully, and we could see way down the Alaska Range to Mt Spurr, the active volcano in the Tordrillo mts. We worked for hours to build our new home at 14,000' but finally got to relax in a new dining complex. Tomorrow we'll go back to our cache at 13,600' to bring in the food and fuel and the approach will be finished! 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

The cold shadows were still on us when we pulled out of camp at 8:30 this morning. But we were carrying loads up the steep "motorcycle hill" which warmed us. It was a thrill to top motorcycle and get onto "squirrel hill" and to be able to look out at the tundra to the NW. We were excited to get views of the Peters Glacier and up close views of the West Buttress of Denali. There was a cool breeze as we reached the "Polo Field" and so we briefly wondered whether we'd reach our goal. But the temps warmed and the wind dropped and we got around Windy Corner as hoped. It was stunning to come face to face with the South Peak of Denali. We dug a deep cache and buried the supplies and finally just sat enjoying the views for a few minutes. It was a pleasant and "easy" climb back down to camp. We'd managed the round trip in a respectable 6.5 hrs. That left enough of the afternoon for resting in warm tents. We'll hope to move up tomorrow.

Best Regards, 

RMI Guides Dave, Sam, Sam & Nick

Monday, June 17, 2024 - 10:25 pm PT

We are starting to feel quite lucky after another calm, beautiful day. We got up at a leisurely 6:30 AM and had a breakfast of bagels and bacon. By 9 AM we were walking downhill to 10,000 ft to pick up our cached supplies.  Down took 20 min, up then took about 90 min, including a nice rest break. It was just starting to get good and hot when we got back and dove into our tents for shelter from the sun. We didn't come out again until 5:30 PM when we suited up for a short review of the climbing techniques we plan to employ tomorrow. The goal would be to carry a load up and around "Windy Corner" using crampons and ice axes (rather than the snowshoes and ski poles we've been using). The team is excited to see some new terrain.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We're at 11,000 ft and loving it.  The team did strong work this morning getting out of camp by 5 AM and onto the now familiar route.  Packs were heavy but our sleds were lighter than yesterday. We made great time and everyone seemed in high spirits to be leaving the Kahiltna and getting to where we could see out.  The great weather continued. We were in bright sunshine for building our new camp at the foot of "Motorcycle Hill".   Tomorrow we'll drop down to retrieve our cache at 10,000, which shouldn't take too long.  Then we'll prep for going higher. 

Best Regard, 

RMI Guides Dave, Sam H, Sam M, Nick

Saturday, June 15, 2024 - 10:02 pm PT

Another beautiful day on Denali, which started at 2:30 AM for our team. We were snowshoed up and moving uphill by 5 AM. Conditions were excellent for travel. The surface was frozen up just right and the day was cool enough to keep us from sweating as we got on "Ski Hill".  We moved well for four hours to reach 10,000' There at the head of the 49 mile Kahiltna Glacier, we dug a cache and buried our supplies to prevent attack by ravens. It took just under two hours to get back down to camp, by which time we were ready to get in the tents and out of the hot sun. We napped away the afternoon and rehydrated. Tomorrow we'll climb to 11,000' Camp.

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison and Nick Sinapius

The skies were clear early this morning, and so it was the perfect time to leave basecamp as the snow surface was nicely frozen and travel was "easy". We were roped up and on our way by 4 AM, watching the sunlight play on the upper slopes of Mts Foraker and Hunter.  Glacier conditions were excellent. There were few open crevasses, and the route was fairly direct.  We pulled into our destination -the base of "ski hill" - in just four and a half hours. 

Camp then went up relatively quickly and we got in out of the intense midday sun for some quality naps.  A breeze came up in the evening, but by then we'd built a dining tent and were able to enjoy dinner in peace. 

We intend to make a carry tomorrow, to 10,000 ft if possible. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius