Taken from agents Web Blog :
31st
May The rest of the team made it to Talkeetna tonight,
as the weather has finally improved slightly. Unfortunately a couple
of guys who were already out changed their flights and have already
left for the airport, so they won't get to have a final dinner and
goodbye with the team that they worked with for almost 3 weeks.
It's always hard not to reach the summit, but it's a part of climbing
big mountains that we don't have control of. Hopefully all of the
climbers can look back fondly on their memories and feel good about
working hard and making some friends along the way.
It's good to see the crew back down safely (with just a few bit's
of frostbite on the cheeks) . The mountain lived up to it's reputation
for the last few weeks of being a gnarly, cold place.
Well the
weather has given them one last kick as they are trying to get off
the mountain. Durny, Greg, and 3 of the climbers (whose names I
wasn't given last night) are still at base camp. One flight with
part of our crew got out last night before the weather shut down
flying for the rest of the day. If you friend or family member got
to Talkeetna on the one flight, you've probably already recieved
a call, or will soon. The rest of the crew is sleeping and eating
their way thru the base camp food cache, and trying to keep a good
attitude as they wait for the weather to let them out of the mountains.
30th
May The team arrived in base camp last night, and
they are getting on planes to Talkeetna this morning. They'll probably
have a burger and a beer before heading into Anchorage this afternoon.
29th
May The team pulled out of 14k this morning, and
expect to be in Base Camp tonight, and back for breakfast at the
Talkeetna Roadhouse in the morning. Not a lot of planes flying into
base camp right now due to the weather, but with some luck they'll
be off the glacier soon.
28th
May They were still at 14k this evening waiting
for the weather to calm a bit. They've hunkered down again and nobody
is moving on the upper mountain right now. Lar got some frost nip
on his cheek on the way down yesterday, it sounded like a pretty
stormy nasty day.
Well, they
made the tough decision to come down from High Camp last night.
They moved up in the calm between the high pressure and wind, and
the low pressure that has moved into the region now producing snow,
and some more wind. The weather was picking up yesterday, and they
decided to get back down to 14k. Durny called when they arrived
at 14 last night, but it sounded like it was getting a bit stormy
there, and they were going to spend the night. They'll move on down
to base camp in one push once the weather allows them to travel
again. It's unfortunate that they didn't get a chance to summit,
but they all worked really hard, and gave it a good go. Sometimes
that's just what you get when you try to climb the biggest mountain
in N. America...
Greg Nappi has returned to base camp with another team to recover
from his illness, and wait for the rest of the team.
27th
May They were able to move on up to high camp at
17,200 ft yesterday. This is always a big move, and it finally puts
them within striking distance of the summit. It took them about
10 hours to move up yesterday, but they were delayed by a falling
Pole. That's right, a Polish climber was travelling on the ridge
unroped, slipped and fell, and was caught by the rope between 2
climbers on Durny's team. Our climbers were able to self-arrest
and stop the fall, and are fine, but the Polish climber had a minor
shoulder injury and needed a bit of help. It sounds like the Polish
climber was very lucky that our roped team was there to stop him
from falling a long way and surely getting hurt.
It started snowing this morning at High Camp, and when Durny called
at about 10am Alaska time it was a bit windy with gusts of up to
30 mph. Not a summit day...
Looking
down the ridge from High Camp. This is some of the most fun and
scenic climbing on the W. Buttress. If you click on the picture
and enlarge it you can see climbers on the ridge.
26th
May Durny called this morning as they were packing
up to head on up to High Camp at 17,200 ft. It's a beautiful morning,
and they are going to give it a go. The forecast is calling for
some more wind and weather moving in, but it's just a weather guess.
They'll get settled in a high camp, and hope for a good day to go
for the summit.
Greg Nappi is with another Mt Trip group at Camp 2 (11,000 ft) as
he apparently picked up the bug that Mike Heeley had that caused
him to have to leave the trip. Greg is hoping to recover after another
day or so, and get a chance to catch his team if they don't summit
in the mean time.
25th
May Michael Heeley is flying out to Talkeetna as
I type this morning, and our guide Greg Nappi is on his way back
up to Camp 3 to rejoin the group. Luckily for Greg, the rest of
the team isn't going anywhere today. The wind was calm this morning
at 8 am, but by 9am when Durny called it was blowing 30-50 mph on
the ridge above them. They've got their cache in place, and just
need a couple of decent days to move to high camp, and summit. Everyone
is committed to staying up there until they summit, or the trip
comes to an end on the 1st of June. That can be the hardest part
of climbing a big mountain, but hopefully their commitment and persistence
will pay off.
24th
May The team is hanging in there at Camp 3, still
hoping for a chance to move up the mountain soon. Michael Heeley
has had a bit of a cold, and guide Greg Nappi is bringing him down
to basecamp right now. The plan will be for Michael to fly out to
Talkeetna tomorrow morning, and Greg will return to meet the group
with a guide from another team. It's been dragging on a bit by now,
but they've still got plenty of time to get the job done. The waiting
can be the hardest part of these expeditions.
23rd
May Got the late call from Durny and crew last night
still waiting out the weather. It has continued to be windy up there,
and they've been keeping themselves entertained by fortifying camp,
drinking too much coffee, and watching movies on the iPods.
They have plenty of company there as many other groups are in the
same position waiting for a change in the weather. It can be a pretty
entertaining social scene around camp as the wait wears on.
21st
May Just got off the Sat Phone with Durny from Camp
3. Yesterday(Wednesday) they went back down to Windy Corner to pick
up their cache, and today they are waiting out another wind storm.
Everyone is doing great, and having a good time up there. This morning
they slept in a bit and had a nice long leisurely pancake breakfast.
Durny made a special request that we send a translator along for
the Irish climbers in the future...
19th
May Durny just called from Camp 3 at 14,200 ft.
The weather settled down as the day wore on, and they left camp
2 at about 1:00 this afternoon. It turned into a late day, but they
are settled in, and getting ready for bed now. They were pretty
excited to make some progress, and move up the mountain after a
bit of a delay at 11k.
18th
May Durny just called from camp, and it's blowing
pretty hard above them at Windy Corner. It's a pretty brutal place
when the wind blows, and it has a well earned name. They are going
to hang tight today in camp, and hope the wind settles down tomorrow.
It's still a good spot to gain some extra acclimitization before
moving up to the next camp, and I'm sure they'll all get a good
nap in this afternoon.
The team
continued on up the mountain in great weather again yesterday. The
job for the day was to carry a load of food and fuel to around 13,500
ft just around the notorious "Windy Corner" to prepare for moving
up to Camp 3 (14,200 ft). They are all doing great and seem to be
enjoying themselves.
16th
May Durny called this morning from Camp 2 at 11,000
ft. They moved up yesterday, and everyone did great. They slept
in a bit this morning, and will go down the trail and get their
cache from a few day's ago this afternoon. It's a very short day,
and is really an active rest/acclimitization day. The overall strategy
is to keep moving up the mountain averaging around 1000ft/day so
that everyone acclimates well to the new altitudes. They'll spend
3 nights at 11,000 ft before moving up to the next camp at 14,200
ft etc.
13th
May Rob Durnell "Durny" called last night at around
10:30pm as they were going to bed at base camp. They spent one extra
night in Talkeetna due to the high winds, and clouds at base camp,
but were able to fly in yesterday afternoon. Now the work begins.
This morning they'll be getting up early and carrying giant loads
about 6 miles up the Kahiltna glacier to their first camp.
It's a beautiful day in the Alaska Range today, you can check out
the current forecast, and live pics of the Range by following the
links on the right.
11th
May
The Team
drove up to Talkeetna today and registered with the National Park
Service. They attended an orientation presented by the NPS on how
to be a safe and responsible climber in the Alaska Range.
The crew
piled up their gear and supplies for the mountain and will need
to figure out how to get all this kit into that little plane...
well, actually, they will fly in several planes.
The weather
at base camp was very windy today, so they team waited until the
pilots mad the decision to hold off until tomorrow. Hopefully, they
will all load up in several DeHavilland Beavers and fly into the
Range in the morning.
10th
May The team all made it to Alaska and so did their bags! We met them at the Earth Bed and Breakfast for a team meeting and thoroughly went through their equipment to ensure that everyone has what is needed and not much more...
Tim won the honor of having his gear check front-and-center. He sure had a lot of avocados...!
Michael and his kit
Durny, helping Tom rig his pack for the glacier.
22nd
April In the far north lies one of the most magnificent ranges of mountains in the world. The Alaska Range stretches 400 miles across southcentral Alaska. It is a wild place, covered in glaciers and punctuated by rugged peaks. The crown of the range is Denali, at 20,320 feet (6194 m), the highest peak in North America. Located so close to the Arctic circle, Denali can present some of the most challenging and rugged conditions of any mountain on earth.
Each year a relatively few climbers from around the world migrate to test themselves on the slopes of Denali. Mountain Trip has been assisting these climbers achieve their Denali dreams since 1976. We love what we do and are happy to help provide you a taste of what these climbers are experiencing by updating their progress in this blog. Following the expedition, we will post numerous photos from the expedition, so please keep checking in.
On May 1, 2009, a team of climbers will arrive in Anchorage. They will be accompanied by three Mountain Trip guides. Let's meet the team!
Guides:
Rob Durnell from Girdwood, Alaska
Greg Nappi from Anchorage, Alaska
Henry Munter from Girdwood, Alaska
Climbers:
Michael Heeley from the USA
Tom Lynam from the USA
Jean-Mikael Ross from Canada
Claudio Campori from the UK
Tim Townsend from the USA
Keith Jennick from the UK
Killian O'Brian from Ireland
Lar Fant from Ireland
Pieter Van Der Broeke from Holland
Please keep in mind that communication from the big mountains can be challenging and occasionally intermittent. We will post updates as often as possible, but please keep in mind the old adage, "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!" when it comes to communications from the Range.
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