Denali Summits for RMI Expeditions – 3rd June
The RMI Expeditions team saw multiple groups reach the summit of Denali this week with more expected in the coming days.
“We’ve waited through wind and snow for weeks and we finally got our shot. We woke up yesterday to clear skies and relatively (for 17k feet) warm temps in camp. We had stoves firing early, before sun hit camp, and got everyone up to start prepping. With breakfast done and packs loaded we stepped out of our sunny camp into the shadow of the Autobahn. It was a chilly couple hours crossing to Denali Pass and we were all psyched to get back into the sun.
“A slight, but cold 10mph breeze in our face kept it chilly all day, but we kept moving past Zebra Rocks, around Archdeacons Tower, onto the Football Field, up Pig Hill, and along the summit ridge to the summit! We were standing on top just after 6pm yesterday. With photos taken, we started working our way back down, well aware of the distance still to get back to the comfort of our sleeping bags. The long hours of sun help alot and we rolled back into camp around 11pm, just as the sun left camp. Tired, chilly, sore, but excited that we managed to reach our goal!”
“We’ll start working our way down the mountain today, back to warmer temps, more oxygen, and a flight back to Talkeetna. They tend to be long days, so dispatches might be short, but we are headed home.
and the following day it was more of the same for RMI:
“Good afternoon! This is RMI Guide Eric Frank calling on June 3rd from the summit of Denali, the highest point in North America.
“We are up here on a beautiful afternoon, in-and-out of the clouds. Sometimes we can see 100 miles; sometimes we can only see our climbing boots. We had an awesome climb today. Started off a little chilly in the shade, but all-in-all it has been a wonderful day of climbing. We are enjoying 15 minutes on top right now. It is about 5:15 local time. We are going to pack up and head downhill where we should be back between 9 and 10 pm tonight.
“Thanks everyone for following along. Friends and family – I am sure you’ll be happy to hear from your respective individuals in a few days. Our hope is to move down to a lower elevation, thicker air and catch a plane to the land of burgers and beer within a couple of days.”
RMI have further teams making their way up the mountain, led by JT Schmitt and Mike King. We will continue to watch their progress throughout their journey.
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