McKinley Expedition: Delaney & Team Adapt to the Mountain on Another Rest Day
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Calvin Jiricko, Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
5/17 - On any proper adventure, there comes a time—long after the bags are packed and the body has proven it can endure—when forward progress is no longer the prevailing goal. Instead, adapting to a new environment becomes the focus.
In those early stretches, adaptation is far from obvious. From mummifying one’s feet in athletic tape to hoisting an overstuffed pack onto weary shoulders, every action feels foreign. Eventually, though, progress seems less like a fight and more like the key to a secret world: frozen, strange, and infinitely explorable.
But this new world unfurls in unpredictable ways. Last night, I nodded off to the rustle of tent nylon in the breeze. An hour later, I was yanked from sleep by an intense blast of frigid wind. The gale persisted, an unyielding rhythm that drummed through the night. Snow puddled around us, transforming our cozy cocoons into claustrophobic reminders of who really makes the rules up here.
Today, we found ourselves stuck yet again at 11,000 feet—far from idyllic, but the best option given our forecast and supplies. We squelched back and forth between our group and personal tents, packs and sleds buried beneath reams of spindrift. Some of us read books, some took naps. Some typed long missives to the outside world on our phones.
The upside is that we are not yet working ourselves into paste hauling food and gear further up the hill. Instead, the tasks have been a light blend of the practical and absurd: digging, and then re-digging, our communal toilet out of the snow; downing carb-laden meals with competitive zeal until we are both proud of and embarrassed by our gluttony; shuffling our creaky bodies across a slick, uneven camp with all the grace of baby deer on ice; and generally extricating ourselves from our self-imposed predicament with routine bouts of only somewhat effective shoveling.
Days like today—and, indeed, trips like this—can easily be dismissed as pointless, or even wasteful: so much time and energy spent in pursuit of an ultimately frivolous goal. But in a world increasingly designed to be safe, comfortable, and instantly gratifying, there is something to be said for leaning hard in the opposite direction. What rare thing will we find up there? Or right here?
Getting to the summit is the goal, though today—our sixth on the illustrious flanks of Denali, our second battered by snow and wind—adaptation feels sufficiently ambitious.
—RMI Climber Tina Currin
P.S. Hi to Grayson and Rollie, Mom and Charlie, JK and the Little Gang. I love you all more than than you know.
Comments (2)
I kid, I kid—I wouldn’t make it five minutes out there. You all have trained hard and are exactly where you need to be. We are hoping weather improved today and you made some forward progress. Onwards and upwards! Love, Mom & Charlie
Posted by: Jen LaRocca on
How lucky are we to be able to follow along on your journey?? I steeled myself for several weeks of limited contact, but this blog and satellite through iPhone has been such an unexpected treat. I am amazed to learn of your kitchen and dining facilities—pizza and pancakes? Sign me up! I was also horrified to learn of your bathroom facilities—on second thought, take me off that list!
Posted by: Jen LaRocca on