All posts tagged as Denali AK 2015

Perfect weather here & Talkeetna so yes, the planes are flying. I’ll call this adventure concluded & will post a trip report later

After 19 hours and 10,000+ feet we are finally back at base camp. So now the question is, will planes fly? Or will we be stuck here?

Starting the final grind up HeartBreak Hill. It’s only a 700′ elevation gain but at the end of a day like this, it’s aptly named.

Breaking at 7.8k Camp. Next stop Base Camp which is about 6 miles further. This is a death march, I might be the one who passes out.

Breaking at 11k Camp & digging up cache. Forget waterboarding, have a man fight a heavy sled down 3k of steep icy slopes & he’ll talk

Were leaving 14k now & will continue moving throughout night. Should be at Base Camp by morning. Snow now, 95-20 in last few hrs

We have setup some tents & are napping for the long downhill grind. Down is hard for me as I only trained for up, also chews up feet

We’ve taking the Death March option. After a brief rest, we are down climbing all the way to base camp, or until someone passes out.

We have arrived at 14k camp. The ridge climb is the most scenic but the fixed lines are a thing of dread. We are resting 3-4 hrs here

We are moving out, next stop 14.2k Camp. We’ll take a break there and decide whether to continue or not.

Soon we will begin the long climb down. Our target is 14k camp then we will decide whether we go further based on how the team feels.

I just don’t have enough space here to express how I feel about today. I do want to express thanks for the many messages of
support

Back at 17.2k high camp, today I climbed steep snowy sloped for 12 hours saw thunderstorm from above and burned 12k calories.

Praise God we made it! I now stand on the 20,237′ summit of Denali, the highest point in the USA and the entire North American Continent!

Final & most difficult club ahead. The summit is in view. Unfortunately, Just got hit with a serious headache.

Can’t believe how strong I feel, it must be all of you who are praying for me. Yes, I AM going to make it. It’s a perfect summit day

We just came up a crazy steep wall but I feel fantastic today. My legs are strong & I’m breathing easy. I think I’m going to make it

Leaving camp now & I’m a bit scared. Those of you who pray please do so & w Gods grace my next post will be from the top of America.

Good rest day, feeling better but it’s still tough to breathe up here. We have a positive weather report & plan to summit tomorrow

From cliffs at edge of 17k camp the view is breathtaking. We’re above clouds and can see surrounding mountains & valleys for miles.