Mt. McKinley Expedition: Burns & Team Training and Acclimatizing at 14,000ft Camp
Posted by: Seth Burns, Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 14,000'
Sunday, May 25, 2025 - 10:16 pm PT
We continue to hang at 14,000' Camp, acclimatizing, resting, going on small walks to stretch our achy legs, and working on the skills that we will need to ascend the higher reaches of the mountain. After a leisurely morning, our guides had us practice using our ascenders, clipping in and out of anchors, clipping in and out of anchors, and descending the fixed lines using the trusty arm wrap. We repeated until Seth was confident that we could perform these drills with cold hands.
As the pace of life has slowed during this phase of the expedition and we have many (many) hours in the tent with our own thoughts, I’ve curated my top 5 life hacks from the top of North America:
1. Say goodbye to dish detergent and sponge - fresh powdery snow makes a great all-natural scrub for cleaning your single bowl, mug, and spork. Just step outside, grab a handful of nature’s Dawn, and get to work! Please be sure you select a patch of snow that is indeed white.
2. Alternatively, forget the dish washing routine altogether and embrace the complex layerings of flavor that can only be experienced when you brew tea in the same mug as last night’s corn soup, or slurp Cinnamon Toast Crunch with undertones of Madras Lentils.
3. Worried that your sticky-fingers roommate will take your last slice of leftover pizza, or a sneaky coworker will swipe your oat milk creamer AGAIN? Here’s what you gotta do: wrap your precious perishables in a trash bag and bury it deep in the snow! Your goodies will stay cold and fresh, and hidden from greedy scavengers. Just budget a good 20 minutes to dig it up when you need it.
4. Too lazy to take dry clean only items in for a proper cleaning? Just set dingy laundry like sleeping bags and boot liners out in the sun to sanitize. At least, we think it’s working - our noses have become desensitized to our collective eau de parfum naturel.
5. Lastly, to all my nocturnal urinators: A pee bottle is the greatest luxury you can add to your life. Not only does the pee bottle save you a trip outside the tent in the middle of a cold night, but you can then tuck it in your sleeping bag as a sort of cozy hot water bottle. Just make sure it has a spill-proof lid.
In all seriousness, we love and miss you all back home! Sending so much love to ma and pa in Vancouver, David in NYC, Grammie and Granddad and family in Nova Scotia, all the fam in Toronto and Boston, and our supportive friends in Seattle!
A special shout out to our youngest reader, Gene, burgeoning outdoorsperson and super rad human! Say hi to your mom for me!
Love,
RMI Climber Grace
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Comments (3)
Grace, love these hacks! Looking so forward to reading the next chapter about your amazing adventure!
Love, Granmie and granddaddy
I wonder how many of these hacks you will decide to keep post Denali :))
Luv you and stay safe
Mom
Posted by: Lela Ling on
Love your hacks, so creative , yet so practical for adapting to life at 14,000 feet! Thank you for sharing. It almost feels like we are right there with you :-)
Posted by: Victor Ling on
Awwwww, Gene loves your advice, he said his hot cocoa often tastes like ramen from the night before so he *totally* gets it, and was cackling about the pee bottle advice (especially the spill proof lid
Posted by: Emmie on