Denali Custom Expedition: Hahn & Team Climb to 11,000 and Establish Camp
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Chad Gaffigan, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 11,200'
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - 9:58 PM PT
Four AM wake up today down at 9,500 ft. That was a perfect time for watching the early rays of sunshine playing across Mt Foraker’s 17,000 ft slopes. We watched, but we also geared up and ate our Cheerios. There were a bunch of different layers of cloud out and about, but none of those gave us any trouble. We hit the trail by six. It was an easier trail to hit today, since there’d been a good freeze and no additional new snow overnight. Cruising along the upper Kahiltna in deep, cool shadows was wonderful. Although it wasn’t our intention, we shaved plenty of time off our travel from yesterday as we made it to 11,000 by 8:30 AM. Then there was the familiar work of leveling tent sites, building tents and anchoring them down. By the time the sun found us we were ready for a midday nap. In the afternoon the team got together for a review of the climbing techniques we’ll use to get up and around Windy Corner. The character of the climb changes with tomorrow’s carry. Time to bust out the crampons and ice axes. Hannah crushed things in the kitchen this evening with her acclaimed Mac and Cheese. Things briefly got snowy and cold, and then blue sky and sunshine broke out everywhere as we turned in for the “night”
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
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Comments (1)
Thank you, Hannah, for the Mac Cheese! I’m sure the crew appreciated it. And Dave, thanks so much for the blog - and the cool map. Very helpful for those of us at home.
-judit
Posted by: Judit on