Top Ten List – Summit Attempt Tomorrow
Here at Denali’s 17,200 feet camp, it has been very cold. We have not seen a temperature above zero for over a week now. The highs are about -5 F and lows around -25 F to -30 F. So, since we continue to be stuck in our tent because of bad weather, Peter and I came up with a top ten list.
It is so cold that……
10. It feels like a masochistic camping trip not a mountain climbing trip any more.
9. We saw the squirrel of squirrel hill hitchhiking rides down the hill to lower elevations in climbers’ backpacks.
8. We had tears in our eyes that froze our eyes shut.
7. The pee hole in camp is now a pee mound since, right now, water freezes instantly when it hits the ground.
6. Your breath freezes to the top of the tent every night. We wake up to a layer of ice on our tent ceiling every morning.
5. We have to put our water bottles inside our sleeping bag with us to keep them from freezing.
4. We have stopped fighting it and now have acquired a taste for Gatorade slushies.
3. We are now sleeping in all our climbing gear to try to stay warm. This includes our down parkas; our sleeping bags are rated only to -20 F.
2. It is a race against time to finish your meal before it freezes.
1. We are now very excited to hear a weather forecast with a high of zero.
I look forward to getting back to 70 F in Michigan. I look forward to pizza, civilization, and family including the seven Golden Retriever puppies that were born last week.
The weather forecast has changed again. Our closest summit window is tomorrow, Friday, because the winds are going to die down sooner than expected. Our plan is to summit tomorrow, May 30.
Patience, Patience, Patience.
View of High Camp, 17,200 feet
Patience is the name of the game right now on Mount McKinley. We are still at 17,200 feet, waiting for the weather to clear. The weather report says winds may die down late Friday, which would make Saturday the earliest summit window. With overnight temperatures as low as -30 degrees F, our morale is beginning to wane. We are trying to stay positive but it is a struggle. At 17,200 feet, you can feel your body get slowly weaker. Your body starts to use any fat you have in search of energy, especially in this low oxygen environment.
View to the summit
On a brighter note, being at high camp puts us within view of the summit. It seems so close, only 3,000 vertical feet above us. The years of training and weeks of pushing through difficult conditions finally has an end and a reward in sight. With anticipation and respect for the mountain, we wait for the mountain to grant us safe passage to the summit.
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.
May 26, 2008: 17,000 feet
Peter and I decided to break off and do a push up to 17,000 feet with full loads today. It was pretty tough but we made it. We’re tired but with food and rest we’ll recover well. We are planning to move to the summit tomorrow morning, about 8:00 am Alaskan time.
Tent Life on Denali
The weather on Denali now includes 90 mile per hour winds. This has left us tent-bound since we can’t climb in those conditions. As you can see by the photo below, tent-bound life on Denali is not always comfortable. It is common to be stuck in your tent for days at a time while waiting out storms. During these times, we play cards, read, talk, or just stare at the ceiling of our tents. These four season tents are durable most of the time. However, you are always sitting or sleeping on snow, which requires 2 Thermarest style sleeping pads. These are to prevent your body heat from melting the snow below you throughout the night. Being stuck in your tent on storm days is part of expedition climbing. It is not a fun part but a necessary part.
As I sit here in my tent at 14,000 feet, held hostage by high winds, I think of making it to the summit. I know the summit is as few as three days of movement up the mountain ie: cache gear at 16,000 feet, move to high camp at 17,200 feet and then summit day. For now, I must wait while I try to keep my mind focused on the task at hand, and try not to think of home; homesickness will kill your motivation. I am very excited to be this far on the mountain. We look forward to good weather so the team can move higher and closer to the goal. I am feeling strong and well acclimatized to the altitude.