Mt. McKinley Expedition: Cifelli & Team Descend to BaseCamp, Fly to Talkeetna
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Ben Luedtke, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 2:53 am PT
We are back on flat ground. After descending 10,000 feet in just over 19 hours, with 2 hours of “sleep” in the middle, we arrived at basecamp at 8:30 am, and our hearts leapt to see the red K2 planes bank sharply left and land at the lower landing field about 9 am. Seemingly landing on the lower landing area never occurs this late on the season (it’s good to know Dom is wrong sometimes, and that damned 20” of snow brought us some good luck).
As we descended through the snow and the rain, I thought how little we knew about what we were undertaking, as we begun our journey just 20 days ago. Did we understand the physical challenge, the might of this great mountain, the real beauty of the Alaska range and the wild vistas and beauty we were about to experience, the hardships, the dangers, the nerve tingling emotion and anxiety of traversing the West Buttress? Did we know our true physical and mental strength, whilst knowing how effectively useless and powerless we were on this extreme place? Did we know that none of what we achieved could have been achieved without our three amazing guides - Dominic, Ben and Mike? They are the true heroes of this journey.
They have received passing words of praise from my team mates in the recent blogs. However, no words can describe their role, their effort, their workload, their expertise.
If we carried 70 lbs in our backpacks, they carried over 100. If we pulled 50 lbs in our sleds, they pulled 100. When we bolted to our tents after caching gear at a higher altitude, they went immediately and prep’d dinner and hot water. They prep’d, served, clean up after every breakfast and dinner. Bagels and bacon, bagels and smoked salmon, burritos, quesadillas, cheesecake, tortellini and chicken (and Aardvark!), ramen, and never to forget Mac’n’cheese with bacon bits - I never knew how many dishes could have bacon bits- OR CINNAMON!!
They dealt with faulty gear, our mental and physical challenges - “Ben, I have a blister” which would be followed with Ben applying a gel pack to my pinky toe. “Mike what layers should we wear on this next leg?” They were positive and honest at all times, cheerleaders and coaches, story tellers, fun facters, and quiz masters. Without them the last three weeks could not have happened. I think it is fair to give special mention to Dominic. He gets to make the big calls, to say when to move, when to stay, and finally when not to proceed on safety grounds. I have met and observed many leaders, -the good, the bad, and the ugly -, in my career. I can say without hesitation that Dominic’s leadership skills rank with the best I have seen.
We are honored and fortunate to have spent the past 3 weeks with Dominic, Ben and Mike. They make dreams come true.
RMI Climber Myles O'Neill
Comments (1)
Well done, Myles & the team.
So glad you all made it back down to base camp safely.
What an experience!
Well loved following your every step via the blog.
Judy
Posted by: Judith Lee on