Everybody's back off the mountain!!

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.

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.

Some of them made it to Talkeetna...

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.

Flying to Talkeetna

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.

Heading to Base Camp

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.

Still at 14K this evening

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.

Coming on Down...

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.

Snowy day at high camp.

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.

Moving to High Camp!

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.

Camp 3...

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.

Hanging Tough at 14k

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.

Friday, Windy again

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.

Yet another Windy day...

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...

Up to 14,200

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.

Another Windy Day

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.

Carry to 13,500

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.

Morning Update...

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.

Base Camp

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.

"The Wait" in Talkeetna

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.

Tom demonstrated how to effectively use the CMC (Clean Mountain Can) for collecting human waste.


Tom's family joined him for the occasion!!

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.

Team Meeting and Equipment Check

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.

Welcome back Tom, Tim and Jean-Mikael!

Tom, Tim and Jean Mikael, with our friend from the south
and Mountain Trip guides Dane Brinkley and Ro Wick
on a mountaineering course on the Kahiltna Glacier in 2008

Welcome to the dispatch blog for Mountain Trip's May 10, 2009 Denali Expedition

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 Italy
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.

Also, please be advised that while we will attempt to pass comments along to the climbers, this is not always possible. The intent of this dispatch blog is to keep you up to date on your friends' and loved ones' progress while on the expedition, and to give you an opportunity to express your support of their dreams. We are certain they will love to read all of your comments when they get back to civilization, so please do post comments.