American Alpine Institute Denali Trip #1

I just got back from an early season trip on Denali.  The expedition was exceptionally cold and windy.  There were a few day on which I was able to shoot some reasonable photos however.

Soon after arriving at camp 1 the weather changed.  I have had periods of bad weather low down on the mountain, but never bad enough weather that we were not able to carry loads to our cache.  This storm was a bit different however.  Below is a video of Aili working on getting dinner ready.

Birds often get blown off course and  into the range with storms.  This unlucky tree sparrow spent his last few hours with us at camp.

 Sastrugi snow after the storm.

The next day we cached at about 9700ft and moved our camp to 11,000ft the day after that in mostly good weather.  A third day of good weather allowed us to retreive our cache at 9,700ft the following day.

The following day was fairly good weather but a little windy.  We decided to cache around windy corner this day followed by a move to the 14,000ft camp the next day.

The move to 14,000ft is a difficult day, so we took a rest day in good weather the day after.

The following day of good weather allowed us to retrieve our cache 600ft below camp.

Chris

Zlatko

Returning from our cache.

Climbers returning to the 14,000ft camp.

After a rest day at 14,000ft we decided to carry food and fuel up to the top of the fixed lines at 16,200ft.   When we woke up that morning we could all see that the weather was changing fast.  I was very worried about getting separated from our food and fuel so I chose not to make the carry, and instead spend the morning fortifying our camp.  We also took this chance to send Lorenzo down with Chad due to altitude issues.

A lenticular cloud over the summit of Denali.

Lorenzo heading down.

 Sergey and Vitali spent at least part of the day building an igloo.

Sergey and Vitali building an igloo.

The master builder at work.

By the middle of the day the weather started to worsen and by night the winds became very strong.  We spent five days hunkered down at the 14,000ft camp due to very cold temperatures and high winds.  This amount of time in one place on the mountain is pretty trying, but we managed to entertain ourselves by listening to NPR, an making some videos of both the weather outside, and our attempts to cook appetizing meals for ten without the use of our cook tent.

A short break in the storm allowed us to get outside and do a little digging and maintenance

Cooking for ten...

Mt Foraker after the storm.

After spending way too much time in our tents we made the desision to decend rather than attempt a fast trip to the summit.  I was concerned about the possibility of getting stuck in bad weather at 17,000ft camp after the ascent as the weather window to summit looked to be very short.

Denali Photos

These are the photos from this years Denali trip. This was my third trip to Denali and one of my most successful. After a one day delay flying onto the glacier everything else went perfect. We summited on day 13. This was certainly the strongest team I have had on Denali, and a fun group of people to spend two weeks with.

This photo was shot on my first trip to the Alaska Range on a climb of Mt. Foraker. This is also the photo that I have sold the most copies of thanks in part to Denali Images Gallery in Talkeetna who have sold a lot of these for me. You can have your very own copy by ordering from here. That one won't have the route drawn all over it.

Crevasses from the plane.
Vaibhav on the flight in.
Kahiltan base camp and the ski equiped Otter that landed us there.
Ray.
Richard and Mary's rope teams just behind us.
A couple guys dragging sleds.
A snow sluff caused by warm temperatures.
A rope team ahead of us.
Two climbers on the lower Kahiltna Glacier.
AAI guide Mary Harlan.
Ascending Ski Hill.
7800 ft camp from the top of Ski Hill.
Camp at 7800 ft.
Richard at 7800ft.
Avalanche.
Ski hill

Pat taking a break.
Two climbers at Kahiltna Pass
Icefall below 11 camp.


Moving toward camp at 11,200 just above Kahiltna Pass.
Almost there.
The final few steps into camp at 11,200ft.
My good friend Ray.
Camp at 11,200ft.
Clouds signaling unstable weather while at 11 camp.
Two skier descend toward Kahiltna Pass.
Tony and Pat enjoy the beautiful weather.
Brian at the top of Motorcycle hill in high winds.
A cup of coffee and a sunset at 11 camp.
Richard and Mary enjoy the evening.
Richard and Mary enjoy the evening.
Seracs near 11 camp.
A campsite at 11,200ft.
Late evening light on Mt. Foraker and Kahiltna Dome.
Nearing the top of Motorcycle Hill.
Starting the climb out of 11,200ft camp with Kahiltna Dome, Mt. Crosson and Mt. Foraker in the background.
A very windy carry day.
Clouds spill over Kahiltna Pass from the north side of the range.
Richard and his rope team on Motorcycle Hill
Richard at the top of Motorcycle Hill.
Another team moving through Windy Corner in perfect weather.
AC Sherpa
Brian
Vaibhav, Brian, and AC Sherpa below 14 camp.
Angela
AAI Guides Angela and Mike.
Pat and Tony at the Edge of the World.
14,200ft camp with Mt. Hunter in the background.
Same as above.
14,200ft camp shot from half way up the fixed lines.
Park service helicopter at 14,200ft.
Vaibhav, Juan, and AC Sherpa on the ridge below me.
Vaibhav, Juan, and AC Sherpa on the ridge below me.
Richard on the ridge.
Tony on the ridge.
Richard leading on the ridge.
Juan and Vaibhav on the ridge.
AC Sherpa at the top of the fixed lines.
On the ridge near 17 camp.
What is unusual about this photo? Helicopters apparently can fly at over 17,000ft.
Richard in the tent.
Me.
Juan
Mt. Foraker from 17 camp.
17 camp.
17 camp.
Me calling in the dispatches, or talking to my lovely wife.
Me.
Two climbers taking in the view of Mt. Hunter.
Mt. Foraker from 17 camp.
Solo climber above Washburn's Thumb.
Climbers and Washburn's Thumb
Killing time at 17,000ft.
Juan

Seracs.
Clouds at Windy Corner.
Climbers on the ridge above Washburn's thumb.
Climbers on the ridge below 17 camp.

Richard at 17 camp.
Richard.... Looking a little wasted.
Sun shining through snow wall protecting the camp.
The team returning to 17 camp from the summit.
Clouds over Mt. Foraker.
The team coming down from the summit.
Decsending the Autobahn.

The team just below 14 camp on the way down.

A rope team above Kahiltna Base. Ash from the Mt. Spur eruption is clearly visible on the glacier in this photo. Crevasses on the flight out.