Entries from Denali

Monday, June 27, 2022 - 10:52 pm PT

This was a fine day of climbing.  We were up at 5 AM and eating, packing and getting ready for almost three hours.  We pulled out of 11,000 at 7:50 AM.  There were steady breezes but it wasn’t particularly cold as we went up Motorcycle and Squirrel Hills in the shadows.  It was blue sky overhead today, so it was definitely one of the nicer days we’ve had (though none have been bad).   Sitting in the sunshine at Windy Corner, we could clearly see the Tordrillo Mountains anchoring the Alaska Range to the Southwest.  Most eyes were on Mount Foraker though as it seems to get bigger every time we see it.  We were around the corner without any difficulties and then out of the wind as we made our way up into Genet Basin.  We pulled into the camp at 14,200 ft to join Andy Bond’s RMI team (who are several days ahead of us) and practically all the other teams on the mountain.  We’d made it up in five and a half not too hard hours.  Despite the fact that we were working at altitude to build a camp, conditions were quite calm and easy, so the work wasn’t too bad.  We climbed into tents to hide from the sun and took our customary afternoon naps.  The team finished dinner (mac and cheese) which is always a good sign.  Tomorrow is an easier day -by design- just a short walk down to pick up our food and fuel above Windy Corner. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Monday, June 27, 2022 - 8:14 am PT

Good morning all!

What a walk we had! Leaving 14,000' Camp with sights on basecamp is a long journey. We woke at 10pm, packed our things, and were on the downward trend by midnight. It felt good to be walking downhill but pulling a sled was less than desirable. But with so much motivation it made it possible. With the help from another RMI team, who dug up our 11,000' cache, we made fast work reorganizing and moving on. The glacier down below has changed a little. We zig and zagged left and right to avoid big crevasses. Hours went by, miles gained, elevation lost. As we got near basecamp we did a quick crevasse rescue scenario, before making our last uphill walk. Heart break hill is truly heartbreaking with tired legs, tired bodies, and tired minds. But as usual the team dug real deep and blew up it.

After a few hours napping at base and some luck the clouds parted in Talkeetna and the pilot took off. The sounds of those Otter planes were glorious music to our ears! A shower, a toilet, a beer, food, and sleep never felt or sounded so good. The team earned every amenity possible from such a long hard day. I am thoroughly impressed and proud of all the team members. It has been a fantastic journey. One for the books! Here's to healing sunburns, chapped lips, and sore muscles.

Congrats team, you made it!

RMI Guides Hannah, Kiira, and Dan

Sunday, June 26, 2022 - 10:37 pm PT

It’s been another great day on Denali. We had a hearty breakfast of granola, oatmeal and lots of coffee. The conversation in the posh was lively as it meandered from Halloween traditions to serial killers’ preference for smooth peanut butter to octopus reproduction.

Then we got to the work of the day - caching our summit gear at 16,200'.  After an “easy” hike, we stowed our trekking poles, broke out the ascenders and hauled ourselves and our gear up the fixed lines to just below Washburn’s Thumb.

There were many teachable moments going both up and down the fixed lines, but we managed to move efficiently and safely. Our readers will have to wait for their loved ones to return to explain the arm wrap descent technique. We gained 2,200 vertical feet over three hours and then another hour and a half to get down. Team Euro once again led the charge and showed Team America how to walk up a hill.

We’ll dine early tonight on soup and tortellini and head for the tents so our bodies can recover. Then one more rest day tomorrow and, with a bit of luck, we launch for High Camp on Tuesday.

RMI Climber Hyde

Sunday, June 26, 2022 - 9:56 pm PT

A full night’s sleep was had by all.  We got up for a leisurely breakfast at 8:30.  Followed by a leisurely lunch at 1 PM.  And there were naps.  Our run of good luck with the weather has continued.  It was partly cloudy today with some breezes blowing but it hasn’t been stormy at all and the forecast continues to be relatively stable.  There are very few teams here at 11,000 now as new arrivals to the mountain taper off with the end of the climbing season in sight.  We were happy to have Hannah Smith’s successful team pass through in the early morning hours as they made their way to the airstrip. 

All in all it was an excellent rest day and the team is ready for the big move to 14,000 ft.

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 10:04 pm PT

We did another 5 AM wake up.  It was cool in the morning shadows, but not uncomfortably so.   Breakfast fortified us for a 7 AM departure up the steep Motorcycle Hill.  To finally be in crampons rather than snowshoes felt great.  Our first rest break -midway up Squirrel Hill- gave us brand new views of the Peters Glacier and Denali’s Northwest Buttress, in addition to ever closer views of the formidable granite forming the end of the West Buttress.  We finished off Squirrel and came onto the “Polo Field” below the end of the Buttress.  One more pull got us to the saddle below Windy Corner where we took a break before tackling the corner itself.  The Corner is always exciting, traversing steep slopes with huge chunks of granite just above us and crevasses just below… all while trying not to stare too long at the Kahiltna Glacier far below, or at Mount Hunter and Mount Foraker in all their glory.  Finishing the Corner leaves one looking straight at Denali’s South Peak for the first time.  We cached food and fuel just beyond the corner, spending about 50 minutes there at 13,500 ft before starting down.  We actually walked down into a layer of wildfire smoke that had moved in.  Luckily the smoke didn’t stick around for too long.  We were back at camp at 1:30 PM and diving into the tents shortly afterward to get out of the intense high altitude sun. 

It was a good day of climbing and we’ve had a few now… so tomorrow looks good for a rest day to solidify our acclimatization before moving up. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 7:46 pm PT

Good evening all,

It's been quite a day and it's not even over yet. We woke to a chilly morning at 17,000' Camp. It made for a slow break down of camp and packing due to cold fingers and let's face it tired bodies from the day before. But with some effort we left camp and made our way to 14,000' Camp. Like usual it got real hot when we got low. By the time we arrived it was hot and we were tired. We opted to stay at 14,000' for the evening. Another RMI team helped set up our tents and gave us water. True team players. After shuffling gear and eating breakfast burritos for dinner we are all laying down for a few hours before we wake to start walking at midnight for the airstrip. It's going to be a long day but we've got this. Lots of motivation to propel us forward. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we will be flying back to civilization.

Time to nap,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Saturday, June 25, 2022 12:27 pm PDT

Today, we waked up at 6:30 am with a blue sky and still a beautiful view over the mountains. We ´ve had a nice warm drink and breakfast with Bagel cheese and bacon. We took off our tents, made ready our backpack.

We have filled up our 11000 cache with duffels bags, snow shoes and some foods. We started moving from 11,000' camp at 9:30am and come to 14,000’ camp at 2 pm. We went through motorcycle hill, polo field, squirrel point, windy corner. We didn’t see horses at Polo Field, but we heard noises of horses couple of time from the group :-) Getting higher, we saw the valley with the rivers getting water from the glaciers. We have been lucky with a Moon walked above our head.

We saw the beautiful Mount Hunter and the difficulty to climb this mountain.

When we arrived, we set our camp and are ready for the rest day tomorrow.

-Yann

Thanks to Yann and Sebastian for writing the last two dispatches in their 2nd and 3rd languages and giving our group a diverse and international feel.

Everyone is doing great, and we climb incredible strong.  Rest days have been filled with dance parties, great conversations and lots of food.

As we sit at 14,000 camp we’re enjoying another much deserved rest day. Are hope is to carry up the fixed lines tomorrow than wait for a weather window.

RMI Guide Andy Bond & Team

Easy day today!  We were up at 5 AM on another fine weather day at 11,000 ft.  Shortly after 7 AM we started walking downhill to retrieve our cached food and fuel at 9700 ft.  The low clouds had cleared out overnight and so as we came close to Kahiltna Pass at 10,000 ft we could see well out into the tundra and an endless series of lakes and ponds down in the lowland.  It took just over a half hour to reach our cache.  Thankfully the ravens hadn’t disturbed it (they’ve been known to end an expedition or two) and we dug it up and loaded up.  We got back up the hills in about 2 hrs.  During the day it was worth doing a little review and practice with avalanche beacons, some discussion of crampon and climbing techniques and a refresher on handling the ice axe. 

Tomorrow, the game changes a little as we take on steeper and more serious terrain.  Out of the snowshoes and into the crampons.  With all of that training we managed to fit in some excellent naps as well.  After dinner and storytelling, we got our packs and sleds ready for a carry tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Saturday, June 25, 2021 1:18 am PDT

Everything we worked for all came together today. We woke to nearly perfect weather conditions. It was game time. We packed and tied into the rope. A quick downhill gave away to steep terrain up the autobahn. Step by step we worked our way up the mountain. A breeze here and there kissed our cheeks, but all things considered was pretty calm until the summit ridge. One final steep uphill up pig hill brought us to the summit ridge. This is where the winds picked up. But we dug deep and pushed forward to the tippy top. What an accomplishment! The team trained hard, and it showed. They gave it their all and came out on top.

Congratulations team!!

Tired legs and bodies brought us back to our camp where we are resting up for two more big days walking to the airstrip.

Night everyone,

RMI Guides Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May and Team

Today was our first real rest day. The task was to do nothing, and we excelled at it.

After sleeping for about 12 hours, we got our aching bodies into the breakfast tent and were served several delicious courses to replenish as many calories as possible: bagels with bacon and salmon, cereals and breakfast burritos.

Happy and with full bellies, we dug comfortable resting places into the snow and spent most of the day out in the sun, listening to music, eating some more, chatting and just enjoying the amazing view over glaciers and clouds below us.

The day finishes with shredded beef burritos and the feeling that we are ready for another big day tomorrow, moving our camp to 14,000’ feet.

Sebastian and Team