| Denali |
| Denali, formerly known as Mt McKinley, is North America's highest mountain at 20,320 feet or 6,194 meters. Located only two degrees south of the Arctic circle, Denali's environment is an eternal winter with possible summer temperatures of 50F below 0 at its higher elevations. Due to the troposphere being thinner around the arctic and the pressure differences on Denali, an unusual amount of climbers experience altitude problems on the mountain. Standing on the summit of Denali at 20,320 feet is thought to have the same effect on the body as being 23,000 feet in the Himalayas. To add more to the challenge of Denali, there are no porters available to cut some slack for climbers on the mountain. All climbers must carry their own gear and a month's worth of food, usually around 300lbs between a climber and his partner. And something I experienced first hand was Denali's horrible weather and frequent wind storms. |
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| Like all major mountains, you need a climbing permit and to check in with the local ranger station before getting started. In Alaska, Denali's ranger station is located in the small town of Talkeetna. After the quick brief we were off to K2 Aviation where we loaded up in small planes that would land us on the glacier. |
| The 40 minute flight from Talkeetna will drop you off on the Kahiltna glacier. Your first job on the mountain is to unload the plane and set up base camp. Once the plane is unloaded and taken off you're left on your own to survive on Denali. From the first few minutes of arriving to the mountain you are already working hard. |
| As you get higher the camp strength gets more and more critical on the mountain. For Denali base camp, usually leveling out the snow for your tent is sufficient enough to get you through, especially since you don't spend much time here. Even down low things can be dangerous, after only a few hours on the mountain a large avalanche occurred near base camp. Above is me setting up camp, below is the avalanche. |
| On Day 2 of Denali we packed up our tent and headed to Camp 1 with all our gear. Denali base camp is at 7,200 feet, you lose 400 feet descending down heart break hill then gain another 1,000 as you head to 7,800. The way to Camp 1 is long and mostly flat with gradual increases at the end. Your backpack and sled combined can weigh as much as 150lbs and despite all my training I still found this extremely strenuous! During the month of June, the sun doesn't really set but rather goes behind mountains for a few hours. With 24 hours of light, some groups switch to a night schedule to avoid the sun on the lower glaciers. Since we were in mid May we left at 2pm. The sun reflecting off the surrounding mountains made it feel like we were in an oven; on my second day on Denali I found myself extremely hot and dehydrated. |
| The crevasse danger here is extreme and roping up is critical. After descending heart break hill and traveling for another 2 hours we got a glimpse of the whole mountain and Denali's summit. It took us about 5 hours total to reach Camp 1 with some groups taking as many as 9 hours to reach the first camp depending on the weather and snow conditions. Carrying all that gear in a single trip was one of the harder days on the mountain for sure, but would be better than carrying half the gear in two trips which some climbers do. The upper left is the group taking a break. On the right is our first glimpse of Denali; the fast moving clouds hugging the top indicate extreme winds conditions. The two photos below are both of me pulling sleds and on the right taking a water break. Normally we stopped for 10 minutes after each hour. |
| Camp 1 is located right below ski hill, my first significant incline on Denali. Despite Day 2 being very demanding there are few breaks on this mountain when the weather is good, so in other words if you have good weather you're going to have to make the most of it regardless how hard the previous day was. On the third day we had to wake up and carry half our gear to 10,000 feet and cache it there. On the upper left is Camp 1, on the right is the group getting ready to carry to 10,000 feet. The lower left is the cache where you must bury your gear at least one meter deep. With the gear dropped off we can tie the sleds to our packs and casually walk back down to Camp 1. |
| At this point things seemed to be going fast on Denali. We were always busy and there wasn't much time to sit around so before I knew it, day 4 had arrived and it was time to pack up and move to Camp 2. On the left is the sun coming out from behind a mountain making a significant temperature change in the day. The right photos shows my team moving up ski hill as we head to Camp 2. |
| On the left is Kahiltna pass at 10,000 feet, the previous day we had put our cache just above this location. Since we were carrying half our load at the time, around 65lbs now, we ignored the cache and continued to Camp 2. Doing a single load carry of over 100lbs at 10,000 feet will be extremely difficult and would take up most of the day. Plus, the higher you are the more difficult it is for your body to recover. |
| After a long day we reached Camp 2 at 11,200 feet and dropped our packs and sleds. With every mountain I've done before, at this point the day would be over. Not on Denali though, grab a shovel and snow saw and spend a couple hours fortifying your camp! |
| We spent three nights here at Camp 2, so once the camp was complete it was nice to not have to take the tent down after just one night. Over 11,000 feet, the views on Denali began to get interesting. On Day 5 we went down to 10,500 feet and picked up our cache and carried it back to Camp 2. Day 6 we did a cache carry to 13,500 feet and dropped off 65lbs of food and gear there. Above are views of Camp 2 and some scenery. Below on the left is our bathroom, on the right is the inside of my tent, my partner and me taking time to dry off some gear. |
| Day 7! After almost a week it's time to move to Camp 3, at 14,200 feet. Camp 3 is also known as advanced base camp, and this is where you're likely to spend most of your days on the mountain. Our first challenge out of Camp 2 is Motorcycle hill. This is a 600 foot hill and is the steepest part of the mountain while you are using your sleds. The angle is steep enough to where you have to duck walk in order to properly climb it. Earlier in the trip on steep terrain I stepped with the front of my foot first which put all the weight I was carrying into my calf. I woke up extremely sore the next day and was worried I wouldn't be able to continue. Duck walking places the stress evenly on your leg muscles so it's a much more efficient way to travel. After climbing motorcycle hill you immediately approach ski hill seen below. This hill is also challenging but is followed by the gentle polo field on the lower right. The polo field feels like a good break after motorcycle and ski hill! |
| Right after the polo field is what is known as windy corner. High rock formations and extreme winds make this area a dangerous place to spend time. Denali climbers have been killed here by falling rocks, some wear helmets but a large boulder will make that helmet useless. |
| So far for the entire Denali trip I had felt completely strong each day we did the caches and moves up to higher camps. For some reason, when I passed windy corner I suddenly felt the high altitude and was out of breathe each step I took. Fortunately it was only an hour and a half to reach the camp from windy corner, but I found it extremely tiring. Like before, once in a new camp I wasn't done yet and had to spend time setting up tents and fixing walls. I found myself exhausted after arriving to camp, and even digging with an ice axe was tiring. I had been at 20,000 feet on Aconcagua and felt better!On the upper left is our soon to be cook tent, on the right are some other tents set up. |
| I'm not sure what had happened with me on Day 7 with the altitude, but on Day 8 when I woke up and felt great. It's amazing how much you can acclimatize overnight! Camp 3 is a relatively nicer camp than other places on Denali. Although you're still on your own, there is a ranger station nearby that broadcasts weather and can offer emergency help. If you got a cold or even a major injury they won't help you unless it's life threatening. Camp 3 also has several hole in the snow toilets and even a throne toilet. Still no privacy though, it's dead center of camp! |
| On Day 8 we retrieved our cache from windy corner, on Day 9 we went up to 16,200 feet to drop off 7 days off food. Our guide was feeling motivated that day so he took me and two others and we went all the way across the west buttress and dropped off 3 days worth of food and fuel at all the way at Camp 4 before going back to 14,200 feet. During our brief stop at Camp 4 we were only 8 hours from the summit! On Day 10 we took our first real rest day and did absolutely nothing. Walking around Camp 3 I took some photos. Denali is a very international mountain with people coming from different organizations, countries and even militaries from around the world. |
| When I had stopped by camp 4 on Day 9 my confidence was soaring, I felt great at that altitude and knew I'd have no problems when we moved to Camp 4 for good. We basically had two hard days left, one move to high camp, and then summit. The photo on the upper left is actually from Day 9 as well, warm temperatures but high summit winds was the forecast. If it's 5F at 14,200 feet then its likely -25F on the summit, relatively warm day. The forecast of 50 to 70mph winds wasn't a good sign though. This will create summit wind chills of close to -60F, death/frostbite is guaranteed. The rainbow by the sun is also a bad omen. At this point I wasn't worried at all, we had plenty of time left. |
| The bad weather did come in fast. At this point on Denali we hadn't had any problems for weather so now we had to dig in and pay the price. On the left are some high winds moving in past the ranger station. On the right is Camp 3 in a white out. Day 10 had been a rest day, on Day 11 through Day 12 we waited patiently in our tents for the weather to clear that Friday. 48 hours of doing nothing is torture. |
| Friday, Day 13, brought more bad weather. To make matters worse, the forecast for the next 3 days continued to predict colder temperatures and strong winds. Sometimes in Camp 3 the weather wasn't bad, but higher up on the mountain you could hear the strong winds passing by. We nicknamed this the express train, and it seemed like it would be running for a while. Above is a snow storm in camp 3, on the right is a group of climbers who decided to give up the summit and head home due to weather. We still had time, but I was starting to worry. |
| Day 14 through 16 brought more bad weather at the higher camps. Weather at Camp 3 was actually clear, just a bit windy. I hadn't left the immediate area of my tent in a week by this point. In order to keep us sane and to avoid muscle deterioration we did a short hike to what is known as the end of the world. It felt good to get out and do something, and I missed the busy days from two weeks ago. On the left is a photo of the west rib, an extremely challenging route to Denali's summit. On the right is myself at the 'end of the world'. |
| Day 17 was more bad news. We still had 10 days of food but they were up at 16,400 and at 17,200 feet. The past few days we had tried to ration what we had left and laid in our tents bored and miserable. I was extremely stressed as well. It seemed at this point I had used a month of vacation, spent a year of my life training among other sacrifices only to sit in a tent for 10 days at 14,000 feet. Other climbers attempted to go up to Camp 4, some made it, others returned with injuries and frostbite. A Polish man fell and broke his shoulder, another group was trapped on the ridge and had to spend the night there. And still, an American had returned with patches of frozen skin on his face. One night at camp 3, temperatures had dropped to -28F, meaning Camp 4 must have been 45F below or more. |
| Finally day 18 predicted good weather for two days. We could move to camp 4 today and then summit the mountain the next day! This last chance brought everyone's hope up. We spent Day 18 taking down our camp and moving up to 17,200 feet. On the left is myself leaving advanced base camp after 11 days there. On the right are some people in my group leading up the fixed ropes, a 50 degree ice slope that is the steepest part of the climb. Once above the fixed ropes you approach the actual west buttress ridge which ends at Camp 4. |
| The above photos show climbers descending the west buttress ridge. Our climb from the fixed ropes through the ridge was one of the hardest parts of the trip. Some in my group even thought that it had been the hardest day by far. It seemed like we were on a different mountain at this point. We no longer had packed snow and gentle slopes where we could pull a sled. There were several steep and exposed sections with dangerous slopes on both sides. We had to use pickets and fixed ropes on certain sections of the ridge. One of the guys on my team fell on the ridge and self arrested giving the rope a hard pull. It took us about two hours to complete the ridge with our heavy backpacks. Now, 9 days later I had made it all the way to Camp 4 for the second time. The views from Camp 4 were the most amazing from the mountain so far. On the left is advanced base camp seen with maximum zoom from our new camp. On the lower left is a photo of the slope we had to climb using the fixed ropes, and the lower right is the ridge itself. The large rock in the middle of the ridge is known as Washburn's thumb and is being passed by climbers above. |
| Once arriving to Camp 4 we had some serious wall building to do. This took several hours of cutting out huge blocks of snow and making 6 foot walls around our camp. I wasn't sure if I'd rather cross the ridge again or fortify camp, both of them were difficult and draining activities. Once we were done we were able to relax and enjoy the views. The upper right is Camp 4's 'End of the World', below you can see two more major mountains. On the left is Mt. Hunter at 14,573, the lower right is Mt. Foraker, America's second highest mountain at 17,400 feet. In an effort to raise money for future expeditions, I'm selling framed versions of the photo on the upper right, click here for more details! |
| The night before, we got all our gear prepped for a summit attempt only to wake up and be in a snow storm. For half of our expedition members, there was no more waiting. They returned to the ridge in order to head home only to face 60mph winds and return back to camp. Later that day the weather cleared up and they were able to head down. It was too late in the day to summit with high winds coming back. In a desperate plea, some people built a statue to the gods. |
| Day 20 we had another nasty storm day. In a brief clearing I went outside to find that the Denali god had destroyed the statue people had worked so hard to build. Day 21 was supposed to be a stormy day but not as bad as Day 20. When I woke up that morning we had the strongest winds I have ever experienced in my life, gusts of up to 70mph, thank god we had built double ice walls on Day 18! Tomorrow was our last day regardless of weather. Either we would summit or head home if the weather allowed us. I woke up on Day 22 to find clear skies and the slightest breeze. We put on our warmest clothing, stuffed our packs with emergency gear and food and made for the trip to the summit, something we waited over three weeks for. On the left was the day's first challenge, named the autobahn after several German climbers slid to their death, this slope doesn't look as dangerous as it really is. |
| After a couple of hours on the autobahn we reached Denali pass at 18,000 feet. Denali pass is a natural venturi, which brought us 50mph winds that made it difficult to move in. Hopefully the winds were just in Denali pass and calmer up above otherwise it would be expedition over and time to head down. Our guide told us he didn't expect to be able to summit and my heart sank. We did decide to continue a little bit higher to see what the winds were like. Above Denali pass is zebra rocks, as we got closer and closer the wind died and we entered calm blue skies again. On the upper left is our team approaching zebra rocks, on the right are climbers ready to rope up and climb the steep terrain. |
| After zebra rocks we were close to 19,000 feet and found that the terrain was much easier. On the left is the backlog of climbers all attempting to reach the summit the same day after being weathered in like we were. Once past a few more hills you'll reach the famous football field seen on the right. This is a flat area where many people leave their packs and get a last break before heading up. |
| On the left are climbers resting before the final push. The hill above them is known either as pig hill or profanity hill. It doesn't look bad but takes a lot of energy as you approach 20,000 feet or 6,000 meters. On the right is the summit' corniced ridge, once there you are on some dangerous terrain but have only 20 minutes or so to the summit. Doing this in a white out or with strong winds would be a death sentence. |
| On Day 22 we reached the top of North America! Earlier on this trip I had finally accepted that we wouldn't even have an attempt to summit due to the frequent storms that kept pushing through. Standing on top of Denali was an amazing feeling, all the sled pulling, rope climbing, ice wall building and other efforts hadn't been in vain. On the left is two members from my team on the summit, and on the right is myself. |
| After the summit we returned to Camp 4 and all crashed. On Day 23 we were only half way finished and still had to get off the mountain with everything we brought. On the upper left are people literally carrying their crap down from Camp 4. On the right are people lowering a man by ropes who had a heart attack above 19,000 feet. The bad weather returned on our way off Denali. On the lower left a climber collapses on the fixed ropes and can no longer stand up. On the bottom right other climbers struggle to move down during strong winds and poor conditions. |
| It's much more comfortable being stuck at Camp 3 than Camp 4 when you have bad weather. Of course the higher up you go on Denali the colder the weather gets, but the wind also gets stronger. In high camp we had to eat food in our tent, while in the lower camps we used cook tents. On the left is myself earlier in the trip having dinner in a cook tent. On the right you can see my delicious dinner at 17,000 feet. |
| Our team decided we had spent enough time on Denali and moved non stop from Camp 4 to Base Camp. We moved for 22 hours picking up our gear that we had left behind at each camp until finally reaching the landing strip. Once there we dug up beer that we had buried nearly a month ago. We drank a little bit to celebrate and then laid our sleeping bags on the snow and blacked out. I heard of horror stories of people waiting 5 days to catch a plane because of the weather, but fortunately within a few hours the sky cleared up and planes were landing and we headed home. At this point in my life Denali has been my greatest challenge, the next hardest feat I intend to do is Mt. Everest. |
