Notes from Two Trips to Alaska to
Climb Mt. McKinley/Denali
2012
I am back home from Alaska. It was truly an epic adventure, climbing Mt. McKinley (Denali) over the past few weeks (June 1 - 21st,
2012).
As you may know, Mt. McKinley is the highest mountain in
North America (20,310 feet) and one of the noted 7 Summits (the highest
mountains in each of the seven continents). Mt. McKinley is also a very
challenging and technical given its extreme conditions and risk factors i.e.
altitude, high-winds, extensive snow, deep crevasses, sub-zero temperatures, steep
inclines, narrow ridge lines etc.
In fact, Outside Magazine ('Graveyard Shift") noted Mt.
McKinley as having more fatalities per year than Mt. Everest. And some have
even stated, "that if you want to climb Mt. McKinley, you better train by
climbing Mt. Everest." However, I have been looking forward to this new
challenge since summiting Aconcagua (22,841 feet) in the Andes Mountains of
Argentina last year. Aconcagua is also one of the noted 7 Summits (South
America) and the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.
As a brief synopsis of my climbing experience on Mt.
McKinley, our expedition team (7 in total: 2 guides, 5 clients) flew into
Anchorage and we all met at the Fireweed Inn B&B by Talkeetna, AK. We had
dinner together, discussed the climb, thought of a team name (7-Up!), and built
friendships to solidify our climbing experience and give our roped-up team the best
chance for success.
The next day we packed our gear, reviewed some of the key points,
and headed to a small airport in Talkeetna, AK to fly to the mountain glacier
at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, given the weather conditions on
the mountain, we had to cancel our
initial flight plans on the 1st day.
One the next day, we received clearance to fly to the base
of the mountain, but after circling the landing zone on the glacier, we had to
return to the airport because of the heavy cloud cover below. Then, later that
day, we received word to try again and
we landed successfully on the mountain snow field air strip, almost 2 days
later than we originally planned. When we landed, we put on our snowshoes,
loaded our personal sleds (50 pounds), roped-up as a single team, and carried
our backpacks (75 pounds) across the Kahilta glacier for 6-7 hours, over steep
crevasses, to get to our 1st base camp for the night - and try to make up for
lost time.
From there, over the next 4-5 days, we climbed, camped
(pitched tents, built snow walls around our camp, heated-up water, prepared
food etc.) and advanced upward through the various camps, until we got to the large
flat Main Camp at 14,200 feet.
On the next day, we put sharp metal crampons on our feet and
used our hand-held ascenders to climb a very steep headwall (6 hours) to advance to 16,200 feet in order
to help acclimate to the higher elevation and cache a few extra days of food
and cooking fuel in case we needed it for reserves at High Camp (17,200 feet). Then,
we descended back to the Main Camp at 14,200 feet. In fact, we climbed a few
routes on the mountain twice to acclimate to the thin air (build red blood
cells), and minimize the heavy carrying loads by making multiple trips. This
was done ultimately to put our team in the best position to push for the summit
later, have safety reserves of food if needed, and get back down safely.
Overall, we were back on track with our original schedule,
until we learned from our fellow climbers (i.e. from US, Britain, Germany,
Russia, Japan, Poland, Columbia etc.) at the 14,200 foot base camp that they had
already been waiting there for a week for the bad weather up high to clear so
they could advance to High Camp (17,200 feet). In fact, even worse, we learned
that nobody had summited the mountain in
the last 14 days because of the bad weather: strong 45 mph winds, extreme
cold (minus 30-45 degrees F) and ongoing heavy snow up high that could cause
avalanche danger.
Naturally, this news at the 14,200 foot Base camp was not very
encouraging. Alaska was having record snowfall and cold this year. For example,
on one day at the 14,200 foot Base Camp we received over 3 feet of snow, and there
were constant avalanches all around us to see and hear 24/7. During our "holding
time" at the 14,200 foot Base Camp, we built snow walls around our tents to
keep warm and active.
Then, tragically, we also heard that four climbers (from Japan) below us on Motorcycle Hill (11,200 feet) who were heading our way to the
14,200 foot camp, died in an avalanche/crevasse fall - after we passed that same
route days earlier. Our condolences to our fellow climbers, their families and Japan. After much thought and waiting many days at the 14,200 foot camp, one of the climbers
on our team decided to descend with another group and head back home. He seemed very anxious to
get back, and see his wife and two kids. We were down to 6 climbers on the
team.
As it ended-up, we had to wait a full week (7 days) at the
14,200 foot Base Camp for the weather to improve before we could start to advance
higher. Then, we finally received word of positive weather reports up high. When
you are climbing, you need to take advantage of every weather window
opportunity. So we decided to pack up our tents quickly and advance up the very
steep head-wall to 16,200 feet and across the narrow mountain ridge lines (with
1,000+ foot drops on either side) to get to the 17,200 foot High Camp. We were above
the clouds , and it felt like walking a narrow tight-rope on the mountain ridge
lines, with much anxiety. This effort took our rope team 7-8 hours carrying 75
pound backpacks, with very steep inclines, some bottleneck points with fellow
climbers, and fixed rope lines that had very little traction (thick ice) for our ascenders to hold tight in case we slipped.
Upon arriving at the 17,200 foot High Camp, we set-up our
tents, and build strong snow walls like a mini-fortress or castle with snow
caves to protect us from the high winds and extreme cold. We were very tired
but we were now at the "launch-pad" for the final summit climb. From
here, it was a 12 to 15 hour 3,000 foot climb to the summit at 20,310 feet,
across "Denali Pass" to the top of the mountain and back-down to High
Camp. As many of us knew, "Denali Pass" is also where a rope team slipped the previous
year and four of the climbers, fell over 1,500 feet resulting in two deaths and
others in the Hospital with serious injuries.
We planned to rest one day at High Camp (17,200 feet) and then
leave the next morning for the summit (20,310 feet) if the weather forecast up
top was reasonable or accommodating. We were already climbing/camping on the
mountain for 18-20 days. We were tired, getting weaker, and running out of
supplies.
That evening, while I was in the tent, in my heavy down
jacket, in my minus 40 degree sleeping bag, I started to assess the situation,
and only planned to go for the Summit (20,310 feet) in the morning, if the
situation felt right. For me, as they say in mountaineering, "the summit
is optional, but getting back home alive is mandatory."
The next morning, as
we left High Camp (17,200 feet) and our rope team started to advance upward for the
Summit, I personally decided (intuition) to step back and NOT go for the top.
Several things did not seem right to me:
1) It was extremely cold in the morning. The Ranger informed
me that the forecast up-high was for 45 mph winds. He stated, that if it was him, he
was not sure if he would go for the Summit today. (But we also knew our supplies
were running low after 19-20 days and it was now or perhaps never. We had to
start the journey and turn-back if needed).
2) Early in the morning, perhaps because of the extreme cold
and altitude, I did not feel my total strength and energy was kicking-in yet.
3) I was on a rope team , where we were still very tired
from climbing from the 14,000 foot Base Camp to High Camp 17,200 feet a couple days
earlier.
4) I realized if our rope team was leaving around 10am from
High Camp (17,200 feet) for the summit (20,310 feet), with a potential 12-15
hour round-trip climbing time, we may not be coming back down from the Summit,
across "Denali Pass" until 1am, when it could be much darker, colder,
windier, and riskier.
5) My mind shifted from the goal of reaching the Summit, to
reflecting on the positive aspects of living, and realizing there was more to
life than the top of this mountain.
As I told myself, the "mountain will always be
here" if I decide to return another time. But, I had also invested so much
to get to this point.
As the team advanced for the summit, I stayed back at High Camp
(17,200 feet). I felt good about my decision,
but occasionally questioned if I made the right call, and wondered since I was
so close, if I should have kept going. Another person from another climbing
team, also stepped back, since he was having trouble seeing with his frozen goggles.
As we waited at High Camp, the 12 hour climbing time mark
approached, and we started to see some climbers return from the summit as they
approached "Denali Pass" (Autobahn) at 18,000 feet and back to High
Camp (17,200 feet). Many looked totally exhausted and we greeted them with
high-fives, hugs, and congratulations! We also poured them hot-water to welcome
them back to camp. They were very happy but they only wanted to find their tent
to sleep and get warm.
Now, however, it was almost 11:30pm, and we were still
waiting for the rest of the "7-Up" team to return from the summit. At
the same time, the sun (late summer sunsets) just went down below the clouds,
and a major storm came-in with heavy snow, high winds and extreme cold.
We also just received word from our guide's walkie-talkie
that our fellow climber, and good friend, that was on my original rope-team, had
summitted Mt. McKinley, but was totally exhausted on the way back down and
could not move any further. We heard he fell
over 50 feet, and may have high-altitude pulmonary/cerebral edema
(HAPE/HACE). At this point, the Rangers
on the mountain were called, and a "state of emergency" set-in, as five climbers
from our team, were in a holding-pattern now up high, at the top of "Denali Pass" as the weather got worse and the risk for survival
was in all of our minds.
From 12am to 7am, our guides, and Park Rangers, battled the
storm to get the climbers in a holding pattern down from "Denali Pass."
The climber with altitude sickness
(HACE/HAPE) was short-roped, and brought down via a pendulum swing (with his
waist harness), across "Denali Pass" on the descent. Meanwhile, at
High Camp below, we could only wait, hope and pray, since we could not climb upward
to help our guides given the white-out blizzard, with zero visibility.
As a result of the heroic action of our guides and the
Rangers, they were able to get our fellow climber and good friend down by 7am the next day. They
battled this crisis situation all night in extreme conditions. They gave oxygen to our
fellow climber with altitude sickness, enclosed him in a Gamut bag, and wanted
to get him to a lower elevation point as soon as possible.
The next morning, they had an emergency helicopter fly up above the clouds to High Camp (17,200 feet) , and take our fellow
climber with altitude sickness to the hospital in Wasilla, AK. He suffered from
frost bite on his feet (toes) - but to our surprise, he recovered very quickly
once he was able to get close to 100% natural oxygen at sea level. For many of
us wondering in anxiety all night during
the storm, and the next couple days, it was a Miracle!
After resting a day at High Camp, the remaining five of us,
from the original seven team members (7-Up!), started to descend by carrying our
heavy backpacks and group gear, from 17,200 feet all the way back to the lower
camp airfield (7,500 feet) over the next 17 hours. We went straight through the
night without sleep in order to cross the
glacier (and crevasses) when it was frozen. This would minimize our risks and get us back
to civilization (the town of Talkeetna) much faster.
Overall, with the mountain descent, breakfast at the
Roadhouse, and drinks at the Fairview Inn, we went 40+ hours without sleep. Our
fellow climber with altitude sickness who was at the hospital in the town of Wasilla,
met us at the Fairview Inn that evening to "Ring the Bell" - and
follow in the tradition by buying the folks
at the local bar a round of drinks.
For me, it was great to get down from the mountain, back
into civilization, and home after 3 weeks on Mt. McKinley. As we sometimes
forget, there are so many things in life that we take for granted. It was an
epic experience and memory of a lifetime. It reminded me of the famous quote by
Theodore Roosevelt, as it relates to the "Man in the Arena."
After I had time to recover and reflect on my experience, I needed to
figure-out when I could train much more and come back to Alaska to complete my
goal of summiting Mt. McKinley (which was now officially named
Denali, and the elevation was recalibrated at 20,310 feet).
2016
On June 27th, 2016, our climbing Expedition team
successfully Summited Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinley) in Alaska. As indicated,
Denali is the highest point or "Top of North America," at 20,310
feet, and one of the noted 7 Summits (the highest mountains in each of the seven continents).
From the start, our climbing team was roped together as two teams, wearing
snowshoes or crampons, carrying heavy backpacks, simultaneously pulling
weighted sleds (with individual and group gear), and acclimating as we moved to
higher altitude. For the most part, we had 20 hours of daylight (Summer
Solstice) with highs that felt like 95 degrees (F) above the clouds and lows
that went to minus 35 degrees (F) in minutes during the day or at night. On
some days, we had to wait out extensive snow with high winds.
We had great guides, with excellent leadership, a strong experienced team (many
on their 2nd attempt of Denali) and good
weather windows to maximize every opportunity to move upward. Our summit day
push from High Camp at 17,200 feet to the top of the mountain at 20,310 feet took
close to 14 hours (round-trip) with some white out blizzard conditions, and
very thin ridge lines. We climbed to the top and descended back to the town of
Talkeetna, AK in 14 total days, which is considered very fast time for most
group expeditions, compared to the traditional 21 days allotted for the climb
(2012).
On the Summit (20,310 feet) of Denali, the Top of North
America, I carried a picture of my Parents in their honor and a banner to recognize Accenture,
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), 299 Sports &
Performance and Hypoxico. Our climbing team
also held an American Flag for a team summit photo that was flown over George
Washington's home in Mt. Vernon, VA.
When we got back down, I finally got to "ring the
bell" with our climbing team at the Fairview Inn.
A week later, on a trip to Barrow, Alaska (with my climbing
friend and his family) to do the Polar Bear Plunge in the Arctic Ocean, I gave
the American Flag that our team raised on the summit of North America (20,310
feet) to the High School Football Coach of the Barrow Whalers (Football Town
USA - NFL Network) to fly over their blue Astroturf
football field during their home games and inspire the team. The Barrow Whalers football field sits at the top of the globe on the
Arctic ocean.
Go Whalers!
