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My trip to Alaska was arranged in three parts. The first week was spent learning alpine mountaineering with Alpine Ascents. This course was held on the Kahiltna Glacier, a few hundred meters north of the McKinley base camp at 7200'. During the second week, I toured parts of Alaska including Prince William Sound, Anchorage and Denali National Park. The final three weeks were spent with Alaska Denali Guiding & Alaska Mountaineering School in an attempt to climb Mt. McKinley. Following is my journal of the trip. SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2002 Today I woke up at 5:00 AM at the Earth B&B in Anchorage after spending all day Friday flying from New York. The news reports in Seattle were mostly about three climbers who had frozen to death on Mt.Rainier and a second accident on Mt. Hood where three sets of climbers, roped to each other, had fallen into a crevasse. Three of them had also died, and then when a helicopter had come to rescue the remaining six, it crashed, injuring five more. The Earth B&B is a private home on 12th Street in Anchorage, run by Margariet. There were over twenty climbers packed into five rooms. Some were coming and others were going, so we had a chance to talk with people who had just summated and some who had not. A climber named Ramon from Venezuela is trying to climb all seven summits at 69 years old. Another, Jim, had turned back because the snow was so soft he was sinking in up to his waist, even with snowshoes. He was back to Denali for a second year—this time to make a film documentary. Perhaps the extra 30- pounds of camera gear had prevented him from navigating the glacier. I am struck by the qualifications of the people I am meeting. All have extensive ice climbing experience. On the shuttle from Anchorage to Talkeetna this morning, I met two other groups each planning self guided trips. One group, led by someone named Gary, has its own professional photographer named Tony who regularly covers Ecochallenge and Grand Prix events. Also on this team is someone named Marcos who has participated in many of the Ecochallenge events and is an ultra marathoner. He holds many world records, including 4 back-to-back ultra marathons (400 miles) and will run his 100th ultra marathon in July. Another member of Gary's group in the shuttle was Aron Ralston. At the time Aron was just another super-fit climber, but he would become infamous a year later when he was trapped alone in a Colorado canyon and used a jackknife to cut off his arm, and climb to safety. Aron has gone on to become a motivational speaker, author and subject of the movie '127 hours'. Upon arrival in Talkeetna, I
checked into the Chinook Wind Cabins, and then started repacking my gear. Alaska
Denali Guiding (the outfitter for my climb) is next door and I was able to rent
snowshoes for the week, but will probably buy them when I get back to Anchorage.
Talkeetna is very small—you can walk everywhere. I venture out to the grocery
store, but spent most of the day in my cabin resting and trying to adjust to the
sun, which doesn't set until after 11 pm and comes back up at around 3 am.. My trip begins tomorrow with breakfast at The Roadhouse in Talkeetna where I meet the other people on the Alpine Ascents team. I feel as ready as I can be and hope that the weather, which has been warm and raining, will freeze up so the glacier is not too soft to walk on. SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 2002 Today I met three of the instructors at breakfast—Alan who works in the office, and Jon and Eric who will be guiding our trip. After breakfast we rode around and picked up the other people who will be spending the week with us. Once we had picked up all six students, we went to the Alpine Ascents area for a gear check, then out to the airport for our flight to the glacier. Our 11 AM take-off time was delayed because the landing area at the glacier was fogged in, so we went back to town for lunch. After lunch we headed back to the airport, but had to wait until after 4 PM for our turn to fly out. We passed the time learning knots, rope management and how to ascend out of a crevasse using prussic knots. Finally at 4:30 PM we
loaded our stuff into two 4-passenger planes and took off for the 50-minute,
100-mile flight to the glacier and Denali Base Camp. The flight is initially
over flat lands but the Alaska Range is quickly upon us and the small planes
threaded their way through mountain passes with probably less than 200 feet to
spare on either side of the plane. We landed and taxied to the
area where we dropped off our gear and regrouped. After roping up to hike about
1/3 mile to the Alpine Ascents base camp, we headed off. Denali Base Camp had
several dozen people and scores of caches of supplies from other groups on the
mountain
After a 20-minute hike,
pulling sleds for the first time, we arrived at the area Alpine Ascents uses for
their classes. The site has about 10 holes dug into the glacier to set up tents
and a larger hole covered with a tent that is used for community cooking. We set
up our tents (I am sharing a tent with Eric) then met in the community tent to
make dinner. Dinner wasn't over until after 11 PM and we all headed to bed. The
sun continued to shine until 1 am when I finally fell asleep and it was bright
at 4 AM when I woke up the next day. MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2002 Today we cooked breakfast and got ready for our first day of Snow School. At 9 AM we roped up into two groups of 4 and headed off with light packs about1/2 mile further up the glacier to learn various steps used to climb and how to self arrest when you fall. There is another group we are sharing the camp with who are working on similar activities. We'd work for a couple hours and take a break. It started snowing but it didn't bother us, as we were dressed for it. After about six hours, we headed back to camp, then spent some more time working on belay techniques, before having dinner and going to bed. TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2002 Our group consists of eight men.
Besides Eric and Jon, our guides, there is myself, Jeff from Redmond, WA, Harold
from Singapore, Andy from Texas, Allen, also from Texas and Mason from West
Virginia. Today we climbed "Control
Tower", a 1200-foot peak that airplanes use to line up to land on the Southeast
Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The climb took several hours through deep snow
with some steep icy sections. I was on the second rope team ascending the
mountain with
We returned to camp by 6 PM, cooked dinner then retired for the night. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2002 Today we worked on placing protection into snow, equalizing the protection with multiple anchors or deadmen and tying it all together by using a pulley system to get someone out of a crevasse or up from over a ledge. It snowed most of the day and, although we were working just outside our campsite, it was a long day.
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2002 Today is a beautiful day, so instead of working on crevasse rescue, we elected to hike nine miles (round trip) across the Kahiltna Glacier and then climb Mt. Benjamin (8260'). We left at 10 AM, two 4-man rope teams, working our way past Denali Base Camp and the airport down onto the glacier.
We crossed the glacier in about two hours and started up the mountain (aka Benny's Bump). The mountain was a combination of deep snow and rock. We reached the top at about 4:30 PM and had spectacular views of the glacier. Going down was somewhat easier but slopes were as steep as 45 degrees. We got to the bottom by 7 pm then crossed the glacier and were back by 10 pm. We were all very tired. I slept for an hour, and then woke up to make dinner. The forecast is for 6" of snow tonight so we'll do crevasse rescue tomorrow then leave in the afternoon.
Today we awoke to a snowstorm that had left 8" of snow overnight and continued through the day. We got off to a late start, and left for crevasse rescue at 10:30 AM. Crevasse rescue was done at the crevasse only a couple hundred yards from our campsite. Crevasse rescue consisted
of lowering one person 40 feet down into a 50' crevasse then having the two
people above set up a Z system for pulling them out. I was first on our team to
go into the crevasse and Mason was first on the other team.
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2002 All flights were canceled Friday so we pitched our tents again at base camp and hoped that weather would be better in the morning. Saturday's weather was better and planes started leaving at about 9:00 AM. The other guys all had flights to catch so I volunteered to go on the last flight that took off at 11 AM. Eric and I spent the extra 2 hours in the tent of the airport controller, Lisa, as she had a heater. Her tent received many visitors, mostly climbers who had been waiting days to fly out—also the National Park Rangers who were comparing their records with Lisa's to see who was on the mountain and may be overdue. I sat in the cockpit of the 4 passenger 'Beaver' plane on the 50-minute flight back. As we were leaving, mechanics were arriving to prepare an overturned plane to be taken out by helicopter. I checked into the Chinook Winds Cabins at 1 PM and arranged to have dinner with Jon and Eric Saturday night. SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2002 I'm taking the 11 AM shuttle back to Anchorage today to purchase additional items at REI and sightsee in Anchorage. I've decided to leave most of my climbing gear at ASM/ADG so I don't have to lug them back and forth. At breakfast at The Roadhouse, I met a climber from New York who had turned back at 14,000’. He was climbing with his daughter on a trip lead by RMI. He thinks his daughter might have summated today. The shuttle came at 11 AM and we picked up Eric at the Alpine Ascents office and were back in Anchorage at the Earth B&B by 2 PM. I walked to REI to pick up some last minute items and schedule a trip to Whittier tomorrow for an all-day cruise on Prince William Sound to see glaciers calving into the ocean. I walked into downtown Anchorage for dinner at a local restaurant. MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2002 Today I walked to the Hilton in downtown Anchorage to catch a bus to Whittier for my cruise. I was one of five people on the bus, Roger and Milly from Minnesota who are traveling by RV and Chris and his friend JD who works at a fish processing plant in Whittier. Chris is an exchange student and JD is his friend. Both are from the Chec Republic. JD went to work, but the rest of us boarded a boat for a 5-hour cruise of Prince William Sound. We saw killer whales, a ribbon seal and many sea otters. The salmon season is beginning and I took pictures of commercial salmon fisherman pulling up nets of fish. At the end of the trip, Chris and I went to say goodbye to JD at the fish processing plant and he gave us each a sockeye salmon, which I took back to Earth B&B to eat for dinner. TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2002 This morning I’ll send flowers to Maureen in memory of the anniversary of Alissa's death tomorrow. I met two writers at Earth B&B, Joe and Nels, who are writing a book called ‘To The Top’, about climbing the highest mountains in all 50 states. They are going up McKinley (their last one) with acclaimed mountain guide Vern Tejas of Alpine Ascents tomorrow, and plan to write an article about him also. After paying bills and working on the computer in the morning, I headed out on the Coastal Trail and to pick up some last minute items. It rained for most of the day so I cut my hike short and was back at Earth B&B by 3 PM. I was a little worried that I wouldn't have anyone to share my salmon with but by 6 pm, the house started filling up. Three climbers from Austria agreed to join Margarite and I for barbecued salmon and it was fantastic! During dinner, I learned that these Austrian climbers were medical doctors and, during their summit of McKinley two weeks before, they had come across a body at 19,000 feet. It turned out the climber was still alive and they instituted a miraculous emergency evacuation, which saved the man's life. It turns out the man who was from Boston had stayed at the Earth B&B before he went up Denali and Margarite had been to visit him in the hospital. I told the Austrians that I would look them up I was in Europe. Their names are Egfried and Hans. Tomorrow I leave early to walk to the train station to catch the train to Denali Park. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2002 The train station is about a mile from Earth B&B. I got up early, packed and said goodbye to Margarite. I got to the train station an hour early and spent the time walking around the yard. The train was very long. The cruise lines have their own cars and there were over dozen passenger cars total. I had a window seat on the left side. The trip was about 8 hours with stops at Wasilla, Talkeetna and finally Denali Park. I ate lunch in the dining car. The bus from the Denali Bluff Hotel met us at the railroad depot and took us to the hotel, arriving around 5 PM. After checking in I walked to see a movie on the Northern Lights –which wasn't too good. I had dinner early at the hotel's little café and went to bed early so I could get up at 4am for my bus tour of Denali Park, which leaves at 5:30am. THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2002 I was up early dressed and ate breakfast in the café of the hotel. The shuttle bus left at 5 AM and took us to the pick up point for our tour. I was on the second of two busses each with 54 people leaving at 5:30 AM. I have a window seat on the left, which seems good going into the park. We saw 3 grizzly bears, caribou, dahl sheep all from a distance. A moose, 2 more bears and a fox closer. The 8-hour trip was over by 2 PM. After the tour, I had lunch at the restaurant where we were dropped off then took the shuttle back to my hotel where I did some laundry and relaxed for the rest of the day. At dinnertime, I hiked up to a restaurant on the mountainside and had halibut in a beautiful setting overlooking the valley. Afterward, I attended a slide presentation given by someone who has climbed Denali 4 times. FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2002 The train ride back to Talkeetna was great but we saw no wildlife. We did have good views of the mountain, as we got closer to Talkeetna. I walked to the Chinook Wind Cabins and shortly after checking in met Mike Smith who will be part of our group. We hooked up with Tom and went to the West Rib for dinner. Tomorrow we meet the rest of the group next door at ASM/ADG to start the actual climb up McKinley. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2002 We woke early, had breakfast, packed, and were at ASM/ADG by 7:30 AM. We spent the morning checking out our gear and obtaining any last minute items we were missing. We then packed our food, went to the National Park Service to pay a $150 climbing fee and were at the airport by 3pm. The first flight left at 4 PM with Tom, Mike, Kirby and myself and we were on the glacier before 5 PM. The second group followed shortly thereafter. We set up 3 tents at the top of the hill and built a little dining area. Dinner was at 7:30 PM and we planned to go to bed early to start adjusting to a night schedule. Climbing on the lower glacier needs to be done during the coldest time periods to insure the snow bridges over the crevasses are frozen. My tent mate is Mike Smith.
MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2002 We woke at midnight, ate breakfast packed our stuff and set off at 2:30 AM. Photos on roll #3 of camp at midnight and some stops on the lower Kahiltna Glacier as we made our way 5 miles to the base of ski hill where we will camp for 2 nights. We arrived at 7 AM. .
The crevasses are huge. We passed one that was only 6" wide but it ran the entire 4-mile width of the valley and we couldn't see the bottom. Other large holes appeared on both sides of the footprints we followed to camp one. There are avalanches every hour. Our plan is to carry a load up Ski Hill tonight then return for the rest our stuff. During dinner Monday at the foot of Ski Hill our tents blew away. We were able to catch it, but it reemphasized the importance of securing everything down.
We are at 7800 feet and will carry a load to 10,500 tomorrow. TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2002 We got up at 2 AM, ate breakfast and packed all our stuff we wouldn't need for the next 2 days. We started up Ski Hill at
4:15 AM. The hill is much bigger than it looks. We crossed a couple of
crevasses, which was a concern, as we were not wearing snowshoes. We reached the
top (10,500ft) around 10 AM where we dug a cache and buried the stuff we had
brought. Then we turned around and headed back to our camp and 7800 ft. for one
more night. At dinner we discussed signs and symptoms of various illnesses: AMS, HACE, HAPE. It is very common for everyone to get some form of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), which includes headaches, dizziness, and loss of appetite, HAPE includes symptoms Advanced AMS, HAPE or HACE are all reasons to go down immediately. There is considerable talk that the reason for climbing is the journey and not necessarily the summit. The last few days have been great and we are meeting many groups who have summated and on they’re way down. There is one Russian team on the mountain, which includes two paraplegic climbers in wheelchairs. The chairs have skis and the other climbers fix ropes and use hand levers to self pull them up. Also on the mountain in another ASM/ADG group consisting of 4 guides headed by Jim Williams and one climber; a New Jersey physician named Tom. Tom is raising money to combat thyroid cancer. They have a bunch of computer equipment and are posting an account of the trip to the Internet. For an analytical version of what it's like for a middle aged man to climb McKinley. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2002
Today we slept in until 2
AM, and then moved our camp from 7800' to 11,000' passing the stuff we had
left at 10,500' the day before. Tomorrow we'll descend back to 10,500' and
pick up the equipment and bring it up to 11,000'. We plan to be at 11,000' for at least 3 days, beginning our acclimatization. One of these days will include carrying half our stuff up to 13,500', then descending the same day. This way when we move the 14,000' in 4 days, we'll only have to descend 500' to pick up our stuff. Today started out cloudy but quickly developed into a full-blown storm. We heard thunder several times. We reached 11,000 at about 10 AM and set up our tents in the blowing storm. Now at 3:30 PM we've been resting in the tent for several hours listening to the storm rage outside. 
The 11,000' camp looks very crowded; I saw at least 50 tents on the way in. After the storm, two climbers from the Russian group. Mathew and Oleg come by to visit. There are 11 in their group including the two paraplegics. They were descending from 14,000' yesterday and lost a sled carrying 250 lbs of equipment, including their camera gear, cell phones and 2 satellite phones. They asked if they could use a phone to contact their friends in Moscow to let them know they were ok. They also wanted to know if we had any cigarettes or vodka. This Russian trip was an amazing expedition. They carried 3000 lbs of equipment and took 38 days to climb the mountain. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2002 This morning, Kirby told us that three brothers from Anchorage who had been climbing Mt. Foraker were killed in an avalanche. Also, higher on the mountain, there is a major rescue effort underway to save someone who fell 140'.
Tomorrow looks to be our toughest day so far-a 2500 foot climb up Motorcycle Hill, then up Squirrel Hill, past Windy Corner to cache half our equipment at 13,500'-then back to 11,000 to sleep. FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2002 This morning is cold but there is a clear sky we plan to leave at 7:30 AM. Lenticular
clouds over Mt. Foraker delayed our trip for a few hours. They usually mean a
storm is approaching but the dissipated by 10 AM and we were on our way. This was a long tough day. We carried backpacks only up Motorcycle Hill turned night at the Washburn. Face of the West Buttress, went up Squirrel Hill onto the Polo Field. Four hours later we passed Windy Corner and cached our equipment about 500 feet below the camp 3 at 14,000 feet. I led our return, plunge stepping down 2500' in about an hour. The weather turned as we arrived in camp and we had a quick drink and went to bed. SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2002 It was very windy all night and I didn't think we would move camp today, but the morning was cloudless so we decided to move. We ate, packed and were on our way by 10:30 AM. We followed the same route
as yesterday; up Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, The Polo Field, Windy Corner,
past the cache we made yesterday, on to camp 3 at 14,000’. The day was
spectacular, but the climb was very difficult and I was beginning to fell the
affects of altitude. I had to ask for several short unplanned breaks to catch my
breath. We arrived in camp before
6 PM
and set up the tent and had dinner. I went to bed immediately afterward. Tomorrow we plan to get the cache we left at 13,500 the other day so it should be an easy day. SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2002 I was able to borrow Phil’s phone last night and place a quick call to Mom and Dad. They have been following an Alpine Ascents team that is posting updates via the Internet. That team #9 is a week ahead of us.
MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2002 Our plan today is to carry equipment up the Headwall then return to base. The Headwall starts at the 14,000’ camp and rises 2000’ to the ridge of the West Buttress. The first 1200’ is snow, then there is a Bertschard, and the fixed ropes begin for the remaining 800’. The fixed ropes cover a 45-60 degree slope of ice & snow.
We rested for an hour at
the bergstrund, and then roped up for the final 800’. The fixed ropes allowed us
to attach an ascender and climb with our arms as well as legs. The footing was
icy, but there were steps cut from previous parties. The slope is in between
45-60°. We take about an hour to go 800’, but finally made it to the top at
16,000’ where we buried our equipment. The wind was raging at 40-50 mph and we
were anxious to get off the ridge. I had difficulty with my ascenders on the way down and had to resort to an arm wrap on the line to prevent climbers behind me getting frostbite in the cold. Once below the fixed lines, the descent was easier, in fact, we were able to slide down 600’ on our rear ends, which was fun and fast. We got back to camp at 6:20 PM, for an 8-hour day. TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2002 Today is scheduled to be a rest day. We slept in until 11 AM, then made quesedias in the kitchen, then went back to the tents for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we plan to get up
at 5 AM, pack up camp and move to 17,000 camp, AKA High Camp. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2002 Today the sun is shining but the wind in the morning is so strong we’ve decided to wait another day before moving up. This is the first weather related delay we have experienced. Weather had been affecting many other groups on the mountain. The ASM/ADG team that left Talkeetna a week before us has been pinned down at 14,000’ camp with us and had to leave yesterday because the were out of time. Vern Tejas' Alpine Ascents group split up yesterday with four climbers going back and only 2 going on. The 13 member mountain trip camped next to us is also calling it quits, as well as Jim Williams' client Tommy, after climbing to 17,200 camp. THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2002 Today’s weather was good so we packed up camp and left at 10 AM. The climb was difficult as we were all carrying 65 lb packs. Additionally, at the top of the fixed lines we had to pick up the stuff we had left there a couple of days ago. We made it to the bergstrand in less than 3 hours and, after a rest, started up the fixed ropes. Halfway up the fixed ropes, I lost a crampon but it was held on by the safety strap and I was able to reattach it after a struggle. On the way up the headwall, we met a solo climber named Mike Hect from Toronto. He was only on the 5th day of his climb - which means he wasn’t acclimatizing properly. Rob nicknamed him "Solo Boy". At the top of the fixed
lines, we rested again, then dug up our supplies and distributed them amongst
ourselves for the final 1000’ climb across the ridge to high camp at 17,200’. .
Now with 75 lbs in our packs, this final 3-hour Although the view from the ridge is spectacular, I had to use all my concentration to place my feet in the right spots to keep from falling off. I can’t remember ever looking up from my feet and the rope in front of me. We finally arrived at High
Camp at 7 PM. The camp was crowded so we had to build our own snow walls to keep
our tents from blowing away. FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2002 Today is a rest day. Many other people at High Camp are leaving for the summit this morning. I am told this is the first good day in 13 days. After sleeping until noon, we got up and cut more snow blocks to reinforce our wind protection. Solo Boy arrived at High Camp after spending the night somewhere along the trail. SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2002 Many people summated yesterday. Today is also great weather so we’ve decided to make an attempt at the summit ourselves. The day begins with a 2-hour climb up Denali Pass. This long traverse can be seen in its entirety from High Camp. From there, we turned right and continued toward the Football Field en route to the summit. The altitude is taking a tremendous toll on my breathing and I am forced to ask our rope team to stop several times so I can catch my breath. There are 20 climbers attempting to reach the summit today. The 7 of us, 6 climbers with Alpine Ascents (group #9), 2 Iranians who were kind enough to offer Nescafe to Tom and I during a break, a 4 man Danish team, sponsored by Gouda and Solo Boy, who is climbing again today with no rest. The climbing gets more and more difficult and although the summit is clearly visible, we never seem to get any closer as the hours go by. By 2 PM, we are crossing the Football Field, and allow the 2 Iranians to pass us. As we begin the final ascent towards the summit ridge, I begin to wonder for the first time if I will in fact be able to make it. At 4:30 PM, as we are
stepping onto the ridge, we met the Iranians who have summated and are heading
down. Finally at 5:15 PM we reach the summit – 20,320 feet – the highest point in North America. There is room to unrope and celebrate. We are soon joined by the Alpine Ascents team and spend an hour taking photos. I took a panoramic series, which I hope can be patched together into a 360° view. The weather has been spectacular all day.
By 6 PM, we begin the trip down. We can see Solo Boy starting his way up the Ridge. He walks 10 steps, then stops, doubles over for a minute, and then takes another 10 steps. He clearly is in trouble and when we met, both Rob and Kirby encourage him to turn around and return to camp, but he will not listen; he must go on. Further down the mountain
we meet the Danish team headed up. They are made aware of Solo Boy’s situation.
Kirby also radioed the National Park Service who confirmed that they too have
The descent was much quicker than the trip up and by 8 PM we could see High Camp from the top of Denali Pass. The climb down the pass requires running protection and extreme concentration to step in the established footprints. By 9:45 PM we are back in camp and I use my remaining energy to crawl into my tent. Everyone is equally drained and any celebration will have to wait until morning.
SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2002 Today we slept until 11 AM then broke camp for the long journey back. Our plan was to climb down in one 24-hour period, stopping to pick up caches of equipment and trash as we went. We left at noon, reached the top of the Headwall by 2 PM and descended into 14,000’camp by 3 PM. I met Eric from Alpine Ascents who was guiding a climb up, and spent an hour reminiscing on the week we had spent as tent mates earlier in the month. At 5:30 PM we left 14,000’ camp to descend to 11,000’ camp where we had planned to rest until midnight to give the Kahiltna Glacier time to freeze up, making it a safer to travel across. We are all very tired and have multiple injuries to feet and muscles. MONDAY, JULY 1, 2002 After resting and eating at 11,000 camp, we collect the gear and start for Base Camp at 12:30 AM. Each of us has a full pack and sled, which weigh about 100 lbs. The glacier is very soft and the trail is difficult. After several hours, we decide to put on snowshoes which makes travel slower, but protects us from ‘post holing" every third step. By 4 AM we had reached 7800’ camp and continued on without stopping. It is sleeting now and difficult to see. At 7 AM we had reached the bottom of Heartbreak Hill with less than a mile (uphill now) to go to Base Camp. At the is point, Phil announces that he can’t possibly go any further and wants to set up tents there on the glacier to rest further. After a half hour wait, we convince him to go on and we proceed up the hill arriving in Base Camp at 8:45 AM. The landing strip is fogged in so no planes will be able to come to pick us up. We decide to pitch tents to wait for the weather to clear. We are in our tent all day and no planes can land, so we spend another night on the glacier. TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2002 and WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2002 Two more days spent in our tents at base camp waiting for planes that never arrived. We learned of another
climber missing and presumed dead on the West Ridge. There is a Frenchman in the
tent next to ours that has frostbite on his hand and may loose 3 fingers. It continues to rain sleet and snow day and night. The storm is inconsistent here in base camp but is producing 118-knot winds at 17,000’ camp and over a meter of new snow. As near as I can figure, Eric’s Alpine Ascent group is probably caught at 17,000’ camp. THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2002 Finally the weather breaks
and I am able to get out on the first plane. The rest of our group follows on
subsequent flights and are all back in Talkeetna by noontime.
Our success has been 90%
weather related. With enough time and the right equipment we were able to
wait for windows of opportunity to move up the mountain. For us the windows
opened quickly, for others they did not. In the four years preceding my
trip to Denali, the NPS reported no climbing fatalities in the park, yet in
the few short weeks I spent there 5 people died in 3 separate accidents, and
two additional people were rescued from certain death. Success on McKinley
should not be measured by reaching the top so much as returning to share
whatever experience we had with friends and loved ones. After turning in our gear, we all met at the West Rib Restaurant for a celebration lunch. We returned to AMS/ADG to view Tom’s 3-D video in it’s raw form and he promised to send us copies of the finished version. Mike and I checked into the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge up on the hill and invited the others up to share a hot tub. Phil left to drive to Denali Park, but the rest of us had dinner at the Lodge before Steve and Tom left to return to town for the night.
I woke and packed in time to have breakfast with Mike before catching the shuttle at 9AM back to Anchorage. We stopped by Earth B & B to say ‘goodbye’ to Margarite. The shuttle dropped me by the airport by noon and I had time to get a haircut and start reading about my next trip to China before catching a 5 PM non-stop to San Francisco.
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I don't think it was ever dark outside.
