Denali (The High One) is the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 ft. It was also my favorite expedition climb. There's something about a mountain in Alaska which rises from just above seal level to almost 4 miles in the air. Add to that, a treeline close to 2,000 ft in elevation and you've got a remote, cold and wild beast of a mountain to climb.
The buildup for any expedition can be long, hard work, exciting and a bit nerve wracking. Understanding that climbing Denali requires hauling very heavy loads for weeks, we took our training very seriously. Besides the usual running, hiking and carrying a heavy pack, we climbed and camped on top of 13ers and 14ers in Colorado all winter and spring.
In order to keep the tent secure in the winter winds, lots of anchors were required. Snow walls are also a good idea to make life a bit more bearable.
Our climbing buddies Alan & Debby joined us on lots of the outings. Crazy dog Jax also braved the cold weather with us.
We even traveled to New York to be with my family for Christmas and managed a winter climb of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks. Picture high winds and below zero temps.
By June it was time to get on a plane to Anchorage and head up to Talkeetna which is the jumping off spot for Denali. Once there, it's a waiting game for weather good enough to fly to base camp. We waited for 3 days and it became easy to lose the psychological edge.
Then we get the call and all hell breaks loose. Get your gear on the plane and let's go! Obviously weather in Alaska is unpredictable so you don't want to waste a good window of opportunity. It's a beautiful flight over remote country and you almost feel like a summer tourist until you see it.
That's when everything becomes real and you get that funny feeling in your gut. Then you think, "holy crap I'm going up there. Boy I hope this goes well". It's a different thing to know that every climb happens step by step and that you've trained hard and our gear is dialed and then to get a look eye to eye with the objective. The only things you can see at this point in all directions is snow, ice and rock. It's humbling and exhilarating at the same time. In a few minutes we land on the Kahiltna Glacier, unload hundreds of pounds of gear and reality sets in.
The Colorado crew is anxious to get moving after waiting in Talkeetna. We know the hard work of climbing brings accomplishment, endorphins and calms the "monkey mind". At least on the West Buttress route, the lower half of Denali is climbed at night when the snow is firmer and the chance of falling into a crevasse is reduced. Our team comprises two rope teams of 5. We are bound by the "brotherhood of the rope" during the next 16 days, each one of us in turn being vigilant and alert for the safety of our teammates.
We climb, rest, eat, climb, camp and repeat.
There are clear days, snow storms, miles to cover and feet of elevation to gain. Every step of the way, we keep track of ourselves and our teammates. We keep eating even though we're not hungry, we keep drinking even though it's cold and there's slush in our water bottles and we keep moving to stay warm and to make progress.
Along the way we manage to have a little fun. Basin camp is at just over 14,000 ft and it's really the last somewhat protected place to camp before heading to the summit. Hi camp is above at 17,200ft but you don't want to be there any longer than you have to. During a rest day at Basin Camp, we carved out a table and benches for a game of cards.
Later, up on the "16 Ridge", Dave and Eben hammed it up showing off their huge guns and bigger packs.
Moving up to high camp takes significant effort and two trips in order to have enough gear, food, and fuel for our summit push. It's also quite possible to get caught up there for a week or more in bad weather so skimping on supplies is not a wise move. Once we arrive, we build a fortified camp with three foot snow walls. Winds can reach well over 150 mph up here and losing a tent is not an option. In the photo below, you can just barely make out the ascending traverse route up the "Autobahn" to the saddle. This will be our first obstacle in the morning.
Summit day starts at 7am and it's minus 25 degrees. We have over 3,000 ft to climb and will be breaking trail most of the way. It's been 3 or 4 days since anyone was on the summit due to poor weather. Avalanche danger is on our minds in addition to the usual things that can hurt or kill you up here.
We keep the rope stretched out for safety so communication is minimal between us.
Finally after 12 long hours, both teams reach the summit at jsut after 7pm. The sky is blue, winds are calm and we can see 100 miles or more. Even though the temperature is minus 20 or less, we feel great!
After much celebration and enjoying the view, we turn to head back across the summit ridge and down towards our high camp. Mountaineers know this is usually the most dangerous part of a climb. the summit has been achieved and exhaustion begins to creep into our legs. Many places along the route are "no fall zones" and require vigilance by all. Mount Foraker has been our companion during the climb and can be seen beyond the summit ridge of Denali below.
Descending Denali takes us less than 2 days. Once the goal is achieved, all minds turn towards getting down safely to more oxygen, better food and a hot shower. Reaching base camp in early afternoon, we're informed by the park ranger that weather is too poor for flying and we'll be spending the night. Below you will see a combined pile of gear and sleeping climbers. Basically we crashed for a few hours, all the work done safely and successfully.
Finally after waiting for three days of bad weather during which we packed a runway down multiple times with our snowshoes, a plane arrived to pick us up. We spent a total of 19 days on this beautiful and wild mountain. We achieved our goal safely and were thankful for the experience. We were ready to leave.
There are many routes to climb Denali. Some are historical and rarely used, some are very technical with limited success rates and the most popular is the West Buttress route. Many thanks to our teammates and Alaska Mountaineering School for their professional mountain guides and their support during our preparation for this expedition.
The 4th mountain in our quest for climbing the Seven Summits is Mt. Elbrus in Russia......
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