Denali Expedition: El Alto

Assuming the seven summits is a serious task. The large amount of time necessary for expeditions and training. Los recursos monetarios para escalar estos picos son fácilmente en los cientos de miles. After Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro, I decided that the next peak of trying was Denali.

I have what I would describe as rookie experience in glazed peaks so far. Cayambe and Chimborazo in Ecuador is the scope of my experience before this effort. While these peaks are comparable in height to Denali, they have no difficulties.

Aconcagua Summit; The highest point in South America

Kilimanjaro Summit seen from Camp Barafu

He had an immense amount of doubt to this expedition. The stories that told me from other mountaineers about the mountain and how is one of the most difficult of the summit due to so many variables:

Climate, heavy loads, need the ability to recover quickly after hardly altitude. It can have bad days in other mountains and even at the summit due to the goalkeepers or sherpas that help wear weight. There are no goalkeepers or sherpas in Denali. It is really his own beast and considered by the majority as the most difficult of the seven.

I wanted to use a walk for most physical training (Arizona Trail), although it was a desert walk. I squeezed my base weight and took my harness with accessories even though I never put it on. When my sleeping pad kicked in mid -April, I took it as a sign for the transition to specific things of Denali. After all, my flight to Alaska was 45x days. I still needed to ask for gear items and work in sled.

Mica Mountain in the

Enfoque de la línea de cresta para Mt Humphreys, el punto más alto de Arizona. I improve the peak of this from the azt

I asked for the rest of my team that I would need and made some Colorado training walks with heavy loads. My training package weighed between 50 and 60 pounds, sometimes 70. People saw me with an ice ax and snow shoes tied to my backpack and asked me what I was training for. When I told them that Denali, the answer was always the same; «Wow, that’s difficult. Good luck!» Then they would go through a small day package.

I drove California with all my team and lived in MT Shasta for a week. Constantly sled throwing and working on snow trips. The mountaineers will say that you need to win 1 feet per hour with a heavy load to succeed. Using that as my barometer, I would throw 4 to 5 hours a day with elevation gains of 2-3k feet. I felt like a sled dog with an imaginary handling shouting «porridge» climbing steep slopes.

Mounting Mount Sill

My feet went through an intense hardening phase and ended with some really unpleasant blisters. This was a deep low point for me mentally. I asked if I could really do this and if my body endured. I did a start switch, I took a few days off to heal and returned to the routine. Mentally during those days I had a beautiful time in an hour that the glass was moving away. Will I have enough training/conditioning to the summit?

I had to rescue Mt Whitney on the Mountaineers route due to strong winds and I again questioned if I could reach the top of Denali. Whether luckily or pure determination, I could accumulate Mount Adams, Hood and Rainer, all in a row. My final training goes up before flying to Alaska. This helped at my confidence level, but the question of himself never retired completely.

Selfie life test at the MT Adams summit. Mt Hood in the backdrop

Mountain Route on Mount Whitney. More technical and difficult than the standard route used by most PCT.

Descending from Mt Hood near the Devils kitchen

During our gear design for the expedition, my mind was somewhat comfortable. The majority of those who all in the expedition had a similar level and experience of skill: Kili, Aconcagua and Ecuador with one or two having more. I felt sure that my team elections had used it for a month and carried a heavy package. I had my packaging systems and lower layers. Brutal cold weather experience, but not for prolonged periods of weeks.

Gear design for Denali. The total weight transported with personal and group equipment is about 100 pounds. 60 pounds in a package and 40 pounds in a sled.

We land in the glacier in the base camp in a very narrow weather window. There was a storm system that moved and we had to hurry to enter before it closed. Otherwise, we would be trapped in Talkeetna for a few days. I remember seeing Denali from the plane while we fly. It was huge and rose on the landscape.

Denali as seen from the plane flying to the base camp

After landing in the glacier and the plane took off, began to snow while we manipulate our sleds. Hacía frío y seguía pensando que no puedo mojarme el primer día. That would be horrible. Reality was established as a fierce cold wind on exposed skin. It is real now and there is no going back. Not days ago in a shelter/motel/hotel to dry and heat. Denali is his thing and does not show anyone mercy.

Distribution of group equipment and sled rigging in the base camp

Sled pulling the base camp to camp 1

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