Louie and I posted our summit photos a few days ago. Because our group was doing a ‘Retreat from Moscow’ due to the weather and issue of getting on the waiting list for plane flights, I didn’t get photos of the boys, till yesterday. Getting the images ready for upload took a while, and here they are finally.
Morning at camp, Mount Foraker gets firstlight.
A useful skin track was set to the base of the headwall. Nice to vary the muscle groups during a 6,000 vert day that goes to 20,300 feet!
Looking back at Mount Foraker. When you climb Denali, Foraker definitely beckons.
Topping out of the Headwall, at 16,200 feet.
Looking ahead at a hard day to come. We didn't skimp on gear, as the size of the pack indicates. An emergency stove and sleeping bag were carried by the group, and we brought all our high altititude clothing, some of which we'd carried for two weeks and still had not used.
After climbing Pig Hill you do this amazing section of knife ridge. On your right, the East Face of Denali drops thousands of feet into an abyss of scale that seems like fantasy fiction. By now, even though we were somewhat acclimated to 17,000 feet, we were all feeling the altitude. No one had severe symptoms, but the weird puffy head feelings and shortness of breath just bother the heck out of you, and it's all a bit scary if you know anything about what can happen to people up here.
North Face parka does the trick
Joe on the summit.
Colby and Tyler show off their K2 Backlash skis on the Denali summit, which they indeed rip on (yep, both the skis and the summit).
Black Diamond also provided some skis, Kilowatts of power!
The advance summit team
Skiing off the summit requires a bit of scrapping down the ridge ascent route, to line up for the Football Field. If you've got time and want to ski roped up there are other options, but when it's around 15 below zero with wind, and you're not totally acclimated, you might just take the path of least resistance.
About midway down the upper portion of the route. You're skiing on Denali, it feels fantastic!
On the way down.
Caleb contemplates being on the big one, on skis. Something to savor for the rest of his life. The rest of us felt the same way.
While working on these excellent photos (many from Jordan, others from the rest of the group), I was struck by just how fortunate we were on this trip. Again, getting seven guys in the same expedition skiing off the summit on the same day was a in my opinion a somewhat rare gift offered by the mountain, and I continue to savor it.
FYI, we’re still stranded by the weather at Kahiltna Base. People are starting to act strange, making weird noises and gazing for hours across the glacier with what I’m calling the ‘Kahiltna Stare.’ Hopefully any mental problems that develop will be limited in consequence due to the absence of weaponry, but then, everyone has an ice axe. Luckily we’ve got Whippets as well, and have practiced the art of ski pole throwing. Thus, we plan on arriving in Talkeetna alive and uninjured.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
