Entries By solveig waterfall
RMI Guides
Mike Haugen and
Solveig Waterfall and their Four Day Summit Climb Team reached the top of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported clear and beautiful weather with light winds of about 10 mph. The team has started their descent and will be back at
RMI Basecamp this Afternoon.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
May 31, 2014, 2:11 pm PT
We are still here at Kahiltna Base camp.
We received another foot of new snow overnight and it shows no sign of slowing or stopping.
We are all staying hopeful that the weather will break sometime in the next few days and we can finally get a big meal and that long awaited hot shower!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 30, 2014 - 6:29 pm PT
Our team is still at
Kahiltna Base Camp waiting for the weather to improve so that we can fly back to Talkeetna. This is day 23 of our trip and we're all getting antsy in anticipation of a hot shower, food, and flush toilets.
We picked up another eight inches of snow over night, and the precipitation has continued pretty much all day. We're hoping for a break in the weather in the next few days so that planes can get in to Base Camp.
That's pretty much all the news from this end.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
May 29, 2014 - 3:55 pm PT
We awoke again to the faint patter of snow hitting our tents rainfly. Sticking our head out revealed slightly better visibility than when we tucked away in our sleeping bags last night. Looking east you could make out the lower features of Mount Hunter and looking west you could scarcely make out the lower flanks of Foraker. Sometime late morning the clouds began to break ever so slightly and the sun poked its head in through the clouds just enough to cause the many teams waiting here at camp to stir. Over 14" of new snow has fallen since we first arrived and that's a concern for when our flights are able to pick us up. The accumulated snow makes it difficult for the small bush planes to take off from the glacier. So an effort was organized to gather the folks in camp to strap on there snowshoes and skis and go pack down the take off zone. Shortly after our task was finished the clouds descended and took over the southeast fork of the
Kahiltna again. It's early afternoon now and we're still patiently waiting for conditions to improve, but with plenty of food and camp becoming busy with teams moving down from the upper mountain our team is biding their time making new friends and reacquainting with teams we shared time with at 14 camp. All is well here from the Kahiltna. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Steve Gately and team
On The Map
May 28, 2014 - 10:18am PT
Good morning from
Base Camp!
We are listening to the snow fall while we sit in our tents, and although it seems bright and cheery from inside the orange nylon walls, this weather system has settled in and the South East Fork is thick with clouds.
We made quick work of the walk down from 14 yesterday, stopping in at 11 Camp to dig up our cache and say hello to Brent, Leah, Nick, and their team.
It's much warmer down here, but consequently the snow is wet, heavy, and saturating, so we are all enjoying more time sitting "indoors" of sorts.
Hopefully we get a break in the storm soon and K2 Aviation can get us back to Talkeetna!
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team.
May 26, 2014 - 10:21 pm PT
Today is day 19 of our expedition, with twelve of those days spent at the 14k Camp. The weather forecast is not looking good for a summit attempt, as a significant weather system is supposed to hit
Denali tonight, bringing snow and wind tomorrow. High winds are forecasted to persist for the next ten days. If this forecast verifies we will be headed downhill shortly, as we still have to make it back down the Kahiltna Glacier to Basecamp before waiting for good enough weather to fly back to Talkeetna. We will definitely wake up early tomorrow morning to see if we get lucky with a quick summit window, but none of us are holding our breaths. We will let you know how the weather treats us tomorrow.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 25, 2014 - 6:27 pm PT
Our team is spending another day at the
14k Camp today, with strong winds apparent up high again. We're hoping to take advantage of a brief window of calmer winds this week in order to take a crack at the summit. We're hoping to move to high camp tomorrow if the weather allows. We've got our fingers crossed, as tomorrow will be day 19 of this expedition and the shot clock is winding down.
We'll let you know how it all plays out.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 24, 2014 - 11:24 pm
Patience. Climbers looking to come to the big mountains of the world often focus mostly on
physical training. I need the strength to climb this steep section, the strength to get to the top. What about the strength to wait out weather for a few days, a week,12 days!? Patience is a crucial component of the mental strength needed to not only succeed in the worlds great ranges but stay safe and return home. Luckily we have a great team that seems to understand this model and is doing a fantastic job of staying patient.
Today was actually a gorgeous day, blue skies and variable wind. So you might be asking yourself why are we still at 14,000'?. The problem here is that one great day does us very little good. We need 2-3 days of good weather. One good day to get to 17,000' camp, one good day to summit and one last good day to descend. With our forecast calling for extremely high winds and 1-2 feet of snow tomorrow, moving to a very exposed 17,000' camp would be foolish. So Alas! We must stay patient, hopeful and in good spirits, and it would appear we have just the team for the job. Plus I hear building snowmen is great for acclimatization!
All the best from
RMI Guides Steve, Mike, Solveig and team!
On The Map
May 23, 2014
High winds aloft again thwarted our plans to move to
high camp today.
The team enjoyed another rest day, and we have now joined forces with
Pete VanDeventer and his team, who arrived a few days ago, and together have built ourselves quite the RMI compound here in the Genet Basin.
After breakfast, Mike, Steve, and I made a quick lap down to 11 Camp to dig up our cache and retrieve any usable food items, extra gas, and personal supplies to help us extend our stint on the mountain.
We were hoping to get some promising news from the weather forecast this evening, but it sounds like we are going to have to dig our heels in and hang on, as high winds and multiple feet if snow are predicted over the next few days.
On a positive note, we scored some brownies and oreo's from a descending team, and thankfully Mike's frozen Kindle came back to life. We are now all happily entertained campers (and snackers) at 14,000', prepared to ride out this weather system!
Small miracles....
RMI Guide
Solveig Waterfall & Team
May 22, 2014 - 6:44 pm PT
We had grand plans of moving to
high camp today, and awoke early to clear skies above and relatively warm temps. We started stoves and began the process of packing sleeping bags and organizing gear, but before the water even had time to boil, a cap began to build on the upper mountain and lenticulars formed over Mt. Foraker to our south west. We watched as plumes of snow, sublimating from the west buttress and 17,000' Camp, began to stream to the south.
Better to sit here at 14 camp and drink more coffee, we decided.... Although now we are out of coffee....
The team is in good spirits and we will keep you posted as the situation continues. Fingers aggressively crossed that this weather breaks soon!
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall
On The Map
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Congratulations, Bernt. Cant wait to hear about it when you get back to ME.
Posted by: Julie on 6/9/2014 at 12:39 pm
What an accomplishment- Matt Orr and Peter Wooding….and the entire team. Can’t wait to have you back to hear stories and see pictures. Could not have asked for a more beatiful day for your adventure. Love, Jen
Posted by: Jen Orr on 6/7/2014 at 4:29 pm
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