May 27, 2008: Summit Attempt Postponed

A weather window has finally broken on Mount McKinley. With 2 days of good weather ahead, our team decided to split up, due to how strong Peter and I were feeling. So, Peter and I decided to forge up from the 14,000 foot camp to high camp at 17,200 feet. This was a major undertaking. It not only involves a move up in altitude of 3200 feet into much thinner air but also moving up Mount McKinley’s headwall. The headwall is 2,000 feet tall and has a 50-degree incline, followed by a thin ridge leading to the high camp. In order to have a chance to summit on the second good weather day, we had to carry all our gear on our backs without sleds, totaling almost 80 pounds each. This move to high camp yesterday took almost 7 hours. It was tremendously hard. Our bodies were not only taxed by the heavy loads but our lungs burned from lack of oxygen in the thin air at high altitude. We finally reached camp about 7pm Alaskan time. Exhausted, we put up our tent and started to make dinner. It was dehydrated lasagna; it is not that good. Every movement we made felt like it was a lot of work. Even simple tasks like unrolling your sleeping bag, moving your backpack 5-6 feet or even rolling over in your sleeping bag are enough to get you out of breath.

After we got camp settled and ate, we went to bed in hopes of attempting to reach the summit today. I could not sleep most of the night. I could just feel my lungs gasping for air and my heart pounding to pump my oxygen-starved muscles as much oxygen as it had to supply them. I realized I had a mild case of acute mountain sickness. So, I decided I needed to wait to attempt the summit until my body adjusted to the altitude. Peter conservatively attempted a summit today by himself but had to turn around to come back to our camp due to the altitude and weather. The weather forecast shows another summit window Friday. Between now and then, the winds are still at very high speeds making it dangerous to attempt any moves. So, now we wait. Hopefully, I will be adjusted to the altitude by Friday.