Entries By pete van deventer

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - 8:26 am PT

We finally got everything to come together. It was calm and quiet in the morning and we got out of camp early, ahead of everyone else. The Autobahn had filled in and took some work and time to put a track in, across to Denali Pass. It was shady and cold, but the team worked well. At Denali Pass, we stepped into the sun and also a touch of wind - just a light breeze. It kept things cold and we continued to work up. At points we would lose the wind and it would suddenly turn so hot, then back to cold. We played that game to the Football Field, and then up the summit ridge. By midafternoon we were standing on the summit of Denali! The summit was pretty warm and we got some photos before turning against traffic and the rest of the mountain. We retraced our steps to camp and fell into bed, happy to have the first part of the mission accomplished. Now we will set our sights lower on getting to thicker air and the airstrip.

Congrats to all the climbers!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer checked in from the summit of Denali at 5:50 pm PT on Monday, May 29th.  The team returned to their high camp at 17,000' around 1 am PT.

Congratulations to the May 9th Denali Expedition!

Sunday, May 28, 2023 - 6:42 pm PT

Today didn't work out exactly as planned. When we got up it was calm as promised, but a complete white out in camp. Snow was falling lightly, straight down. We dragged our feet to see how it would evolve. As the sun came up, the clouds did push up a bit, and with some sight it was clear the wind was moving strong up high. Within a few hours, that wind made it to camp as well. So we spent the day in the tents dodging intermittent snow showers and wind gusts.

We are hoping that tomorrow brings us better summit weather and that Mother Denali let's us pass.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

May 27, 2023 7:28PM PT

Things were exactly as we hoped this morning, calm, and blue above.

We woke earlier than most, and had our chores taken care of quickly to get out of camp.

We were roughly the second team out, which turned out to be the right move as it seemed like nearly everyone at 14 headed to the fixed lines today. From the top, we could see a near to continuous line that stretched back to 14.

We made good time and rolled into camp at 17 around 4pm. Then started the laborious work of building camp. It's hard to do anything up here quickly - walk, shovel, stand up too fast, so it took some time, but we are now settled in - working on melting snow for water and hoping that tomorrow gives us our summit shot.

Pete, Henry, Tatum and Team

It was another relatively slow day at 14,000’ Camp. As promised, there were some strong gusts that shook the tents last night into this morning, but the wind settled, and it continued to snow through most of the day. We did laps of camp, socialized, laughed about the army barracks of RMI tents that are now up here as we have four RMI Expedition Teams at 14,000’ camp. One climber asked for street signs, since he got confused, took a wrong turn, and tried to enter the wrong tent.

The team got a solid Start on an igloo, and a couple of folks in camp got rad new haircuts designed for speed. The forecast is giving us some hope that this weekend will give us a chance. We will be up early tomorrow to look uphill and see if things look good enough to launch. If so, our summit push will start.

RMI Guides Pete VanDeventer, Henry Coppolillo, Tatum Whatford and Team

Thursday 5/25/2023 10:00pm PDT

Another good rest/ weather day for us today. The snow, clouds, and breeze were in and out and it was an obvious day to sit. 14,000’ Camp on Denali is turning into a small city as more and more teams move up and run into the same weather waiting game. When we first moved up there were only a handful of scattered camps. Now 14,000’ Camp is continuous, and you can meander around, walking down alleys between snow walls.The team took on a variety of tacks to stay entertained. One intrepid member measured the perimeter of camp to be a quarter mile and did a 5k, jogging some of it. A few members even joined in at points. Others wandered around and chatted with other RMI Expedition Teams. And one member has now read the ingredient list of all their snack food!

Tomorrow looks to be more of the same and already the team has made plans to build an igloo, and perhaps more - the site plan is still being finalized. The 14,000’ Camp hang continues

RMI Guides Pete, Henry, Tatum & Team

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - 11:14 pm PT

It was a good day for us to sit. Yesterday's strong effort meant everyone slept well, and long. We got up late, enjoyed our last bagels and smoked salmon, told stories, and generally enjoyed the rest day. Snow and clouds intermittently invaded camp, with some breaks of brilliantly strong sunshine. For a bit of movement and boredom cure, we built a bunch of walls to deflect the wind that may come tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will rest again, as the forecast calls for winds at 17,000' to elevate significantly tomorrow. We'll see how this weather system plays out, and it's good comfort for us to know that all of our pieces are in place and when the window opens, we'll be ready.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - 9:00 am PT

The climbing along the West Buttress is some of the most fun and aesthetic of the whole Denali trip and we got a perfect day for it. We left early, with camp still in the shade and chilly. But we climbed out into the sun within the first hour. The fixed lines, which has been blue blue ice when we first got to 14,000' had pasted in with the last couple days of snow and there were nice steps kicked in for most of the way. We rolled over the top of the line onto the ridge to stunning views that extended forever. We could see trees from our perch (or at least green). We continued along the Buttress, picking our way through the airy terrain will above 14,000' Camp and the Peters Glacier on the other side. By afternoon, we walked into 17,000' Camp. Doing most anything at 17,000' is hard. You have to show down - how fast you walk, shovel, etc. We got a hole dug and left our goodies, then retraced our steps back to 14,000' Camp. The team did an incredible job and got the trip done in 10 hours. We were back in camp for dinner time. Things are set and now we wait for the weather to open a summit window.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Monday, May 22, 2023 - 10:11 pm PT

It was an incredibly pleasant day at 14,000'. It snowed lightly all night but when we woke up it was bluebird and calm. We took our time over breakfast (again) and started to wrap our heads around the schedule and logistics above here. We did an afternoon training session to prepare for the fixed lines and running belays of the West Buttress above, then retired for a warm and sunny siesta. The rest was part of the plan as we intend to head up the fixed lines and along the West Buttress tomorrow to put in a small cache and get familiar with the terrain. With that complete, the puzzle pieces that we have control over will be in place for our summit push.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:59 pm PDT

It was a wonderful morning to wake up at 14k Camp. A classic 14k Camp morning includes sunshine and stunning views of Hunter and Foraker -- make this trip so special. We waited for the sun to warm the tents, and rolled into coffee with eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon for breakfast/brunch. We readied to run back towards Windy Corner to grab our cache. We made quick work of the back carry, 1.5 hours round trip, largely due to the sudden snow squalls and wind that rolled in hard on us. It motivated us to get back to tents. With all of our stuff now at 14k Camp, we are psyched. The weather looks to remain sporty tomorrow, so we will likely rest, but we are in place and ready to make our first tour up the fixed lines when the mountain says we may pass, and that will set us up to start looking for our summit window. Cheers from 14,000' on Denali!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and team