Denali Top Ten List

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,…

Justin’s Reflection on Denali

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…

Alaska Adventures – Part 1

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…

Currently: May

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…

Denali Update: Days 10-18

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…

Denali Update: Days 3-9

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…

Denali Update: Days 1 and 2

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…

Denali Gear List

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…

Training For Denali

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…

Fenton Ranch Wrap Up

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.…

Currently: April

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…

RIP Vernon Miller

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…