Entries from Alaska
May 31, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
Thursday, May 30, 2019 9:51 PM PT
Luck was on our side! We woke to clear skies and sunshine. And you know what sunshine means, we went and played in some crevasses. Psyched that the weather hadn't arrived yet, we hit the snowy trail and walked to a beautiful section of the glacier. Tall rocky peaks stood all around us. Their sides full of hanging glaciers. We were safe out of harm's way but could see their ominous appearance. We spent the day ice climbing out of the crevasse and practicing our rope ascending skills. Everyone did a fantastic job in both activities. By the end of the day the forecasted weather started to creep in on us. A light breeze pushed at our backs almost assisting us back to camp. The clouds have begun to lower and small flurries float around camp. It is one of our team members birthdays tomorrow, and he is wishing for good weather. Let's hope his birthday wish is granted and this forecasted snow storm stays away another day.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
May 28, 2019
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lucas Haaland, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 8:50 PM PT
What a day! We woke to great weather, so we saddled up and hit the glacier towards Radio Tower. Felt great to stretch the legs and walk up hill. We zigged and zagged around crevasses, booted up some steeper terrain, and walked a narrow ridge. At the end of it all was great views of the surrounding peaks. Such a fun day to use the skills we have learned and be rewarded by jaw dropping beauty. After walking down in what felt like a microwave of heat, we all took a well-deserved nap before dinner. Nothing like laying down in a warm tent full of down to make you doze off into a dreamy state. Tomorrow we plan on packing up and moving camp up glacier to go explore more of the area. We will see what we get to play on or in in the next coming days.
Talk to you all later,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Friday, May 24, 2019, 7:58 PM PT
Hello from the Great Ruth Gorge!
The magnitude of this place soon relieved the delay of not being able to fly yesterday. Cruising over a 35-mile long glacier to then land and camp under the massive 5,000ft East Face of Mount Dickey is indescribable. After a couple of hours crafting a classy camp, kitchen included, we treated ourselves to a nice diner of halibut burger with a side of fresh asparagus; definitely not your standard meal on the mountains. Heading to bed now as we're trying our first climbing objective early tomorrow.
Regards, Lucy, Corell and RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos
May 21, 2019
Posted by: Steve Gately, Ben Ammon, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
Monday, May 20, 2019 10:59 pm PT
I was up this morning early to keep a close eye on the weather in anticipation of a potential move to 14k Camp. Puffy cumulus clouds clung to the surrounding terrain features and were lapping in and out of camp like the tides at about 6AM. Our forecast was calling for an 80% chance of snow showers and increasing south winds into the evening. I opted to give the weather an extra hour to show it's true intentions. I could hear the noises of other teams rustling around, presumably preparing for their own move to 14k Camp. I've seen plenty of deceiving mornings here in the Alaska Range luring you to trust that the forecast was wrong, as if so often can be. I ultimately didn't like the look of it. The team has worked hard for five days now and a full rest day seemed appropriate before committing ourselves to the higher altitudes of the mountain. So we slept in until about 9am and made a wonderful breakfast of eggs and hashbrown burritos that lasted nearly until midday. By then the clouds had overtaken camp and it began to snow lightly. By 1pm the snow intensified and the forecasted south winds showed up early and turned camp into a whirlwind of snow that made it hard to see across camp. Wrapped snugly in our warm bags we all felt good about our decision to take an extra day. It's not always you get such confirmation of a decision well made but today we did and it felt good all the while snuggled up in our warm bags reading and snacking the afternoon away. Tomorrow's forecast looks much more promising and we'll repeat the process of waking up early, sticking our heads out the tent and making another decision. Hopefully this time we'll like what we see and we'll get to move on up! Thanks for following along everyone!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
Hi Steve. Bruins swept, sitting and waiting on a 3-2 blues over sharks series. Chara still 7’0” on skates and moves like a sack of pea gravel. Go Red Wings.
Posted by: Wild Bill on 5/21/2019 at 11:08 am
May 14, 2019
Posted by: Mike Walter, Alan Davis, Alex Halliday
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
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Three times is a charm, I guess. On our third flight trying to get to Basecamp over the past few days, we had good clear skies and smooth sailing and finally made it in. After a few hours of repacking our gear, rigging our sleds, and digging a cache hole, we set off for our first camp at the Base of Ski Hill. The Kahiltna Glacier was in great condition and the weather was nearly ideal; mostly cloudy with the occasional snow shower - which kept temperatures from getting too hot. We made it to camp with full packs and sleds in tow in just under six hours. Today we'll carry a cache of supplies up a couple thousand feet and then return to camp. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Good luck to everyone!
Posted by: Richard Kalish on 5/14/2019 at 9:03 am
June 15, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Friday, June 15, 2018 - 6:00 PM PT
And it is a wrap up!
The Alaska Alpine Climbing program came to an end. After 7 days of straight climbing with no rest or weather days, we flew out on time to beat the bad weather without risking getting stuck on the glacier. All in all, success all around! A changing weather morning made us pack up quick and the word was out from our pilots at K2 Aviation that heavy winds might delay our pick up; other areas were shut down for flying! In a record time we dismantled our camp and we were pulling our last load into the Pika Glacier Runway as the plane showed above us. A bumpy ride to Talkeetna brought us to the land of beer and pizza (and showers!) and after unpacking and cleaning our gear, the team enjoyed a nice meal as we shared the best moments of the trip. We already made it to Anchorage, and everyone is off to home. As for the guides, we're already looking forward to our next expedition in 2019!
RMI Guide Elías de Andrés Martos
On The Map
June 14, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 12:04 AM PT
Good evening again from the little Swiss! Another day, another summit! Or summits I should say... the group split and the 2 rope teams headed in opposite directions, towards the east and west ends of the upper Pika Glacier. On one side, a team surmounted the Munchkin. On the other, the South Face of the Middle Troll, a towering rock formation that, with its splitter granite cracks and balancing boulders, provides delicate yet rewarding climbing and the most radical of the views. The weather has been perfect, and we're now going to bed tired, but accomplished and with a full stomach after a quite good pesto pasta dinner!
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos & Chase Nelson
It is so nice that all of you return back safely.
Posted by: Xu Guoliang on 6/14/2018 at 7:51 pm
June 12, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 8:15 PM PT
Good evening from the Pika! We're back from another great day of climbing in Little Swiss. Today we took advantage of the cold temperatures, and climbed a route up "The Witch's Hat", the southernmost formation of the cirque of mountains around our Base camp. Several pitches of steep snow, ice and mixed climbing brought the team to a narrow summit where we enjoyed a well deserved rest to our calves after the endless front pointing with our crampons. All accomplished by another objective tackled in this program, we're about to enjoy a burrito dinner at camp.
Good evening everyone!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Please tell Christina be careful and we love her so much. Christina’s Dad and Mom
Posted by: Guoliang Xu on 6/14/2018 at 12:06 am
June 12, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 2:08 PM PT
Good evening! What a day we had... Another alpine objective tackled! We had some snow overnight, so we dragged our feet to see what the weather would do. It warmed up enough to melt the light snow from the rocks, so we decided to aim for a rock route. By 1pm we decided to head to the "Throne" one of the biggest formations in the Pika Glacier. We climbed the "Lost Marsupial" route, a long moderate route among the clouds, above some planes that brought tourist to the glacier, and into the evening (that's what we get to enjoy climbing in Alaska, 24h of daylight) a great pasta dinner followed our arrival to camp. After dinner, we went to bed right away, as we're planning an early departure for our next objective.
Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
June 11, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 12:56 AM PT
Good evening from the Pika Glacier! Another great day for the team. We started the day shortly after midnight, and headed to the "Guard Tower" formation, about one hour north of camp. Summiting during the permanently lit Alaskan night was special, despite the lack of cold temps we were hoping for in order to have better snow conditions. Back at camp before mid day, we had a good lunch and nap, and the afternoon found us ice climbing out of a nearby crevasse. We didn't seem to be affected by the long hours of activity today, and the conversations prevailed at the dining tent for a while. It seems that the weather is changing, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
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Happy birthday Craig! ❤️ I hope you have great weather for your bday! Love you!
Posted by: Angy Gallimore on 5/31/2019 at 8:38 am
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