McKinley Expedition: Breen & Team Make it Back to the Airstrip
Posted by: Jackson Breen, Lacie Smith, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 7,300'
Friday, June 12th @ 4AM PST
Today we undid all of the work we spent the last 14 days doing in just 14 hours. We woke up to a clear cold morning at 17k camp. We descended the West Buttress in chilly conditions but were treated to nice weather and familiar faces when we saw our RMI family at 14k camp! Best of luck to Dan May and his strong team of climbers! Down we continued to 11k camp where we dug up our cache and enjoyed some relatively warm temps and sunshine after having been at over 20,000’ less than 24 hours ago. Still further down the mountain we went to camp one to pick up another cache where we saw Ben Luedtke and another RMI team. Finally we retraced the very first day of our trip and walked our way back to the airstrip on a tranquil Alaska range night. The day was truly unbelievable. We were treated to views of Hunter, Foraker, Denali, and the rest of the central Alaska range. Days like today stir up a great deal of gratitude for the privilege this life is and an overwhelming reminder of how small we are. We arrived at camp under the midnight sun and treated ourselves to refreshments, charcuterie, and friendly conversation before finally turning in for the night. Morning? The sun doesn’t set. Who knows? More importantly, who cares?! We achieved so much more than our goals and with any luck we will be flying back to Talkeetna and returning to the “real” world tomorrow. We can’t wait to see you all and tell you about the wild journey we had together!
Best,
Jackson
Comments (7)
Congratulations on your safe and successful expedition! You are an incredible group of athletes and survivors! A shower’s going to feel so amazingly wonderful! ☺️
Posted by: Susan on
I was communicating with my friend whom was at 11K on Ben’s team yesterday. He told me that your team had arrived. I was shocked. I said Action Jackson and Team Kuhl. He said yes and cool team. I could not believe how quickly you climbed back down. Impressive up and impressive down. It was fun watching along and congrats on huge accomplishment. TPS reports on Monday are going to look even more boring. Great work!!!
Posted by: Ed DaPra on
Just imagining that you kicked each climber off the summit and they tumbled down the mountain, arriving hours later at base camp encased in giant snowballs.
Posted by: Beth on
So splendidly magical indeed! We are grateful for sharing your experience. Grateful for the weather, most of all the safe journey down and soon home to loved ones!
Posted by: Tess on
We were cleaning for a board game party this weekend, but having just learned the other human is coming home early. What was a leisurely cleanup is now a high-speed cleaning operation. Rabbit is supervising, dog is on security, and I’m moving clutter with great urgency—-just not on the bed because it’s already piled with clothes!
Posted by: Reusserzales on
Amazing, amazing! Down in one day. You are a well-conditioned, strong group of climbers! Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Posted by: Steve R on
Sounds like a magical day! You descended 10,000 feet in 10 hours?! Amazing. We sure hope the effort was well worth it and that you’re able to fly off the mountain today! Can’t wait to hear all about it! Cheers to you all!
Posted by: Team Kuhl on