12
Jun
inReach message from Robert Danger Byrd
We are done moving for the day & have a couple of hours work digging out tent sites & building ice walls. I’ll blog more about today after the work is done.
We are done moving for the day & have a couple of hours work digging out tent sites & building ice walls. I’ll blog more about today after the work is done.
We are about to move. My final load is 120lbs almost 60 less than last year. It’s a beautiful day and the scenery is dramatic.
Correction for that last message. We leave base camp for camp one tomorrow.
Today we leave Base Camp and single carry, meaning we haul everything in one trip. We will descend Heartbreak Hill then begin climbing to 7800′ Camp.
Hallelujah! We lost 4 precious weather days but this update comes to you directly from the Kahiltna Glacier. Sleeping at base camp & will move out in the AM
The sky is still looking unlikely here in Talkeetna but they believe a window is coming based in weather patterns. So once again we got the call to suit up and get to the planes.
No time to make a lengthy post, we have a plane to load.
We suited up, loaded 1,000 lbs of gear on the plane and watched the first Turbo Otter piloted by legendary Paul Roderick takeoff. Paul is the owner of Talkeetna Air Service and he took the first run to judge the conditions before he allowed more planes to fly.
Paul was able to land, but the hole immediately closed preventing takeoff. A bit later it opened up and he was able to get off the ground so one team got in and one got out minus thier gear which is still sitting on the glacier.
So we patiently stood by waiting for a green light that never came.
One Less Climber
We lost a climber today and are now 7. The dismissed climber was not integrating with the team well and repeatedly became agitated and hostile about minor issues. Everyone in the group agrees with the decision, and feel we will be better for it.
Vote for Danger
I’ve become quite popular around Talkeetna, and am considering running for mayor. The current mayor is a cat with no tail, and I think I can take him.
The weather lifted, planes are flying, pizza was abandoned and we are on our way to the mountain.
Several of you have asked about my gear list, so here is a link to Danger’s 2015 Denali Gear List.
We are halfway through the 3rd day and the weather has still not been cooperating, so the Talkeetna Hang Continues. They have however asked us to get ready and we are standing by the runway suited up, but looking at the skies, I’m skeptical.
In other news; as many of you know I have developed an interest in illusion and sleight of hand. Larry from the Historic Fairview Saloon saw me practicing and invited me to perform. There were around 30 people a mixture of locals and climbers. I did a 20 minute routine and produce hurling was kept to a minimum so I condider my first public performance a success. Need to work on my stage name now. Last night I used Danger the Magnificently Unequivocally Grand Eloquent and I think it was a bit over the top.
I’m open for suggestions on that matter
Weather in Talkeetna is better this morning, but base camp is still experiencing some nasty weather. We are on standby and if the weather improves are set to go at a moments notice.
Yesterday afternoon weather cleared and we got the call to go. We donned full mountaineering gear, only to be foiled by the weather as the opening disappeared as quickly as it opened.
Day 1: Planes Are Not Flying
A white van, filled with our team and several hundreds of pounds of gear just pulled into a weather bound Talkeetna. We were scheduled to board a ski plane at 3:00PM today, but with the current weather conditions it’s not likely well be flying today.
This is known as the “Talkeetna Hang”. I got to know this quaint little climbing town quite well last year while I spent 6 days waiting for the weather to let up. So now we wait. In the meantime, I’m thinking about moonlighting as a Talkeetna tour guide.
On the upside the summit success rate just bumped to 49%.
On the way, we stopped for second breakfast in Wasilla and I saw a beautiful and very well trained Sheltie service dog. I talked with her owner who has a heart condition and learned that the dog carries his medication in a little pack. She knows when he is about to have an attack and brings him his medicine beforehand which I think is pretty amazing. She was sitting 20′ from her master, not moving and watching him closely the entire time.
It it seemed like she took her job very seriously.
Met the entire team today and we discussed strategy and logistics in the morning. It is a internationally diverse group, with a lot of climbing experience.
Afterwards we completed our last minute gear checks and loaded up lunch food. My entire load excluding group gear which I’ll get tomorrow, is 89lbs which is great news. Even if I get 40 lbs of group gear, I’m still close to 50lbs lighter than last year on gear alone. Add in another 15 for myself and that is 65lbs less I’ll be dragging up the mountain
Weather permitting we will be on the glacier tomorrow. The expedition planned schedule is June 8th till June 30th.
Weather has been very uncooperative this season and the summit success rates so far are 39%. You can follow the stats as they change as well as get conditions on the mountain posted by the park rangers here: http://www.nps.gov/dena/mountainblog.htm
What is “The Danger Network”?
It is the system that I use to update my blog from the mountain. The technical details would bore most folks, but for the rest of you here it is. I use a network of highly trained weasels that can carry short 160 character messages (weasels have limited memory) back and forth and even allow my global position to be tracked. Once we start up the mountain this Tuesday I will be updating the Adventure Blog during the expedition via weasel-net and these updates will also be sent to your inbox. Sometimes the weasels make mistakes, so please forgive the inevitable typos.
Why Am I Getting This?
You are on this list either because you subscribed yourself or because we have some sort of affiliation and I thought you might be interested. Maybe I’m wrong and you don’t even like me. In that case, visit the unsubscribe link at the bottom and you will be unsubscribed , removed from my Christmas list and stricken from my will (Yes, I was going to leave you something). It’s too late to change your mind now, that ship has sailed.
Real Time Tracking Map:
The weasels will be released and the tracking map we will begin populating on Monday the 8th when we start climbing.
Supporter Shout Out!
A big thanks to Grab The Gold who supplied 30lbs of their delicious and all natural snack bars for the team. We will burn 5,000-6,000 calories a day while climbing, and these are, fast, easy, great tasting and the weasels love em!
And Lifeproof who hooked me up with the new Nuud (It’s not as risqué as it sounds) versions of their fantastic waterproof cases, which have served me well. If you have not seen them, the design is very elegant.
Of course without the competent team of IT professionals at Truewater none of this would be possible. They are so good at their jobs that nobody notices when I leave, so I added them to this mail list to remind them. I will be carrying a flag up the mountain with each staff members name on it so the entire Truewater team is going to the top with me!
Denali Summit Flag
And of course thanks to my wife Susan who is very supportive of my climbing and let’s me go play without adult supervision.
This is a test of the Danger Network satellite uplink system. Had it been a real message, it would have been exciting.
So I’m back in Alaska staging for my 2015 Denali Expedition. Also known as Mt. McKinley it is the tallest mountain in America and this is my second attempt.
Last year I acquired a classic wooden ice ace and confidently had it engraved with my name on one side and “Denali 2014” on the other. This was intended as my keepsake from the mountain, but as most of you know I didn’t make it. I wasn’t strong enough and was sent back down at 11200′ by my guide. After my experience last year, I was determined to learn from it and return as a better tougher, stronger climber. Indecently I had the “2104” on the ice axe struck through and “2015” added next to it.
Incline Training
So the first thing I did was invest in a proper incline trainer. I chose the NordicTrack 11xi which inclines all the way up to 40 degrees. I don’t have convenient hills or even stairs to train on, so my incline training is necessarily done on a treadmill.
The new Incline trainer is very effective and has made me considerably stronger. At this point I can climb 2400′ in one hour with a 50lb pack on my back which is a dramatic improvement.
The Chain Gang
Next I doubled my chains. Last year I was training with a 100lb pack and dragging 60lb chains. On the actual expedition however,
The typical way to rig an alpine sled is to wrap a loop of webbing around the pack down low and fasten the sled to this loop with a locking carabiner. This is how I have done it on previous climbs and on my first Denali attempt.
The trouble with that is the packs gets pulled out awkwardly and depending on the packs geometry the sled can pull on the shoulder straps as well as the waist belt shifting the load higher on your body and away from your power base. And if the sled gets out of control, it is yanking the pack to one side or the other which can take you off balance, which is not good on a mountainside.
I tinkered with a few different methods, and came up with a pretty simple solution that puts all the sled weight on the waist belt and let’s my legs carry all the load without wasting any core strength. It only required a bit of filing to enlarge the existing strap slots in the waist belt former and a bit of CA glue.
The result is a much more balanced pulling arrangement the puts the load where it needs to be. I have tested it with my sled training chain setup and it feels good. The only potential downside I see is that since the waist belt is now carrying all of the sleds load, I’ll most likely lose some skin where the straps contact my hip bones.
My straps are retained by folding a 2″ section over and drenching the fold with CA glue. It welds them together and creates a tab that gets trapped behind the hip belt keeper.
I tested it for strength by doing a Tom Cruise from the pull-up bar in my home gym with 240lbs counting myself and my pack and it was rock solid.
If it does not work out, as I anticipate it’s an easy matter to revert to the more traditional tie in method.
On April 11th 2015, I stood atop the summit of Boundary Peak at sunset. At 13,143′ it is the highest mountain in the state of Nevada and was state highpoint #28 for me.
I got into a bit of trouble on the descent which had me wondering if I would live through this one. You will find the complete Trip Report here.
Statistics
Completed: April 11th, 2015
Summit Elevation: 13,143′
Trailhead Elevation: 8,836′
Elevation Gain: 4,307′
Hiking Distance: 6 Miles
Boundary Peak Links
Trip Report
Blog Posts
Photo Gallery
You will find, status, photo galleries and trip reports for all of my adventures on the Highpoints Page.
Boundary Peak is not a pretty mountain, but I did manage to snap a few interesting shots.
What a day! Night descent was harrowing. Headlamp was failing, thought I might have to shelter in place & wait for daylight, but made the cache w spare light
I’m checking in, everything is okay. I was worried for a while, but have made it down off the upper mountain safely and am currently at the cache.
Just smoked a cigar while watching one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen, thank you God.
I’m descending now and it is completely dark.
Hallelujah! I stand on a serene 13k ft mountain at sunset. Not looking forward to the down climb in the dark, but the Sunset just might be worth dying for.
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