Closure after Denali
June 26th, 2009
It’s been 4 days since coming down from Denali and flying off the glacier. Since then all the gear has been dried, sorted, and divvied up between mountaineering (mostly shipped back home to Florida) and cycling. I have been sleeping and eating a lot, and my waist line, lips and nose skin are quickly returning back to normal.
Of the 9 original clients and 3 original guides only 4 clients and 1 guide remain on the mountain – as I write this they are at high camp (17.000ft) after spending 12 nights (!) at the second highest camp (14.000ft). The others had to descend, either because they weren’t up for the challenge or mostly because they couldn’t extend the trip past the original deadline. Possibly today or tomorrow the remaining group will attempt a summit push. They climbed up to high camp yesterday (June 25), exactly 1 week after we had wanted to but were stopped due to the guide falling sick (June 18). Sitting for almost 2 weeks in a tent not going anywhere around camp – half of that in good weather conditions – this isn’t the mountaineering I had envisioned when signing up for the expedition…
This picture shows the fatigue of just having descended 11.5 hours from Camp 14.000 all the way down to basecamp as well as the disappointment about having invested 2+ weeks of effort and a lot of money without it ultimately paying off with Denali summit due to unfortunate circumstances.
I have uploaded several videos to Youtube and archived the SPOT tracking data for Denali. Everything is now organized and linked from the Denali page. I also added a daily journal there if you’re interested in daily observations…
This marks the end of the Denali episode, at least for now. I need to focus on the upcoming bike ride, in particular the first long stretch, the Dalton Highway from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks.
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3 Comments Add your own
1. Aaron Nicholson | June 29th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Looks like all the strong and dedicated climbers summitted! Seems like you kinda’ screwed up your project by leaving the expedition…
http://alpineinstitute.blogspot.com/2009/06/aai-expedition-summits-denali.html
Congrats to the crew who made it!!!!
Aaron
Aaron, I agree, congrats to the team that made it to the top! It’s always easy from afar and after the fact to criticize decisions made by climbers on the mountain. You’re right: If I had been willing to wait another week at camp 14 I would have had a chance to summit “legally” as well. I think I did have a chance to do so when I left the group, but the park rangers at camp 17 made it clear that it would be “illegal” and that I would be slapped with an “astronomical fine” (their words). In their view I jeopardized the park rangers safety as they might have had to come rescue me from up high if I had continued and run into trouble. I think this is greatly exaggerated; I didn’t put anyone at risk; I knew what I was doing, as I always do in the mountains. So I think I got screwed out of my chance to summit due to the slowness of the AAI expedition combined with the buraeucratic park regulations. But that is just my opinion…
2. Bill Lyden | July 10th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Thomas. It was a great shame I could not share the summit with you. It was definitely not the alpine experience that I had envisioned either. I understand the decision you made, and even regret having not gone with you at times. I would like you to know that I would be proud to share a rope with you on any mountain my friend. Let me know if you have unfinished business on Denali. I am certainly interested if you ever consider giving it another shot. We can climb a real route like real mountaineers next time!
Bill
3. Sabine | July 19th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Hi Thomas, I am a friend of Loree and Chris who met you in Alaska. I read your story on Denali and I even found it frustrating reading it. I can relate to it, and I donīt blame you for you “illegal” summit bid! There is no way for consolation (other than you got down safely). I attempted Aconcagua this February, solo. I failed, at 6300 I started feeling like in a dream or drunk and had to head down. But going solo was the right decicion. Everything went well, even the weather on summit day was perfect. I wish you luck with all your other summits, and fun cycling.
Sabine from Germany (but living in Spain)
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