McKinley Expedition: Delaney and Team Start Descent Back to Airstrip
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Jess Wedel, Calvin Jiricko
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, June 1st - 12:45AM PST
Hello blog readers! We awoke this morning to the sun blessing our tents. It took sometime to get our momentum rolling but soon we were headed downhill. The sweet thick air below us was calling our names! We descended the 16k ridge in stellar weather with almost the entire thing to ourselves. Then back down the fixed lines for the final time. Next thing you know we were back at 14k camp! We were greeted with great hospitality from the RMI team lead by Seth Burns. After an hour of so of R&R and repacking, we continued on our journey downward. After 6,000 feet of descent, we were back at our nemesis - 11 Camp but this time on better terms. This time it’ll only be a short layover with a few hours of sleep before we finish our descent to the Kahiltna International Airport where we hope to catch a ride on a Turbo Otter to Talkeetna!
Cheers,
Jack and the Team
(fingers crossed for flyable weather!)
Comments (1)
Congratulations to you all—your perseverance paid off! Whether you were able to summit or not, you have proven yourselves up to a very difficult challenge, both physically and emotionally. Now hurry safely home, please. Your families miss you! —Love, Mom & Charlie
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