Another guest post from Justin (edited by Patrice of course)! My previous mountaineering experiences helped me predict what to expect on Denali, but as with anything, you really don’t know how it’s really going to be until you are wearing the boots yourself. And since I received lots of questions about life on the mountain,…
This is a guest post written by Justin (okay, it was edited by Patrice)! It’s been about two weeks since my 23-day adventure on North America’s highest peak concluded. I think Patrice did a wonderful job piecing together bits of information to keep you all informed on my team’s progress on the mountain, but I…
We have wrapped up our time in Alaska–sadly. I have been here three times and all three times, I fall deeper in love with the state. Justin’s love for Alaska, on the other hand, is rooted in utero. We really should just move here. Someday. In any case, we shared this last bit of our…
Justin badly needed some recovery time following his 23-day Denali expedition. So we went camping and hiking. Yep, apparently more outdoor exposure cures severely sunburnt lips and frost nipped fingers. We spent 3 nights in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, which is the largest national park in America. To give it some scale, it equals six…
So here’s the scoop. Justin did not summit, choosing to turn around about 400 feet from the top. But that is okay by him and me (of course!). It’s really a summit in my mind being so darn close, but whatevs. And, so freakin admirable that he survived 23 days (pretty much a record for…
Currently living/working in: For the first time in a very long time, J & I have been apart. Just about 3,500 miles apart! I have been in Paonia, Colorado, doing a writer residency program this month and he has been climbing Denali in Alaska. Current mood: Anxious to see my hubby again and for this whole climb…
Justin and his RMI team have been facing some not-so-ideal weather up on Denali (65 MPH winds, -35 degree temps). So they are on day ELEVEN being stuck (but safe) at Camp 3 (14,200 feet). I know those conditions sound extremely harsh, but I did get to speak to Justin and he is in great…
Well, being I won’t have much of an update about Justin while they hunker down waiting out weather at Camp 3 (14,200 feet) this week, I thought it was time to let you know what I’ve been up to! Since May 5, I have been “hunkered down” in Paonia, CO, where I have been living…
I’m happy to report that Justin and his RMI team are plugging along up the mountain!! Weather has been really decent (in Denali terms) and they have made it up to Camp 3 (14,000 feet). Read below to get a sense of the hard, back-breaking work they endure day after day on the mountain. I’m tired…
After going through gear and National Park Service protocols, Justin, Bobby and his team flew from Talkeetna to Kahiltna Glacier with K2 Aviation on Thursday, May 12. It was a beautiful day for flying! J is the 3rd from the left and Bobby is the 5th from the right. (Don’t worry, they didn’t try to…
Fellow gear junkies, get excited. This post is all about gear!!! But first, a few other details. Justin and Bobby (Bolt) flew to Alaska today for the long-awaited attempt to climb Denali. The boys are climbing with RMI Expeditions. This is the same guiding service we used to climb Rainier and that Justin used to climb Shuksan. There are…
Here’s a blast from the past from J’s first visit to Alaska in 2003. Many people have asked how J’s training for Denali is going. And now that he is leaving tomorrow, I am finally ready to answer. (I was really waiting to see the training start … JK). I must preface by saying J…
We have wrapped up our spring season at Fenton Ranch! Though we’ve only been here 6 weeks, it feels like much longer. Some of the days were unending–like the day we had a group of overnight 3rd graders leave at 11:30am, but the next group of 1st graders arrived early at 11am. Go, go, go.…
The spring weather in New Mexico has been more like fall into winter, derailing a lot of our weekend backpacking agendas. Every weekend, we’ve had grandiose plans to head into the mountains at higher elevations for J’s Denali training. But, when it is snowing and accumulating at 8,000 feet where we live, we know better…
Currently living/working in: We are finishing up our environmental educator job in New Mexico May 5! This job was pretty awesome … and we may even come back for another season! Photos by: Leanne Kimbrough Current mood: The days are long and these kids are darn tiring … but we have lots of fun and the end…
Bandalier National Monument is not the only National Park Service property near us. In October 2015, the NPS purchased the bordering Valles Caldera, establishing it as a national preserve. This piece of real estate has a crazy history. Imagine the scene. Mountains. Valleys. HUGE crater. This very distinct bowl among the other land forms is…
One of the first things we did after we accepting this job in New Mexico was map out our weekend adventures. We had grand plans of several backpacking trips. However, we didn’t account for the unpredictable spring synonymous with living in the mountains (case in point, I packed shorts and sandals. I will probably never…
J & I are on a quest to hit all the national parks, but often times, we overlook the monuments. So we were elated when we realized Bandelier National Monument was just about an hour from our doorstep and last weekend, we made the trip to explore. Bandelier is most known for its prehistoric ruins…
One of the great things about this job is that we have a solid 2 days off each weekend. This means every Saturday and Sunday, we become weekend warriors and explore the surrounding area! I’m behind on my updates, so here is a report from our first weekend here, when we got ourselves in hot…
This is our dear friend, Vern. Vern died today of stupid cancer. We’d like to memorialize Vern not only because he had a huge impact on our lives, but because he is a perfect example of how things can change so drastically in our lives and you really need to hug your loved ones…