Denali - West Buttress: May 27-June 16, 2007
Guides: Joey Elton, Justin Wood, Kurt Hicks
Climbers: Zach Even, Bill Yohn, Danny Dibski, Rebecca Montange, Joseph Montange, Linda Beja, David Adcock, Dave Rotheroe
Following is a series of dispatches received via satellite phone throughout the expedition:
Dispatch #1: May 29, 2007
Guide Kurt Hicks called this morning at 9am to say that, after waiting out two days of inclement weather, Team 4 is now preparing to fly to Base Camp!The team was stuck in Talkeetna on Sunday and Monday because the weather wasn't allowing planes to fly, but they kept themselves busy working on skills such as knots, rope work, and crevasse rescue. They are all very excited to get underway with their expedition and will soon be moving up the mountain!
Dispatch #2: May 30, 2007
Guide Justin Wood of Team 4 called today at 1pm from Camp 1. After arriving at Base Camp yesterday, park rangers approached the team and informed them that they should plan to travel by night, since there had been some large crevasses opening up which presented serious travel hazards during the day.The team decided to set up their tents and take a nap, then woke and left for Camp 1 at 2:45am this morning. After just over 5 hours of travel, the team reached Camp 1, where they are now resting and eating lunch. They plan to nap today and go to bed early, then wake at 3am to leave at 5am for a single carry up to Camp 2.
Eventually, the team wants to get off the night schedule, but it will be at least until after they reach Camp 2 that they can do so.
Justin's satellite phone cut out at this point, just after he had said that everyone on the teams seemed very strong and healthy.
Dispatch #3: June 1, 2007
Guide Joey Elton called yesterday at 6:30pm from Camp 1. The team decided not to do a single carry to Camp 2 after all, opting instead for putting in a cache at 10,000 feet. Despite poor visibility and having to break trail most of the day, the team successfully put in a great cache below Kahitlna Pass."The mountain is busy now," Joey said. "All the guide services are working together to wand the route so everyone can get safely from destination to destination in the poor visibility."
The team also ran in to AAI guides Paul Ivaska and Aidan Loehr, who were embarking on a personal mission to climb the Cassin Ridge.
"Despite the not-so-good forecast, we are planning on moving to Camp 2 on Friday," Joey said.
Dispatch #4: June 1, 2007
We received another brief message from Team 4 today at 4:30pm. Guide Kurt Hicks said that the team arrived at Camp 2 safe, sound, and in great time. "The weather broke this morning and we went for it - we had a beautiful climb up to 11,000 feet, and arrived at a fairly vacant Camp 2. I think because the weather cleared up, everyone at Camp 2 made a move for Camp 3. There's a line of teams behind us, and so we got to pick the best camp spot!Dispatch #5: June 4, 2007
We received two messages from guide Joey Elton, on one Saturday and one on Sunday:Saturday, 10:40pm - Joey said, "Hi everyone, this is Joey, calling from a very snowy Camp 2. The team had a leisurely day, waking up to a fantastic egg, hashbrown, and bacon breakfast. We then descended to Kahiltna Pass to retrieve the cache we had placed there a couple days earlier. After climbing back up to camp at 11,200 feet, guide Justin Wood cooked up an amazing burrito meal. It was all fun and games in the cook tent as we watched Justin cook and we all enjoyed our meal immensely. In general, everything is great. We hope to put in a cache at 13,500 feet tomorrow, weather permitting. It's snowing heavily as I speak, so hopefully that will ease up soon to make our travel easier tomorrow. Bye for now."
Sunday, 10pm - Joey said, "Hi again, I'm calling from Camp 2 and am happy to report that our team successfully put in a cache at 13,500 feet today. We found great conditions on the upper glacier, and Windy Corner itself was like a snowy sidewalk. Upon arrival to our cache site, we found a thick layer of ice beneath 3 feet of snow, which we had to dig and chip through to get our cache buried. Hard work, and a good effort all around. Once we arrived back in camp, we had a delicious dinner of chicken pesto pasta, made by guide Kurt Hicks. We're hoping to move up to Camp 3 tomorrow, and are encouraged by the clearing skies."
Dispatch #6: June 6, 2007
Guide Kurt Hicks called last night at 10:43pm from Camp 3. He said that Team 4 had a very succesful day doing a backcarry to 13,500 feet to retrieve their cache. He said it was a "bluebird day" and that they had great views of the surrounding mountains, but also that they fought the wind the whole day.Kurt said, "We are now snuggled down in bed, resting up for tomorrow's venture to ascend the fixed lines and put in a cache around 16,400 feet. The day after tomorrow, we'll have a rest day, and the day after that, we plan to move to High Camp. In general, all is well, and people are in good spirits. Off to bed now."
Dispatch #7: June 6, 2007 - second dispatch of the day
Guide Justin Wood called in today at 2pm with another dispatch. He said, "Visibility is low at Camp 3, though the snow has died down a bit. We have completed our fixed line practice and are now standing by with ropes and packs ready to do our carry to 16,200 feet, though we're not counting on it due to the weather. We're hoping for an afternoon clearing brought by the same southeasternly flow that has enabled past teams to summit. As soon as we get a good weather window, we will make our carry up the fixed lines and will put in our cache. If the weather doesn't clear up today, then we'll have to take another weather day and will make our cache tomorrow. Everyone is still feeling well and is in good spirits despite the weather."Dispatch #8: June 11, 2007
The following dispatches came in over the weekend from Team 4:Friday, June 8 - 10pm
Guide Kurt Hicks called from Camp 3
to report that Team 4 made their cache above the fixed lines
at 16,200 feet today. He said they had an eventful day in some
"fairly horrendous weather." He did say that the weather has since improved, and the mountain is out with the ridge in full view. "Everyone is now
snuggled in bed; it's getting colder. We might either take a rest day tomorrow or move up to High Camp, depending on weather."
Saturday, June 9 - 10:15pm
Guide Joey Elton called from Camp 3 with the following brief message: "We're hoping to move up to High Camp tomorrow. The skies are clear right now, hopefully they'll
stay that way. It's nice to see another AAI team here at Camp 3 - Gary, Alasdair, and Coley just showed up today. It's nice to have them around. We'll be in touch."
Dispatch #9: June 11, 2007, second dispatch of the day!
Guide Kurt Hicks called in at 11am with great news - Team 4 reached High Camp! He said, "It was a calm, beautiful day today moving from Camp 3 to High Camp; we traveled under beautiful skies and had views of Foraker and all the way down to the lower Kahiltna." The team arrived at High Camp in good style, established their campsite, then made dinner. It was a bit stormy throughout last night, but they awoke this morning to a bluebird day. Kurt says that, except for taking pictures and fortifying camp (and building a bathroom), the team will rest and recover for the remainder of the day. This evening they will check the weather and hope to summit in the next few days!
Dispatch #10: June 12, 2007 - Team 4 is on their way to the summit!
Guide Kurt Hicks called in at 9:45am this morning to say that Team 4 was just about to leave for their summit attempt! "It's a total bluebird splitter day, totally calm," Kurt said. "Everything looks great condition-wise. A few teams summited yesterday, and I expect we'll be summiting with about 80 people today as High Camp has been very crowded!"That's it from Team 4. Good luck to them!
Dispatch #11: June 13, 2007 - Team 4 Summits!
Team 4 called at 1:20am this morning from High Camp! Joey Elton reported, "I am ecstatic to report that all climbers and guides of Team 4 have made it to the top of North America! It was a bluebird morning when we left High Camp, and it stayed that way all day. We had spectacular conditions right from the get go - there was barely a breath of air at Denali Pass (18,000 feet) and it was perfectly sunny. There was a great coordinated effort between four different guide services to place fixed protection on steeper, technical sections and to clean the route at the end of the day. Probably over sixty people summited today, and it was an awesome effort by all. We had great summit views and everyone was so happy - literally on Cloud 9! We were very lucky to be able to set ourselves up strategically during this short, perfect weather window. We're all very proud of ourselves."The team is looking forward to getting back to Talkeetna in a couple days. Joey said they will call tomorrow. Congratulations Team 4!
Dispatch #12: June 14, 2007
Team 4 is now back at Base Camp. Guide Kurt Hicks called this morning at 10:15am to give an update:He said, "We left High Camp at noon yesterday, then took a four-hour break at Camp 3 to rest and eat some most excellent Denali sandwiches (fried bagels and cheese). We then left Camp 3 at 9pm last night and walked through the night, arriving here at Base Camp just an hour ago. Everyone on the team performed very well. We are now sorting gear under a totally blue sky. It's warm and sunny. The airstrip is super busy because nobody has been able to fly in the last four days due to low-lying clouds (while it was beautiful up high, it was cloudy on the lower glacier), so now planes are constantly coming and going. We hope to fly out today, then once we're in Talkeetna we will head to the West Rib Pub and Grill for a celebration meal!"