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McKinley Dispatches
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June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 15, 2010
Team arrives in Anchorage and drives to Talkeetna.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 16, 2010
The team arrived in Talkeenta last night. This morning, after breakfast, they met with the National Park Service regarding this expedition. This afternoon they were working on gear checks and packing group equipment. They are planning to cut cord and do some rope work later this afternoon. Then they will be packed and ready to fly tomorrow, weather permitting.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 17, 2010
Talkeetna, AK K2 Hangar
Today we finished packing and started waiting for the weather to give us a chance to fly on. Our packs are packed, duffles weighed and everything is ready to go. We just need a few hour break in the weather for the Range and we start our expedition!
Reviewing knots, anchors and beacons occupied our afternoon and we made sure to hit the Talkeetna theater district for the Don Sheldon (legendary AK Range pilot) movie to get a little history on the area that will be our home for the next few weeks. We saw the end of game 7 tonight in town and are looking forward to an early morning tomorrow and heading out.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 19, 2010
After a few no fly days filled with dryland training, we were lucky to get a big enough weather window for our entire team to make it onto the glacier. Our team was excited to leave the fast pace of Talkeetna and start actually climbing.
Landing in the afternoon worked out great, and after dinner we shouldered our packs and hitched up our sleds to make the most of calm conditions. Getting our first taste of the midnight sun we moved well getting to our first camp at 7800 feet, right across from the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Today we will rest up and let conditions set up for a late afternoon move to our next camp.
Good to be here and we'll check in from our next camp.
Jake, Andy, Elias and the crew
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 20, 2010
Happy Father's Day from the Kahiltna Glacier. We moved from our camp at 7,800' under clear skies and good walking temps. Our decision to wait out a little wet weather turned out great and with a good forecast we are poised to move to 11 Camp tomorrow. It was great to have a cloudless day and really get to see how beautiful the range is. With full bellies we are in great shape for the next few days. Adios from 9,200'.
Jake, Andy, Elias and the crew
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 21, 2010
A scorching solstice here on Denali today. Barely a cloud in the sky as we moved early in the day to avoid the heat of the longest day of the year on our move to 11 Camp. We set a cache on our way up and plan to back carry tomorrow. Our camp at 11,000 feet is luxurious and a great position to be in for the next few days as we get set to move ourselves higher on the route. The team is doing great and looking forward to a light carry and some welcome rest tomorrow. Goodnight from the land of the midnight sun.
Jake, Andy, Elias and the crew
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 22, 2010
Waking early today, we walked down to 10,000 feet to retrieve our cache. With nearly empty packs we breezed it down and were back at camp by mid morning, beating the heat of the day. This afternoon we will get our equipment together for a potential carry to Windy Corner tomorrow. The team is looking strong and tomorrow will be a great chance to get a little taste of altitude with the recovery of another night back at 11 Camp before moving to 14,000 feet for our Advanced Base Camp.
Jake
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 24, 2010
Hello from 11 Camp! Today we are enjoying a casual rest day here after a great carry to 14,000' camp yesterday. After our rest day, if we are favored with good weather, we will move camp and continue our acclimatization process before moving into position for a summit bid. Still a few days away, but we are setting ourselves up to have options the higher we go. Aside from a little fixed rope practice this afternoon, R&R is the name of the game today. Hope all are well downhill and congrats to RMI#6 for great work topping out yesterday.
Jake
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 25, 2010
Today we moved up to our ABC here at 14,000' feet in Genet Basin. We traveled early in the day to avoid the heat as long as we could. It was a good day to move, and we made it to camp in great style. The team is doing very well and we are in great shape for the next few days.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 26, 2010
With snow forecasted for Sunday, we decided to carry a light load to the top of the fixed ropes at 16,200 feet. We moved early again and enjoyed cool walking conditions until the sun hit us as we clipped in to the lines. Climbing to the buttress we cached and hung out with some great views of Mt. Foraker and the Peters Glacier. Hanging out up high a little will help us acclimatize and with a planned rest day tomorrow, we should be positioned to make a move with a good weather window.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 27, 2010
The snow came a little early last night, dumping nearly a foot of light snow in camp. Fortunately for us, the storm was short lived and we woke to clear skies and little evidence of the element. After a leisurely brunch we walked to the Edge of the World, where you can see the NE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, close to where we camped our first night of the trip, over 6,000 feet below us. Now we are resting for the afternoon, listening to my favorite radio show and getting ready to move camp tomorrow. Keep fingers crossed for good weather!
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 28, 2010
High pressure yesterday made for a beautiful move up the buttress, definitely my favorite part of the route. We arrived at our high camp with great weather, no wind and great temps for setting up shop. After some soup, we turned in for some rest, hoping for good weather.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 29, 2010
We started watching the weather early in the day, to see if the new (less favorable) forecast was accurate. Light winds and warm enough temps made our walk across the Autobahn workable. New snow did slow us down, and by Denali Pass, weather heading toward us from the East as well as a fierce cloud cap over the summit made turning around at 18,500' a very sensible decision. Better to save our strength for safer conditions. That's all from 17,000' camp.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
June 30, 2010 - SUMMIT! Voicemail 1:53 a.m. 7/1/10 PT
Hey, this is Jake at 17,000' on Denali. We are back from our summit climb this evening and all is well. We will touch base later on today.
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
July 1, 2010
Yesterday we sent it to the top! Congrats to all team members for their part in this adventure. Today we descended from our high camp, rested with friends at 14 camp before moving down to 11 Camp to reunite with our beloved sleds and catch a few zzz's while the Kahiltna Glacier firms up. Wish us luck on the last challenge before the flight to Talkeetna.
Jake
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
July 2, 2010
We woke up super early this morning to begin walking to the airstrip when the temperatures were cool and the ground was firm. We are now at the upper airstrip taking a rest. There is a low cloud deck above us and we don't know yet if we'll be able to fly this afternoon. Groups were able to fly off earlier today but just as we arrived the clouds set in. Cross your fingers that the weather clears and we fly to Talkeetna this afternoon. Until then we will be resting in our tents here.
Jake
June 15, 2010 Mount McKinley Expedition
Lead Guide: Jake Beren
July 3, 2010
We had a weather window last night and were able to fly off the mountain! Today we are packing up and heading to Anchorage to catch our flights home.
Thank you for following along!
Until next time,
Jake
Guides
-
Jake Beren
-
Andy Bond
-
Elias de Andres Martos
Climbing Team
Chris, Jordy, Monica, Jim, Ed, Bruce, Chad, and Gary
Itinerary
The following expedition itinerary is approximate and depends on such considerations as weather, route conditions and strength of the party. Twenty-two man-days of food are carried on the mountain above Base Camp. In the event of bad weather, this amount can be stretched several additional days. Furthermore, there are emergency food rations at Base Camp, in case weather prevents the group from flying off. Expeditions average 18 days roundtrip from Base Camp. It is best to allow an entire month for total completion, including travel time from home.
When climbing is done for the day, a campsite is selected and probed for crevasses. First, the site must be leveled, and tents pitched and anchored. Snow blocks are quarried and walls built to thwart the wind in case of a storm. A group kitchen is dug and cook tent erected. A designated latrine is established. Melting snow is an endless chore in camp, accomplished in the mornings and late into the evenings. All cooking and melting is done outside - never in a tent. It is important for the group to work together when establishing camps. As an integral part of the team, a willingness to pitch in is greatly appreciated.
DAY 4: Base to Camp 1, 8,000'
DAY 5: Camp 1 to Camp 2, 9,500'
DAY 6: Camp 2 to Camp 3, 11,000'
DAY 7: Acclimatization day Camp 3
DAY 8: Camp 3 to Cache 13,000'
DAY 9: Camp 3 to Camp 4, 14,400'
DAY 10: Camp 4 to Cache 13,000'
DAY 11: Acclimatization day Camp 4
DAY 12: Camp 4 to Cache 16,000'
DAY 13: Acclimatization day Camp 4
DAY 14: Camp 4 to Camp 5, 17,200'
DAY 15: Rest day Camp 5
DAY 16: Summit day (night at high camp)
DAY 17: Camp 5 to Camp 4
DAY 18: Camp 4 to Camp 1
DAY 19: Camp 1 to Basecamp (fly off)