Entries By solveig waterfall
Once again the weather has been nothing less than spectacular for us up here on
Denali. After a breakfast of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and bagels to start the day, we headed back downhill to retrieve our cache of gear at 9,500'. We arrived back at the 11k camp a few minutes after 2pm, with plenty of time to rest in the afternoon. As well as resting, eating, and drinking, we had a couple of chores to accomplish, namely building snow walls to fortify our camp and sorting our gear to cache up higher, which we anticipate doing tomorrow. The weather forecast looks good for tomorrow, so if it verifies we'll take advantage and get a cache in up high, likely at Windy Corner, around 13,500'.
All of us on the first
RMI Denali expedition would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in our lives.
Thanks for keeping track of our progress. We'll keep you posted with updates as we continue this awesome adventure.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 10, 10:50 pm PT
Well, the weather continues to treat us well up here on the Kahiltna Glacier. We moved from
Camp 2 to Camp 3 (11,200') in beautiful, sunny weather; a light breeze kept us from over heating as we climbed up towards Kahiltna Pass. Once at camp we spent a few hours digging in and establishing a comfortable living situation. A well-earned dinner of quesadillas with fresh vegetables filled our stomachs before we crawled into our sleeping bags for the evening.
The weather forecast remains good, and tomorrow we will go down to 9500' to make a "back carry" and retrieve the extra equipment we left there in order to make our loads more manageable for the journey to camp 3. We'll be in touch again tomorrow.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
It's another splitter evening on the
Kahiltna Glacier. Our team worked hard this afternoon and it all paid off when we rolled into camp here at 9400' and enjoyed a few hours basking in the sunshine and casually building camp. Our group is becoming skilled in campsite construction, and we are sitting quite comfortably here in our massive snow fort. With Ski Hill out of the way and in the past, we are all looking forward to our move to 11,000' tomorrow.
The team is doing well, spirits are high, the weather forecast looks promising, and we are all excited about the progress we've made and the climbing still ahead!
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team
On The Map
Good morning everyone!
It's a beautiful day here on the lower
Kahiltna Glacier. Our team did an excellent job of moving to 7,800' at the base of Ski Hill yesterday. We got an early flight to base camp and spent a few hours getting organized and reviewing glacier travel techniques.
After a solid 8 hours in the sleeping bags we are again packing and looking uphill in the direction of 9,500'.
We'll be sure to check in after our move today!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
The 2014
RMI Expeditions Denali climbing season is officially underway. Our team spent yesterday in the town of Talkeetna readying our gear for flying on to the Kahiltna Glacier. An expedition of this magnitude necessitates a good deal of preparation, and while our planning and preparation has gone on for months now, we still had a lot of work to do.
The day started off with a team breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse before heading over to the National Park Service for our pre-trip orientation meeting. Then it was over to K2 Aviation's hangar to get our equipment ready for our glacier landing. This involved finalizing the packing of our personal kits as well as combing over the group gear, setting up tents, firing up stoves, and generally assuring that everything was in top working condition before loading it into the airplane.
The weather is forecast to be very good for flying, and expect to be on the Kahiltna Glacier by midday on Thursday. Hopefully that's the case and our next dispatch will be from the Alaska Range. We'll do our best to keep you up to date with the latest.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
March 31, 2014
Posted by: Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 6200'
Hello from 6200'!
We spent the day in Ashford yesterday organizing gear and getting our ski kits dialed in.
The road to Paradise was delayed in opening due to the 13" of new snow overnight!
We kept ourselves busy this morning tour planning and exercising our map and compass skills, while enjoying coffee and patiently waiting for the plows to finish their job.
The late arrival was worth it, and we made good time to our campsite here in the Upper slopes of the
Paradise Valley. After building a bomber camp we went out for a cocktail hour ski back down the valley a few hundred feet.
We are all cozy here in camp and looking forward to clear skies and more training tomorrow!
Cheers,
RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall, Bryan Hendrick, and the team!
December 19, 2013
Posted by: Casey Grom, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
Summit on Cotopaxi!!!
We awoke to start our climb from the Refugio at 16,000' in a misty cloud, but as we ascended the thick fog gave way to clear skies and stars. Our ascent took a direct route that brought 100% of our team to the summit of
Cotopaxi">Cotopaxi just as the sun began to rise.
We had a calm and relatively warm hour on the summit to make some calls and take photos while enjoying impressive views of the crater and surrounding volcanoes.
We are now all safely back in Quito and just returned from a delicious celebration dinner!
We are looking forward to being home with our friends and family soon!
RMI Guides
Casey Grom and
Solveig Waterfall
On The Map
December 18, 2013
Posted by: Casey Grom, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 16,000'
After almost two days of rest at the lovely Chilcabamba the team is feeling refreshed and excited for
Cotopaxi. We had a leisurely breakfast and then finished our packing before loading up the van and heading uphill to reach the parking lot that allows us easy access to the mountain. The parking lot sits at about 15,000' and the climbers hut is just about a 1,000' above that. Our timing was perfect today as we hiked to the hut just after a small snow squall and shortly before the weather came back in. Lucky for us!
Our plan tonight is to get up around 11pm again and hopefully be climbing shortly after midnight. I'm expecting the climb take us around 7 hours if all goes according to plan.
Keep your phones nearby tomorrow morning. A lucky winner will make a summit phone call if the weather allows.
Wish us luck
RMI Guide Casey Grom and team
On The Map
December 17, 2013
Posted by: Casey Grom, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 12,000'
We all enjoyed a restful, relaxing, and rejuvenating day off at the Chilcabama Eco Lodge just outside the Cotopaxi National Park. The Hacienda sits at about 12,000', which after our summit on
Cayambe feels like sea level!
Our team took advantage of the thicker air with a variety of afternoon activities. Some of us participated in a cribbage tournament, some took naps, a few motivated folks went for a scenic jog, and we all spent time wandering the property taking in the beautiful plants and wildlife.
During the pre-dinner hours we discussed packing strategy and the game plan for
Cotopaxi, and are excited and prepared to tackle our next objective tomorrow.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guides
Casey Grom and
Solveig Waterfall
On The Map
December 16, 2013
Posted by: Casey Grom, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 18,997'
Summit!
We did it, most of us anyway, but I have to wonder if those that turned around short of the summit didn't make a better decision. I say that because it was one of the toughest days I've had on
Cayambe in a long time. It was cold, windy, and snowy almost the entire day. The conditions were safe to climb in, but it was far from enjoyable. Six of our nine climbers made the summit and the three that chose to head down early did so because I believe they simply weren't enjoying it.
We started our day rather early with breakfast at 11pm and were walking shortly after midnight. The first hour of the climb went rather smoothly as we made our way to the start of the glacier. We took a short break to adjust layers, put our crampons on and rope up for the ascent. It seemed like as soon as we started walking the wind picked up and the snow began to blow. Unfortunately for us the blowing snow was coming straight down the glacier and directly into our faces. As we painfully made our way uphill, we had to stop and put on our Gore-tex to protect us from the conditions. We slowly battled our way for the next few hours taking short breaks and finally after seven trying hours stood on the summit. It was so windy on top we only stayed for just a few minutes before quickly descending back down the glacier.
Once safely back at camp the team made quick work of getting packed up and we headed down valley to thicker air and a wonderful cafe where we filled bellies before heading south to our home at Chilcabamba for the next few days. I'm sure everyone will sleep soundly tonight and we are looking forward to taking a rest day tomorrow.
Everyone is in good spirits!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
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Hi Deepak and team,
I’m glad to hear that the weather has been good. Sounds like you’ve been eating well, too.
Have fun, and make some music on the mountain!
Laura
Posted by: Laura on 5/12/2014 at 10:25 pm
Steve and team,
Glad to hear that all is going as planned. When the weather is great on the mountain life is great!
Hike well and be safe.
Dad
Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/12/2014 at 5:00 am
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