Denali - West Buttress: May 20-June 9, 2007
Guides: Tim Connelly, Forest McBrian, Mat Erpelding
Climbers: Dave Anderson, Brad Clark, Tim Baynes, Dave Pack, Greg Juhl, Brian Duda, Susan Despins
Following is a series of dispatches received via satellite phone throughout the expedition:
Dispatch #1: May 20, 2007
Guide Tim Connelly of Denali Team 3 called Sunday night at 11pm with a brief message and the good news that the entire team successfully flew
into Kahiltna Base Camp
by 5pm. He said it was a spectacular day and that they expect more good weather tomorrow for their single carry
to Camp 1. He said he'd call Monday with more news.
Dispatch #2: May 23, 2007
Guide Forest McBrian called today at 2pm from Camp 1 to report that Team 3 is currently taking a weather day. After arriving at Camp 1 on Monday, the team did a
carry to 10,200 feet yesterday and made a cache. Today, they were planning on moving up to Camp 2, but they woke this morning to falling snow and made the call
to take a combined weather and rest day. Hopefully, the weather will ease off soon and they can move up to Camp 2 tomorrow.
For now, team members are resting in their tents and are "tucked in warm and cozy," Forest said. They are also eating well, he reported, "We ate spaghetti the first night, burritos last night, and tonight we have chicken curry rice with peas and raisins on the menu."
It has been fairly warm, even at night - about 15F to 30F at night. The team will probably have to break trail a little tomorrow if the snow keeps falling, though Forest said there still seems to be a fairly descent path leading up out of camp.
After moving up to Camp 2 tomorrow, the team plans on doing a backcarry the day after to retrieve the cache at 10,200 feet.
Dispatch #3: May 26, 2007
AAI guide Tim Connelly called last night at midnight with the following message:Today the team had an "awesome day" moving up to Camp 2. They woke up yesterday morning to whiteout conditions and 20 cm of fresh snow, which made the trail up to Camp 2 quite soft in places. As they began moving out of Camp 1, the weather worsened with high winds and blowing snow, and the team felt they were in for some generally nasty conditions. However, as they approached Kahiltna Pass, they were pleasantly surprised as they broke out of the clouds and into the sun. "In all," Tim said, "it was a beautiful climb. Everyone worked hard through the deep snow, but we were rewarded by the sunny conditions at Camp 2 and also by the nice campsites we were able to move into."
On a more personal note, yesterday was Tim's birthday! He turned 41 and said he was treated to "happy birthday" songs in Italian, Polish, French, and Afrikaans. "It's not everyday you get that!" Tim said.
Dispatch #4: May 27, 2007
AAI guide Tim Connelly called last night at 10:39pm Alaska time with the following message:"This is Tim calling on Day 7 of our expedition. Today we carried loads from our camp at 11,200' up to a cache at a little over 13,000.' It was a beautiful, sunny day - actually a little hot but excellent weather for going around Windy Corner - which was a blessing. Everyone got a lot of sun.
"We had hard work digging through a thick ice layer to bury our cache, but everyone 'chipped in,' and many hands made for light work. Then we all came back down to camp for a delicious dinner of meat and potatoes cooked up by chef Mat.
"The weather looks good enough for us to move up to our next camp at 14,000' tomorrow. So that's what we hope to do.
"Doctor Greg took some stitches out of my back today, so that was exciting for me. We've had a few small blisters that have been operated on successfully, but otherwise, everyone is in very good health.
"We're looking forward to moving up tomorrow! That's the news for now."
Dispatch #5: May 30, 2007
AAI guide Tim Connelly called last night at 11:15pm with news from Camp 3. He said that Monday morning, the team picked up their cache at 13,500 feet. They then spent the rest of the day improving their camp with reinforced snow walls. It snowed lightly through the night, and they woke with 6 inches of new snow yesterday (Tuesday). They decided collectively to take a rest day today instead of putting in a cache above the fixed lines, which was greatly appreciated by everyone. They then spent yesterday comfortable and cozy in their tents, save a short hike to the "Edge of the World," where they were met with mostly cloudy views, though they could see down into the Lower Kahiltna (Camp 1).Tim's satellite phone cut out at this point and so we were not able to receive information on what the team planned to do over the next few days...
Dispatch #6: May 31, 2007
AAI guide Tim Connelly called last night at 11pm from Camp 3. He said that the team successfully made their cache at 16,200 feet, above the fixed lines. They had a cold morning (about -15C) and patches of sun on the way up the lines, and were met at the top with gusting winds to 30 mph. They dropped the cache very quickly and efficiently; as Tim said, "The gang's really got the hang of it by now!"On another note, one of the team members, Tim Baynes, found out that one of his bulls back home (he lives in South Africa and raises bulls) was bit by a Puffadder (a snake). "So," Tim said, "we're pulling for a lot of things here: Tim's bull, and the summit!"
Team 3 should be moving up to High Camp soon.
Dispatch #7: June 1, 2007
Guide Tim Connelly called at midnight last night, but his message was garbled - his sat phone must have been operating on a satellite that was dipping below the horizon. We know this is a strange dispatch to post, but we figured that hearing from them, even with no intelligible message, is better than not hearing from them at all!Dispatch #8 received Saturday, June 2, 2007
Guide Tim Connelly left a message over the weekend to say that the team has reached High Camp. They had a long and arduous day on Friday, leaving Camp 3 at 10:30am and arriving at High Camp at 1am. "We took the small weather window we had from Camp 3 and went for it," Tim said. "It was still very difficult and stormy, and made for a very long day." When the team arrived at High Camp, they set up tents, had some hot drinks and food, and went to bed.When Tim called on Saturday, the team was resting. "Everyone is doing well, though a little tired, but adjusting well to the altitude," Tim said. He said the weather report didn't look that good for the future, but that they were hoping for a small weather window in which to make their summit attempt.
Dispatch #9: June 4, 2007
Guide Forest McBrian called at 12:45pm today with the news that Team 3 has returned to Camp 3 early, due to unstable weather conditions. They spent two nights at High Camp amidst high winds (40-80 mph) and whiteout conditions, and the weather report showed worsening conditions through their last possible summit day. After much deliberation, the team decided to descend. When they reached Camp 3 yesterday evening, they reestablished their camp and regrouped. Though they descended in fairly calm conditions, Forest said "We are currently in a whiteout at Camp 3, and it looks very grim up higher. Our plan is to try to start down to Base Camp today if possible, though we are still waiting on some information before we decide if Windy Corner will be passable right now [high winds and whiteout conditions at Windy Corner can make for dangerous travel, and the low visibility can prevent teams from seeing exactly where they need to be on this somewhat tricky section]. We'll know more in a few hours."We are sorry to hear that Team 3 did not get the chance to make their summit attempt from High Camp, but we are all glad that everyone is back from High Camp safe and sound.
Dispatch #10: June 6, 2007
Just a brief note to say that Team 3 has been spotted! Team 5 saw them coming through Camp 1 at 2:45am this morning. They were on their way to Base Camp, and so chances are that they flew out today (weather permitting). We should hear from them once they arrive in Talkeetna.Dispatch #11: June 7, 2007
Team 3 is officially off the mountain and back in Talkeetna. Guide Tim Connelly called at 7:30pm last night and left the following message:"Here's a report from the last three days: Monday, we had intended to descend but were stuck at Camp 3 due to an intense blizzard with incredibly high winds and pounding snow. We were glad we weren't at High Camp still - it was definitely a good call to come down when we did. On Tuesday we began our descent to Base Camp and hiked through the night until we reached the lower Kahiltna Glacier early Wednesday morning. The weather on the walk down was okay, but we were met with more snow when we arrived in Base Camp. Luckily, K2 was able to fly a few planes in and we were all able to return to Talkeetna.
"We're glad to be back safe and sound. Though we didn't summit, we knew it was a good decision to come down as the continued to rage through all of our potential summit days. It just would have been too risky.
"We're finishing up business now in Talkeetna and will have a big group dinner tonight before folks start heading back to Anchorage to fly to their respective homes."