Entries from Denali
May 30, 2021
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 11:35 pm PT
Sleeping in was mandatory this morning as we waited for the sun to hit camp. Rest was the name of the game today as a storm laid siege on the mountain. Wind battered the tents with occasional snow as we all practiced the art of not getting bored. We had a delicious and grand dinner which devolved into (surprisingly well informed) debates on which Disney characters were best. The weather will hopefully improve tomorrow and we’ll be able to get up and stretch our legs.
May 30, 2021
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 10:25 pm PT
The weather that was forecast to show up, came in the late morning. Everyone enjoyed quality tent time with movies, cards, and even some song writing. Stay tuned for the artists debut. We see improving weather conditions in the forecast, and are hoping to make some moves in the coming days.
RMI Guides Matias, Chase, Pete, and team
Praying for better weather to continue your journey. Praying for you, Luke and all of the team!
Posted by: Rae Wilson on 5/30/2021 at 7:19 pm
I have been following the blog everyday with growing excitement when you have a climbing day. Sounds like everything is going good. Be safe. Mom
Posted by: Becky smith on 5/30/2021 at 1:17 pm
May 30, 2021
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 4:19 pm PT
With snow falling through the night and low visibility in the early morning we decided that a weather day at Camp 1 was better than packing up a wet camp and moving to a crowded 11,200’ Camp. We got some solar on the tents which makes for good napping. Lots of good conversations over a big breakfast of hash browns, eggs and bacon. Our plan is to move to 11,200’ tomorrow in better conditions. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to moving uphill.
RMI Guide Mike King
Take in Every moment and treasure them!!! Climb High!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/31/2021 at 3:01 am
Love my daily update. Sounds like a delicious breakfast.
Posted by: Louise Rothwell on 5/30/2021 at 9:34 am
May 29, 2021
Posted by: Mike Walter, Avery Parrinello, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 2:54pm PT
Strong winds and lots of blowing snow have us tent bound today. The fortresses of snow walls we built yesterday are paying huge dividends, protecting the thin pieces of nylon between us and the elements. We can hear the winds roaring over the West Buttress above us, a sound that evokes images of violent ocean waves crashing onshore.
Fortunately life in our tents is relatively serene and warm.
We’re hoping for better weather in the wake of this storm; we’ll figure out our next move then. When will ‘then’ be ‘now’? Soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
Gearing up for some good stories :) Sending good vibes for some calmer skies!
Posted by: Margaret on 5/30/2021 at 5:50 pm
Theme song for today:
WHATEVER IT TAKES!
Falling too fast to prepare for this
Tripping in the world could be dangerous
Everybody circling, it’s vulturous
Negative, nepotist
Everybody waiting for the fall of man
Everybody praying for the end of times
Everybody hoping they could be the one
I was born to run, I was born for this
Whip, whip
Run me like a racehorse
Pull me like a ripcord
Break me down and build me up
I wanna be the slip, slip
Word upon your lip, lip
Letter that you rip, rip
Break me down and build me up
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
‘Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
Always had a fear of being typical
Looking at my body feeling miserable
Always hanging on to the visual
I wanna be invisible
Looking at my years like a martyrdom
Everybody needs to be a part of ‘em
Never be enough, I’m the prodigal son
I was born to run, I was born for this
Whip, whip
Run me like a racehorse
Pull me like a ripcord
Break me down and build me up
I wanna be the slip, slip
Word upon your lip, lip
Letter that you rip, rip
Break me down and build me up
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
‘Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top, I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
Hypocritical, egotistical
Don’t wanna be the parenthetical, hypothetical
Working onto something that I’m proud of, out of the box
An epoxy to the world and the vision we’ve lost
I’m an apostrophe
I’m just a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see
I’m just a product of the system, a catastrophe
And yet a masterpiece, and yet I’m half-diseased
And when I am deceased
At least I go down to the grave and die happily
Leave the body and my soul to be a part of thee
I do what it takes
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
‘Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top, I’m ready for
Whatever it takes
‘Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes
~ Imagine Dragons
Posted by: Julie Morris on 5/30/2021 at 10:37 am
May 29, 2021
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 11:00am PT
After tucking in last night to blowing winds and less than optimal conditions, we awoke this morning to bluebird skies and generally improved weather. The team wasted no time digging out our camp and getting settled in to 14k life. Most of the day was spent making a quick lap to pick up our cache by Windy Corner and building snow block walls around the tents.The day ended shortly after 8pm.
Here in Genet Basin the temps drop quickly once the sun falls behind the nearest ridgeline and we all retreated to our tents to climb into our sleeping bags.
Thanks for following along with us!
RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team
Rob, the expedition photos are incredible. Excited for you! What an awesome challenge and reward! I’m at sea level battling 74 degree nights, 84 days, 12-17mph wind off the Gulf, Mosquitos like hummingbirds and prepping for Indy 500. Can’t wait to hear about your climb! Hold Fast! TS
Posted by: Thomas Stephens on 5/30/2021 at 7:02 am
Sounds like you battled a frigid night. Love hearing about your journey. One step at a time!
Love,
Santanas
Posted by: Allison Santana on 5/29/2021 at 6:13 pm
May 29, 2021
Posted by: Mike Walter, Avery Parrinello, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Friday, May 28, 2021 - 8:05pm PT
Today started out clear but cold and breezy. I’d say we picked up about a meter of snow in the past couple of days, with lots of wind transportation and deeper drifts. The winds abated and it was quite pleasant in camp today, which was nice as it afforded us time to reinforce our snow walls ahead of the storm that is forecasted to move in tonight. We’re anticipating more snow and strong winds tonight and tomorrow. Winds of seventy miles per hour are likely at high camp (17,000'). We’re at 14,000', so we expect lower wind speeds here. We’re dug in and ready for it.
The hope is that we’ll have a few days of good weather in its wake in which we can move to high camp and make a summit bid. We’ll keep you posted as this storm materializes.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
Danielle I bet you don’t miss him as much as we do! The kids keep saying daddy needs to come home soon :) Love you Daddy!
Posted by: Jen Jezak on 5/29/2021 at 3:18 pm
Praying for warmer weather, NO wind and NO snow, strength, mental toughness and above all SAFETY for everyone! We are having a big party when you get back. All y’all are invited! Come visit us in Scottsdale, AZ.
Posted by: Julie Morris on 5/29/2021 at 12:57 pm
May 29, 2021
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,000'
Friday May 28, 2021 - 7:39pm PT
The winds and snow moved out for us today and we got to enjoy some sun and warmth in camp. We could still see winds moving quickly at times up above us on the west buttress, but it was nice to have pleasant conditions for a bit. We took the opportunity to build some truly monumental walls to protect against an expected wind event tomorrow, then refreshed and practiced our fixed line travel to prep for when the weather and conditions let us go higher.
Tomorrow is almost certainly a tent bound day, but the trend looks good for us going into next week. For now, we're happy to be acclimating and getting strong at 14,000', and to be within striking distance of our objective.
RMI Guides Pete, Matias, Chase, and Team
Go, Cram, Go! Do it for the CZ. Wishing you good luck and safe travels.
Posted by: Z (Simsbury) on 5/30/2021 at 9:46 am
It seems that there are several teams @ 14, 000 camp 3. You started out I believe, as 2nd team. do you have to wait for team one to go to the peak first? Either way God speed.
Posted by: Carter Thoenes on 5/29/2021 at 12:24 pm
May 29, 2021
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 9500'
Friday, May 28, 2021 - 5:09pm PT
We had another stormy night here at the base of ski hill. We woke to clear skies and decided to try and move some food and fuel towards Kahiltna Pass and the turn up to 11,200’ camp. 30 minutes into the day the wind picked up and the loose snow started spinning. With some warm gloves and a few layers we leaned into the very consistent and very cold 15 mph wind and took it an hour at a time. Eventually we got to 9500’ which met the goal for the day. The ravens will dig up shallow caches so we dug a deep hole and buried our food and fuel. We beat feet down to camp and are currently enjoying some sun on the tents while that very consistent 15 mph wind spins snow everywhere.
We’ll see what we get tomorrow and a move to 11,200’ is planned.
RMI Guide Mike King & Team
Farmer Dave to Brother Tom….Remember You are Tough as Nails!!! Sing a little John Denver, that will always make things seem perfect!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/30/2021 at 8:56 am
Good luck to the whole team
Posted by: Cathy H on 5/29/2021 at 7:48 pm
May 28, 2021
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 14,300'
Thursday, May 27, 2021 - 10:37pm PT
An uncertain forecast greeted us this morning as we packed up to move to Camp 3. We ate breakfast in a windy snow storm, but in a stroke of luck the clouds lifted as we climbed away from camp. Our good fortune was tragically short lived. By the time we got to Windy Corner, the wind was gusting so hard our sleds were blowing sideways. Sharp crampons, good footwork, and strong legs got us through our obstacle. After picking up a few items from our cache, we pushed through two feet of fresh snow all the way to Camp 3, at 14,300 feet.
We built camp in a mild blizzard and quickly hopped into our sleeping bags. Today was a tough day. Days like these are when you really earn your chance to be on the mountain. We’re proud of how our team performed and got the job done.
RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team
Go Heidi! Two feet of fresh. Brutal!
Posted by: Steve Christie on 5/28/2021 at 8:43 pm
Ooooh, I bet those sleeping bags felt good! Hope your weather improves for the next part of your climb!
Posted by: Maxine Kay on 5/28/2021 at 7:30 pm
May 28, 2021
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 9,600'
Thursday, May 27. 2021 - 8:48pm PT
We flew onto the glacier late yesterday and did little else but get camp set up and ate some dinner. By midnight there was a blizzard that moved in until 9 am. After rigging our sleds and packs the wind had died down to a dull roar and the sky turned blue. We packed up and headed out around 12:30 pm with the sun to help balance the cold breeze. The route down heartbreak hill and onto the Kahiltna glacier was straightforward but windy. The wind would not abate for the next 5 hours as we leaned into it and got to camp. Heavy packs and sleds have us happy to be eating dinner and getting ready to sleep.
We’ll see what this storm brings tomorrow, but for now our fully bellies and tired legs could care less.
Thanks for following along,
RMI Guide Mike King and Team
Hi Huw - I hope things are going well and you are enjoying this phase of the climb. Amazing to learn that birds will dig up shallow caches of food! Take care. Nigel.
Posted by: Nigel on 5/30/2021 at 6:20 am
Go well Rob and Co! Enjoy the climb and stay safe. Our very best wishes to you and all the 25th May team.
Posted by: Bill & Val Green on 5/29/2021 at 5:52 pm
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Such an exciting adventure. Go NORM! Looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing your stories. Stay safe, my cousin. :)
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Leslie on 6/1/2021 at 4:40 pm
Ptaying you all up and down and sunny no storms, sure-footedness. Love to Norm, from Uncle Kaz too
Posted by: Old aunt Karen on 6/1/2021 at 9:10 am
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