Most team members have left Anchorage for home and we will compile photos from the trip over the coming days.
The team really did well together and I have heard from several members that there was no ill will toward anyone, in the end. Teamwork is a funny thing. We all have our personal ambitions and when a group of disparate strangers can come together and bond over the course of a long and trying experience, the sum of the group can often be more powerful than any of its parts. Sure, that sounds cliche, but it is a large part of what mountaineering expeditions are about.
Congratulations to all the climbers. You all did very well under extreme conditions. The days spent tent bound at high camp undoubtedly provoked some soul searching and re-prioritizing of life goals. Times like that are heavy-duty.
I often recommend that climbers give themselves a week at home before making any life-altering decisions, as the power of an expedition can really change one's perspective. While it's nice to come home and take a fresh look at the comforts around us and to revel in the friendships we put on hold whilst on the mountain, there is a part of coming off a trip that is reminiscent of the scene in "The Hurt Locker" where the main character is back from Iraq, staring at a never-ending shelf of different cereals...
Thanks to everyone who posted to this blog. This is a document of an intense experience and I invite any of the team to send me photos or text to add to this narrative.
Until then, stay safe and keep climbing!
Todd R
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Strange Day Up High
Mountaineering expeditions mean different things to each member of the team. The concept of team, also holds a variety of meanings. Each climber comes to an expedition carrying his or her personal expectations, desires, ambitions and willingness to accept risk.
At Mountain Trip, our goal with every expedition is that all of our climbers return home healthy. We want everyone to enjoy their experience with us and we hope we all get a chance to stand on the summit, but will never gamble on our primary goal to make the latter happen.
On this expedition, we partnered with a Swiss guide service Kobler and Partner and began the trip with four Kobler clients and an IFMGA Certified Guide from their staff. This is our third season working with them in this fashion.
Yesterday the team set out for the summit when a lull in the intense winds that had been battering them for several days presented itself. Temperatures were still well below zero Fahrenheit and thick clouds obscured the upper mountain. Lead guide Dave Staeheli, with 40+ Denali expeditions worth of experience felt it was enough of a shift in the high wind pattern that it was worth taking a look at what conditions were like up higher.
As the team began their ascent up the long, rising traverse that leads to Denali Pass (the low point between the north and south summits), infamously known as the Autobahn (for a party of Germans who took the expressway down), the clouds parted and Dave could see long plumes of snow streaming off the Pass and the ridge above. He felt that to continue would mean certain frostbite for some, if not all the members of the team, and that this risk outweighed the benefit of standing on the summit, so he turned the team around.
The Swiss guide was a bit ahead of Dave and refused to run back with two of the Kobler clients, instead continuing up into the wind. Dave and the rest of the Mountain Trip guides and climbers returned to high camp and waited as the three climbers disappeared around the corner of Denali Pass.
The three of them, Paul, Brigitte and Bernhard eventually made the summit and made it back down to high camp. Two of them suffered from frostbite on their hands and face. The rest of the team agreed that the summit was not worth any frostbite and they decided to drop back down the route toward base camp.
Everyone is currently at the 14,200' camp, and will continue descending to either 11,200' or 7,800' tonight. They should be back at base camp tomorrow.
Ambition, ego and culturally different guiding styles came into play yesterday. We are incredibly fortunate that the only injuries were some frostbitten fingers and cheeks. Paul got very lucky with his decision.
Mountain Trip is not in the luck business.
We are in the business of providing the best possible adventure in a wild setting with the focus on getting everyone back home healthy and happy. We can assure our climbers going forward that this situation of having a reckless guest guide will not occur. This goes to show that being an IFMGA Certified Guide means nothing on a big mountain like Denali. Experience matters on Denali.
Thanks for putting up with my venting, but this was a highly unusual situation that calls for a clarification of what transpired.
Stay tuned for another post from base camp and we will post photos and video after the climbers get back to Anchorage.
At Mountain Trip, our goal with every expedition is that all of our climbers return home healthy. We want everyone to enjoy their experience with us and we hope we all get a chance to stand on the summit, but will never gamble on our primary goal to make the latter happen.
On this expedition, we partnered with a Swiss guide service Kobler and Partner and began the trip with four Kobler clients and an IFMGA Certified Guide from their staff. This is our third season working with them in this fashion.
Yesterday the team set out for the summit when a lull in the intense winds that had been battering them for several days presented itself. Temperatures were still well below zero Fahrenheit and thick clouds obscured the upper mountain. Lead guide Dave Staeheli, with 40+ Denali expeditions worth of experience felt it was enough of a shift in the high wind pattern that it was worth taking a look at what conditions were like up higher.
As the team began their ascent up the long, rising traverse that leads to Denali Pass (the low point between the north and south summits), infamously known as the Autobahn (for a party of Germans who took the expressway down), the clouds parted and Dave could see long plumes of snow streaming off the Pass and the ridge above. He felt that to continue would mean certain frostbite for some, if not all the members of the team, and that this risk outweighed the benefit of standing on the summit, so he turned the team around.
The Swiss guide was a bit ahead of Dave and refused to run back with two of the Kobler clients, instead continuing up into the wind. Dave and the rest of the Mountain Trip guides and climbers returned to high camp and waited as the three climbers disappeared around the corner of Denali Pass.
The three of them, Paul, Brigitte and Bernhard eventually made the summit and made it back down to high camp. Two of them suffered from frostbite on their hands and face. The rest of the team agreed that the summit was not worth any frostbite and they decided to drop back down the route toward base camp.
Everyone is currently at the 14,200' camp, and will continue descending to either 11,200' or 7,800' tonight. They should be back at base camp tomorrow.
Ambition, ego and culturally different guiding styles came into play yesterday. We are incredibly fortunate that the only injuries were some frostbitten fingers and cheeks. Paul got very lucky with his decision.
Mountain Trip is not in the luck business.
We are in the business of providing the best possible adventure in a wild setting with the focus on getting everyone back home healthy and happy. We can assure our climbers going forward that this situation of having a reckless guest guide will not occur. This goes to show that being an IFMGA Certified Guide means nothing on a big mountain like Denali. Experience matters on Denali.
Thanks for putting up with my venting, but this was a highly unusual situation that calls for a clarification of what transpired.
Stay tuned for another post from base camp and we will post photos and video after the climbers get back to Anchorage.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
High winds at High Camp!
The team checked in Tues. night to report another day of rough weather at high camp. Nick reports most folks have been tent bound for the last 24+ hours. The wind and blowing snow make life very simple, eat, sleep, and hydrate. Occasionally, one will get out of the tent to make an adjustment to the tent or camp then immediately back inside.
The forecast indicates a possible lull today with things getting exciting again Thur. afternoon. We'll certainly post any movement as we get reports from the mountain.
Until next time...think warm thoughts.
The forecast indicates a possible lull today with things getting exciting again Thur. afternoon. We'll certainly post any movement as we get reports from the mountain.
Until next time...think warm thoughts.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Message from 17,200 feet
We just got a call from Nick at the 17,200' High Camp. It sounds like it's been windy and the team is sitting tight, waiting for the winds higher up to abate.
Here you go!
Here you go!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Podcast from High Camp!
The team moved up to High Camp at 17,200' today. It appears it was a simply glorious day for traveling and they thoroughly enjoyed the engaging climbing of the ridge above the steep fixed lines. The ridge gains approximately 1000 feet of elevation and contains some of the most fun climbing on the entire route. Climbers weave between rock outcroppings and traverse steep slopes and knife-edged ridges as they make their way from 16,200' to High Camp at 17,200'.
Establishing high Camp is a chore and requires shoveling tent platforms and reinforcing their perimeters with walls of snow blocks that are about as high as the tents themselves. Cutting, moving and stacking snow blocks is exhausting work at sea level, and is positively gut-wrenching at 17,200', where, on Denali, you have less than half the amount of oxygen per given volume of air than you would by the ocean.
By all accounts the team did great and they are contemplating a summit bid tomorrow, if the weather looks favorable when they poke their heads out of the tents.
Think warm thoughts and enjoy the podcast!
Establishing high Camp is a chore and requires shoveling tent platforms and reinforcing their perimeters with walls of snow blocks that are about as high as the tents themselves. Cutting, moving and stacking snow blocks is exhausting work at sea level, and is positively gut-wrenching at 17,200', where, on Denali, you have less than half the amount of oxygen per given volume of air than you would by the ocean.
By all accounts the team did great and they are contemplating a summit bid tomorrow, if the weather looks favorable when they poke their heads out of the tents.
Think warm thoughts and enjoy the podcast!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Rest day.
The crew rested today at the 14,200 ft. camp. Everyone is doing well and feeling a little stronger every day. The typical rest day starts with a healthy session of sleeping in. Then a huge breakfast and several rounds of hot drinks. Ahhh, total luxury! Next maybe some time to relax and prep for a short stroll out the the "edge of the world". A remarkable place offering breath taking views into the NE Fork of the Kahiltna, across to the West Rib, and out toward Hunter. This vista also offers a nice retrospective of the first half of the route, up the Kahiltna. After filling SD cards and draining camera batteries, it's back to camp.
The afternoon starts with a large hot lunch then more hot drinks. It's most important to sneak in a nap during the afternoon followed be some packing and prep for the big move tomorrow up to High Camp at 17,200 ft. Round out the day with a big dinner and, of course, more hot drinks. Early to be for a good night sleep.
Until next time...make it a good day!
Happy Trails.
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