Entries By eric frank
Posted by: Eric Frank, Alex Halliday, Erika Birkeland, Tatum Whatford, George Hedreen, Cal Seeley
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080
The Five Day Climb June 9 - 13 enjoyed a beautiful sunrise from Ingraham Flats and Camp Muir this morning. Route conditions did not allow the teams to ascend above 11,200' yesterday or today but the team got in some good training and enjoyed two nights at Camp Muir. The teams descended to Paradise arriving around noon today and will conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Photos: RMI Guide Eric Frank
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Jess Wedel, Nick Sinapius, Josh McDowell, Eric Frank, Brian Walters
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Four Day Climb June 5 - 8 was unable to make their summit attempt. Strong winds overnight at Camp Muir kept the climbers safely inside the hut. RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Josh McDowell reported sustained winds of 50 mph with gusts in the 60's. The winds have decreased enough to allow the climbers to ascend above Camp Muir to check things out. After their walk, they will return to Camp Muir and then make their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the climbers at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
Mike/Jess & Team-
Great climb, thanks so much for taking us! The views were amazing, I learned a ton, and you guys made it really fun, and safe! Good luck with the Kautz Route Seminar later this week!
-Bill
Posted by: Y on 6/8/2022 at 10:59 pm
Posted by: Eric Frank, Grayson Swingle
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,200'
The Four Day Climb May 6 - 9 led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Grayson Swingle ascended to Camp Muir yesterday. The team left from Camp Muir this morning and ascended to Ingraham Flats. More new snow and avalanche danger made this their high point but they did enjoy some blue skies and sunshine. The team left Camp Muir on their descent to Paradise. We will look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Go MBK!!!
Posted by: ELLIS RICHMAN on 5/10/2022 at 5:54 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, Mike King, Jack Delaney, James Bealer, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
After a week of unexpected park closures and a wonderful spring storm, our first Muir seminar of the season has concluded. Despite the less than stellar weather conditions, the team was able to shift gears and make the most of their time on the mountain. Climbers learned important skills like route planning, glaciology, snow sciences and spent several days practicing and honing their crevasse rescue skills.
Congratulations team – we hope you enjoyed your time on the mountain!
Posted by: Eric Frank, Mike King, James Bealer, Jack Delaney, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
On Monday, the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir was foiled from getting into the National Park by a large Spring snow storm. We spent the day learning and practicing technical skills like rope ascension and ice climbing. The team then learned about route planning, glaciology, and snow science. Hopes are high that the team can reach Paradise today.
Hi, did this group reach the summit??
Posted by: John Swartz on 4/16/2022 at 10:50 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, Jenny Konway, Kiira Antenucci, James Bealer, Nathan Delmar, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,300'
The Five Day Mt. Rainier Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Jenny Konway, turned at High Crack today due to hearing and seeing a significant amount of rock and icefall. They are back at Camp Muir and will be descending early this morning.
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,310'
Thursday, June 3, 2021 - 6:15 pm PT
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. Thanks for following along. Bye.
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls from the Denali summit!
E-L-L-I-O-T
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Enjoy the peace and wonder of your celebratory lap down mountain.
Love ya, proud of ya - period.
Sláinte
The Old Man
Posted by: Shawn Dalgleish on 6/5/2021 at 6:35 pm
Awesome Job Eric!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/5/2021 at 2:50 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 - 11:47 pm PT
The team moved to Denali's 17K Camp today through tough winds. We left camp early to blue skies and cold air as we headed up the fixed lines. The top of the fixed lines yielded increased wind, and we quickly donned our hard shells. As we climbed further up the West Buttress, we pushed through more ferocious wind and scattered clouds. Thankfully, as we rolled into camp the clouds abated and we are left hoping the weather holds for our summit push tomorrow.
E-L-L-I-O-T & Team!
Denali Rules: P = m x v
(summit) Momentum = (team) Mass x Velocity (of its heart)
Stay present; enjoy your ride up and down that glacial coaster!
Un pour tous et tous pour un!
Love
Athos, Porthos & Aramis
Posted by: Shawn Dalgleish on 6/3/2021 at 6:34 pm
Elliot and team
Our positive thoughts are coming your way for a successful climb to the summit.
You’ve got this!
Mom and Dad Campos
Posted by: Susan Campos on 6/3/2021 at 11:58 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - 10:48 pm PT
A fresh few inches of snow covered camp this morning as we waited for the sun to warm us up. We slowly rolled out of our sleeping bags and ate a leisurely paced blueberry pancake breakfast. The day was spent preparing for our move to 17,000' Camp tomorrow. We sorted our gear into summit gear and gear we can leave here at 14,000' Camp as well as planned our food for our summit push. The afternoon was full of movie watching and sport eating, a favorite Denali pastime. After dinner and philosophical discussions, we all tucked into our tents to be rested for the coming days ahead.
Let’s go James!!!!! You are such an inspiration.
Get down safe, can’t wait to hear all about it!
Posted by: Thomas on 6/4/2021 at 7:20 am
Cheering you on Norm!!!
What an adventure!!
Prayers and lots of enthusiasm for you and the group!!!
Positive thoughts going your way!!
Love Laura & Mike
Posted by: Laura on 6/3/2021 at 10:57 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 31, 2021 - 11:09 pm PT
Sunday, May 30th, started out clear and cold but quickly warmed up as the sun hit our camp. The good weather meant moral was high in 14,000' Camp as everyone who was acclimated and ready to go started to climb towards High Camp at 17,200'. We, of course, being new to this high elevation stayed in camp and watched the conga line turn into a log jam at the base of the fixed lines. We made good use of our day by brushing up on our fixed line and running belay techniques. At the end of the day a well worn trail was stomped in by the uphill traffic and left us feeling optimistic about our own plans to cache at 16,200'.
Today (May 31) the team braved a cold morning in order to get a head start out of camp. We climbed up the fixed lines and cached at 16,250' on the West Buttress. The afternoon turned into a scorcher on the way down as the solar energy made it feel like 90 degrees outside. We returned to camp and had delicious burritos for dinner.
Congratulations Norm and your team! Stay safe and enjoy, can’t wait to see the pics and hear the stories!
Posted by: Linda Hill on 6/3/2021 at 8:55 pm
Elliot - looks like an incredible adventure!! Hope you and the team stay safe and warm. Keep on trucking and enjoy the views!
Alex
Posted by: Alex Thornton on 6/1/2021 at 8:22 pm
We did training ascend on June 11 and went up to 11,000’ around 4 pm. I didn’t see any route conditions that did not allow to go further, I don’t have much experience though. Could you give more details on what route conditions stopped the group?
Posted by: Nick R on 6/15/2022 at 12:55 pm
What were the route conditions that did not allow you to go above 11k? Avalanche? Deep snow? Heading up this weekend and wondering what the current risks are from most recent teams.
Posted by: Kahlie Gleason on 6/13/2022 at 1:58 pm
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