The Planes Are Flying!

The traverse team is in Talkeetna!! The weather cleared enough this evening to allow the planes to fly into base camp for the first time since Monday. The sound of the planes coming in to base camp is music to the ears of climbers who are craving a cheeseburger and a shower.

Dave Ahrens went up to Talkeetna this afternoon to pick up the crew, and they are heading back to Anchorage tonight.

Congratulations to everyone for a safe and successful trip!

Bill

Still in Base Camp...

Another day of clouds and snow kept the planes from flying in to base camp today. The crew is hanging tough, and catching up on sleep and eating lots of food. Looks like they might catch a break tomorrow.

Base Camp

They made it to base camp on Wednesday, but the planes aren't flying. The clouds and snow have been keeping the planes from making it to base camp for 2 days now, so there are a lot of climbers in their position right now. They'll have some tome to eat and sleep while they wait for the weather to allow the planes to come in.

Passing thru Camp 2

The team passed thru Camp 2 at around 4 pm this afternoon. They were able to meet up with another Mountain Trip group and refuel a bit with hot drinks and bagels. The plan is to continue down this evening and thru the night to base camp. They should be there very early tomorrow morning!

Coming on down.

The team is descending the West Buttress today. They called this evening from Camp 3 at 14,000 ft where they were taking a break before continuing towards base camp. They'll probably arrive in base camp early tomorrow if the weather doesn't slow them down, and could be in Talkeetna by tomorrow afternoon if they get lucky. Coming down the mountain can happen pretty fast with gravity working for you, and very motivated climbers.

Bill

Summit!!

We got a message from Mike Burmeister this evening that they reached the summit today and are back at high camp eating dinner and resting. Unfortunately we missed the call while talking to another team on the mountain so didn't get very many details about their day.

It looked like they probably got a pretty nice summit day, but it's hard to tell from down low. The forecast for the next few days is calling for snow and wind again, the traverse is the next big challenge, but the weather might not cooperate.

Congratulations to the team on reaching the summit. Their patience and persistance paid off.

Dave was able to fly out from base camp yesterday afternoon, and is back at the Mt Trip house in Anchorage recovering. We're glad to have him safely off the mountain.

Waiting out Weather at 17,000

Jacob & Mike called in from 17,000 today to give us an update on how the team is doing. They are still hanging out at camp. The weather hasn't allowed them a summit attempt yet. Currently it is snowing with winds up to 40 mph rattling their tents. This is their 6th day at 17,000. Hopefully the weather will open up soon allowing them time for a summit attempt. At 17,000 feet on Denali the air pressure is getting close to half of what it normally is at sea level. No matter how much rest these climbers get or how much food they eat their are still slowly losing energy. They will continue to wait to see what the weather does the next few days.

Dave on the Descent

Around 10am (Alaska Time) Dave Ahrens started his descent to base camp with Mountain Trip Guide Nick Sheperd. He has regained enough strength to safely walk down. They hope to make to to base camp sometime this evening. We are all wishing him a safe descent and are eagerly awaiting his arrival back in town. Updates will be posted as we learn more.

I have not heard any word from the rest of the team at 17,000'. We are all on the edge of our seats waiting to hear if they made a summit attempt today. Rest assured, as soon as I get a phone call from up high I will post the news on here!

News from High Places

Dave is still at the NPS camp at 14,200'. He is eating and rehydrating and getting some of his strength back. If the weather clears in the next day or so NPS may still try to fly him out. Otherwise, within a few days he should have enough strength to walk out on his own. Go Dave! Again, thanks to the NPS and fellow Mountain Trip guides who helped Dave down to camp and who are currently taking care of him. He is thankful for the support and thoughts of everyone on and off the mountain.

Not much other movement on the mountain today. Most of the mountain received a few feet of snow last night. Today turned into another rest/weather day for all teams. Thankfully the wind has been minimal so everyone was able to get good rest last night and today. Over the next few days this new snow will settle, decreasing the avalanche danger along the climbing route. Once all the snow settles the climbers will not be wallowing through all this new snow, making climbing much easier.

I will post more updates as I hear more about Dave and the rest of the team. We all hope the weather clears and the snow settles soon for the team's summit bid.

Dave safely down to 14,200' camp

Just received a call from Mike Burmeister at 17k camp that Dave has made it safely to 14,200' and is in good hands with a doctor and the NPS. Thanks to Mountain Trip guides, Jacob Schmitz and Nick Sheperd, and NPS for helping Dave make a safe descent to camp.

Tomorrow, fellow Mountain Trip guides will continue to band together to keep things rolling on the mountain. If the weather holds up the whole team, along with Mountain Trip guide, Kevin Koprek, and his client will make a summit attempt of Denali. Jacob Schmitz will also begin his ascent from 14,000' to 17,000' to partner with Mike in safely guiding the team during the rest of the trip.

As I am writing this I received another update on Dave's status. He is safely at 14k and in stable condition. As the weather clears the NPS hopes to fly him off the mountain. He was able to walk down the ridge and was then lowered down the fixed lines. Then he was put in a toboggan and was taken the rest of the way to 14,200' camp

We will continue to post updates on Dave's status and hopefully we will hear about a summit attempt tomorrow or sometime this week once the weather clears. Stay tuned!

Rough time at High Camp

We received word last night that, after spending the day resting and acclimatizing at High Camp, after moving up from 14,200 feet, lead guide Dave Ahrens became ill. Details are unclear, but he is descending under his own power, with support from National Park Service personnel and four other Mountain Trip guides.

I wish I had more details to share, but all I can say is that Dave, who was doing fine up to yesterday, felt weak and ill yesterday. He checked in with some friends on the NPS patrol at High Camp and they gave him access to some bottled oxygen. He did not feel better this morning and by the afternoon had called down to other Mountain Trip guides at 14,200' to tell them that he felt it prudent to descend. As Michael Burmeister needed to remain with our four climbers at High Camp, our friends with the NPS volunteered to walk with Dave as he descended the ridge from 17,200' to the top of the fixed lines at 16,200'.

Another party of our guides and probably some other NPS friends who were camped at 14,200' are climbing up to meet Dave and will hike back to camp with him. There is a doctor at the 14,200' camp and Dave will be in good hands.

Guiding is an incredibly demanding profession. We work hard day in and day out, and often feel that we are, or at least need to portray ourselves as being, invincible. Our climbers depend on us to be anchors in the seemingly endlessly shifting sea of the day to day big and small decisions necessary to run an expedition. Every now and then we are reminded that we guides are just folks who love the mountains, and are just as subject to health issues and other afflictions as any climber.

All my best wishes for a speedy descent and recovery go out to my good friend Dave. I'm sorry you'll not see the remote north side this trip, but, to probably mis-quote my climbing hero Don Whillans, "The mountains will always be their lad, the key is for you to be there too."

The rest of the team will continue waiting for a summit bid. We might do some guide shuffling to bring one of our other guides on to their team, but we'll keep you posted as to how that all shakes out.

Mountain rumors- at 17k!

No call from Dave Ahrens today, but the word came through the Mountain Trip radio network that the group moved to high camp today. The move to 17 is a big day and can also involve hours of camp building once camp is reached, so it is not uncommon for an expedition to skip the call to the MT office in place of getting everyone fed and into their sleeping bags. 17k isn't as friendly of a camp as the ones at lower elevations, so the group left the kitchen tent at 14 camp in favor of cooking in the vestibule of the tent and serving hot meals to the other team members sitting warm and dry in their sleeping bags. If the group was lucky enough to have good visibility, the views out of camp of Mt. Foraker and Mt. Hunter, Kahiltna Dome and the Kahiltna peaks as well as all the other unnamed mountains in the area is breathtaking.

Still sitting pretty at 14k

Dave called this afternoon, saying everything was doing great and their strategy in waiting for the walls to clear of the recent snowfall paid off. A few slides came down yesterday as the recent snowpack stabilized. He feels that snow conditions have improved enough to move to high camp.

The day started off windy and looking cold up higher but improved as time went on; by the time the weather came around enough for good travel it was too late in the day. Moving to 17 camp can take 8-12 hours, and getting onto the fixed lines before it heats up makes for a safer and more comfortable summit day, because pulling into high camp at a late hour when temperatures are colder leaves most climbers unnecessarily fatigued; getting an early start is a good idea. Everyone in the group is motivated and feeling excited to move up to the high camp of the West Buttress, so if everything lines up tomorrow the group will rise early and move on up out of 14 camp.

Waiting out bad weather at 14 camp

Dave called from 14k to report that the group is sitting pretty, having waited out some heavy snowfall overnight. Dave reported typical mountain chaos- when there hasn't been significant snowfall the weather can catch groups off guard. I think there were a few collapsed kitchen tents at 14 camp, and digging out the scene took a few hours.

Dave reported about one foot of accumulation at his elevation, and other teams on the mountain reported two feet at 17k and 4 inches. Dave said he is in no rush to move higher right away, doing his best to heed good mountain strategy- heavy snowfall in the mountains often lead to avalanches during or immediately after a storm with significant snowfall, so it is a good idea to sit in a safe area and wait for the mountains to be ready again. 14 camp is a pretty safe area, far enough away from the mountain walls of the upper mountain to be safe from slides.

Call from Dave Ahrens at 14,200'

Dave called in last night at about 9:40 pm Alaska time. I'll break the bad news that our friend Carsten, who is the veteran of some of the craziest adventures I've ever not thought of, decided to descend after battling incessant migraines for some time now.

One thing we are consistently reminded of is that, despite our best efforts, and everyone's hard training and diligent preparations, none of us are immune from life's curve balls (an American expression for hiccups or twists of fate, or randomness...). Who knows what the cause of Carsten's persistent headaches was, but it is a shame, as he was a real asset to the team and they'll all miss is company.

Here's Dave from 14,200':

Carried to 16,400'

Second guide Mike Burmeister called late last night after finishing a dinner of burritos and tortilla soup to report of their day carrying loads up the fixed lines and to the ridge. Mike reported beautiful weather and a still-strong team.

Today is another rest day for the group, and the plan is to move to high camp tomorrow. Mountain plans will always be subjected to the weather, especially up higher; 14 camp offers a good vantage point of the route to 17,000' camp and it is common for conditions to be favorable in camp but unacceptably windy higher on the route and at 17 camp. There is forecast low pressure (read-bad weather) so we'll see if they get their window, but if there is any place on the mountain to be held up by weather it is 14 camp. The elevation is high enough that they are acclimatizing but low enough that camping is generally more pleasant than high camp.

Mike Burmeister wants to say hello to his parents..

Rest at 14 camp

Sleep in, visit with other expeditions, walk to the 'edge of the world' to peer into the Northwest Fork basin, hang out in the kitchen tent, eat pizza for dinner with soup and hot drinks: these are all typical rest day activities at 14 camp. 14 can be very busy this time of year, but Dave reports that it is actually not too crowded. It is a crevasse-free camp, so it is possible to walk around camp without minding a wanded safe zone like most do at 11 camp. As expected, everyone sounds like they're doing great and feeling fine, which seems to be the standard for this expedition. The plan is to carry a load to 16,400' today, so stay tuned for more details.

Back in touch

Dave called last night after a day out of touch to report that all is well with his group, even with today's communication abilities it is not common for an expedition to have a day out of touch with the Mountain Trip office and it isn't cause for worry, as they say, 'no news is good news'. Dave and company backcarried to 13.5 from 14 camp to pick up their supplies and take advantage of a short travel day to review some skills needed for the upper mountain. The group will learn techniques to climb the fixed lines and review running protection (we call it simulclimbing) while in camp. The team will be moving up ropes anchored to the ice by the National Park Service to safeguard one steep and icy section, and once above the fixed lines the guides will be placing their own snow/rock and/or ice protection that will allow the teams to move steadily but still be anchored to the slope in the event of a slip or stumble. Learning how to add and remove rope ascenders from an icy rope or clip the travel rope through carabiners, all with mittens on, takes some practice; the team spent a few hours rehearsing these skills and enjoying the flat terrain of 14 camp. The plan called for a rest day today, so the expedition will be well rested for the first move onto the upper mountain tomorrow if the weather allows.

Abed, checking in from 11,200'

This call came through at about 9:15 Alaska time last night. Abed reports that it was indeed windy going around Windy Corner to put a cache in at 13,500'. It sounds like they replenished any caloric deficit with a hearty meal of enchiladas and high altitude ice cream (a personal favorite!).

Enjoy the post:

Nathan, checking in from 11,200'

This came in last night, at about 8 pm Alaska time.

Enjoy!

Mike B, calling in from 11,200'

Mike Balster called in with the following update from 11,200 feet. You'll notice that he mentions that it was hot on the glacier today. That's not something commonly equated to Denali climbing, but is a very real challenge. When the sun is out and there is no wind, the heat can be almost debilitating. To mitigate against this, we get up early in the morning and try to get up the steeper (more strenuous) sections before the sun hits us.

Enjoy the podcast:

Message from Scott Balster

This came through last night from Scott. It sounds like they're having a good time up there!

Enjoy...

Carried to 10,400', back at 7,800'

Dave called in from 7,800' camp, the group carried a load of gear up the Kahiltna to 10,400' in preparation for their move to 11,000' camp tomorrow. As Dave says, it was splitter weather (climber lingo for a stable high pressure) and the views were as good as they get of the Kahiltna glacier. Splitter weather means intense sun in the early afternoon, so it is not common for parties to return to camp in hot temperatures. The team plans on getting up at 3am tomorrow morning to move to 11 camp, so if everything moves to schedule they should pull into 11 just as the heat picks up, just in time for the climbers to climb into their tents and drink some water while the guides work on dinner.

at 7,800' camp

Here's the expedition, sitting down to their lunch during the pre-trip day in Anchorage. Guide Dave Ahrens is in the red, and 2nd guide Mike Burmeister is in the blue.

The first field report from MT guide Dave Ahrens came in last night; Dave called to say hello and report that the team had moved out of basecamp to 7,800' camp. They carried all of their expedition on their back and in sleds and slogged onward- the route descends down the southeast fork of the Kahiltna to the main flow of the Kahiltna and slowly climbs through crevasse fields before depositing the team at 7,800'. From 7.8 camp the team can see the Kahiltna peaks, Kahiltna Dome, Mt. Crosson, Mt. Foraker, Mt. Francis, Mt Hunter and the Denali massif- quite the view!- and look directly up the northeast fork of the Kahiltna. Camp is set in a nice compression zone of the glacier, which means crevasses are for the most part squeezed closed and human-friendly. The team was up at 4am to avoid travelling in the day's heat, which can feel like you're in the tropics; as pleasant as that sounds remember that the climbers are dressed in long underwear at the very least- any exposed skin will burn in as little as 15 minutes if not protected with sunscreen- so the heat is something to be avoided.

Dave was just settling into camp for the evening, reporting that everyone was eating Au Jus roast beef sandwiches and enjoying the camp, everyone seemed strong and excited to be out on the glacier. Today, weather permitting, they will carry a load of gear up higher on the route and return to camp. More later....

Podcast from 7,800'

Dave Ahrens called in with a message for everyone.

Here you go!

Thanks For Joining Us!

Climbing big mountains demands a lot of climbers. They train for months and sometimes years for an ascent of a peak. We all climb for our own personal reasons, and we all have complex lives outside of the mountains, which often limit our ability to follow our passions to the full extent of their depth and breadth.

Every so often, climbers get compelled by the siren song of an adventure, in the truest sense of the word, and the planets and life line up so as to permit them to embark upon this journey. This is the case with five climbers from around the world, who are joining two guides from Mountain Trip to attempt to not only climb Denali, the highest peak in north America, but to traverse it.

To put this in perspective, Denali has a higher vertical rise than Mount Everest. The vast majority of climbers who climb on the mountain, ascend and descend the very challenging West Buttress route. This route begins at an elevation of 7,200 feet on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and climbs just over 13,000' to the top of North America. It takes about 12 days (if weather, health, and fitness align correctly) to reach the top and about 2 days to descend.

Our team will ascend the West Buttress and then carry their entire load of supplies and camp up and over the 18,200' Denali Pass before descending over 18,000' to the tundra below, crossing the formidable McKinley River and hiking 15 miles out to the sublime Wonder Lake, well to the north of the mountain. Only one or two teams a season attempt such an endeavor, and Mountain Trip has a long tradition of being the only guide service to regularly organize these truly epic adventures. We're climbers and we love to indulge ourselves when the sirens sing out...

On May 23, 2010 our team will assemble in Anchorage, Alaska and to finalize their preparations for this climb.

Let's meet the climbers!

Guides:

Dave Ahrens of Silverton, CO
Michael Burmeister of Anchorage, AK

Climbers:

Carsten Pedersen
Michael Balster
Scott Balster
Abed Al Saffar
Nathan Weil

We will update this blog as often as possible so as to both provide you, the reader, with an accurate description of what the team is up to each day, and also to provide future readers with an account of what it is like to climb Denali. Please keep in mind that communication from the Alaska Range is not always easy and that weather could easily conspire to prevent us from hearing from the team.

Comments posted to our reports will occasionally be passed along to the climbers on the mountain, but we cannot always guarantee that messages will always be relayed. Please know that all of your kind thoughts and best wishes will be read and deeply appreciated by the climbers when they get back to "the real world," so we encourage you to post them frequently. If you should ever need to contact one of the climbers, please call or email our Colorado office.

Enjoy the posts!