McKinley Expedition: Breen & Team Take a Rest Day at 7,800’
Posted by: Jackson Breen, Lacie Smith, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,800'
Sunday, May 31st - 8:30PM PST
We awoke at 7am to 4” of fresh snow blanketing the camp. Since then, it has continued to fall at a steady pace. Temperatures are just below freezing. Little to no wind. Visibility is much reduced compared to the last 3 days, but still a good 3/4 mi.
There was potential we would move camp today, leapfrogging where we buried our cache yesterday and continuing on to Camp 2. However, Jackson warned us that the mild conditions at our current 7,800’ can be dramatically magnified above at 11,000’. Heeding this, decision was made to take our first rest day. A time to relax, take care of ourselves, and recharge the physical stores we would desperately need in the coming weeks. (Note: as of 12:35pm “Camp 2 just reported 2’ of snow since last night!”)
While the body, pushed hard over the last two days of hauling heavy loads, certainly welcomed this respite, I knew the mind could be more finicky. Since landing in Alaska, we’ve been hyper focused on travel, gear lists, packing, re-packing, logistics, learning new skills, meeting new people, adapting to our life on the mountain, and then hours of step by step by step to reach Camp 1. Now it seemed we have nothing to fixate on besides sitting in our tents and…thinking.
We inevitably start asking ourselves those questions. Why the hell are we here? On paper, the entire endeavor makes no sense. Each of us has voluntarily left our boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, children, pets, friends, and family to spend weeks slogging up into one of the most remote, desolate, and entirely hostile places on Earth. Thousands of dollars. All of our paid time off. Bruises, blisters, headaches, and countless other torments. Temperatures lower than you thought physically possible. Our cozy beds replaced with -40 degree sleeping bags on lumpy snow and ice. Our kitchen tables replaced with benches and counters cut 6’ down into the packed snow. Our bathrooms replaced with a Ziploc bag of wet wipes and a literal bucket. To any rational person, this is madness. Why then?
But here, everyone knows. No bewildered looks from a co-worker as you try to explain. We all innately understand the desire to be in this place. We come here to find the things that are so rare in the modern world. Adventure. Simplicity. Persevering over physical hardship. Proving that who we were will never stop us from becoming who we are. Standing in awe of nature, both in its breathtaking beauty, and in horror of the enormity of its sheer power. Feeling truly mortal. A small speck in a vast system that we cannot fully comprehend. Letting go of our pride, our hubris, our fear of relying on others. Connection. Bonds that can only be forged through shared sweat, trials and tears. Knowing that there really are other people out there as crazy as we are. That is why we came. And that is why we will remain here together, taking on each day as it comes.
-RMI Climber Peter
Comments (1)
It’s not going to be easy but it can be possible! Stay positive and keep up the task-by-task, step-by-step hard work it takes for such an endeavor. Loads of encouragement to each of you!
Posted by: Steve Reusser on