Denali 2005: Alpine Ascents Denali 2005: Denali Sango-Oichan-7 bids Sayonara and more

Denali (20,320ft/6,195m) Alaska

Denali Sango-Oichan-7 bids Sayonara
May 26, 2005: Hi this is Andy Rich calling in on Thursday, May 26th, and the last update for Denali Sango-Oichan-7. I’m calling in from Talkeetna, the land of green trees and thick air, where all of our team has made it back to town safely and we’ve all been enjoying ourselves recuperating in the warm weather and thick air. We made it back to Base Camp in one push as expected and then had a weather day where there was no flying so we spent the day waiting in Base Camp for the planes, had a little celebration there. We were finally able to fly out yesterday morning, Wednesday morning and got back to town, everybody cleaned up, we cleaned up our gear, we all went out for a nice celebration dinner and that’s about it. Team Denali Sang-Oichan-7 is all back in town and happy and moving on to greener pastures of thick air. Dan and I will be continuing to work on our Japanese in the future and we’ll see if we get a chance to utilize that again. Many thanks to a strong team out there who taught us some Japanese and really put in a strong effort, and we all got up to the top and back down safely. Sayaonara.

Multiplying Forces settled at 14.2
May 25, 2005: This is Winslow from Team Multiplying Forces calling from 14.2. We had a beautiful day today and climbed up to 16,400 feet where we dropped off a load of food and fuel for our high camp. We had some great views of Foraker and Hunter today, we ascended one of the steepest parts of the climb, everything went well there, we had a great day and everyone is feeling good back down here at 14.2. We’re expecting some snow and high winds for the next three or four days, so we’ll be calling daily and letting you know what’s going on, we may be hanging out here for a while. Ciao.

Cheeseburgers in Paradise settled at High Camp
May 25, 2005: Hello cyberworld, this is Mark Fisher calling for Team Cheeseburgers in Paradise. It’s a beautiful day here in the Alaska Range, it’s the evening of Wednesday, the 25th of May and our team has established themselves at the 17,000 foot camp. All are doing well and are poised to go for the summit. Tomorrow, Thursday will be our first opportunity. And we’ll see what the weather brings. We unfortunately lost one of our teammates, Randy, he flew out a couple of days ago. Otherwise the team is strong and healthy and ready to go. Both Mark and Eric send love to their respective Christys and the rest of the team sends their love to family and friends. Have a great day, bye.

Team #6 ready to fly to the mountain.
May 25, 2005: Hey everyone this is Forrest McCarthy with Alpine Ascents Denali Expedition #6. And we would like to introduce the Mixed Nuts. The Mixed Nuts consists of Jacques Pirenne
Scott Parish, Andy Link, Costas Maranas, Kik Stam, Forrest McCarthy and legendary funky monkey, Duane Mortenson. And I’d like to report that we are at the airstrip in Talkeetna, we’ve got a good weather report from Base Camp and we’re all loaded up and ready to go to start our expedition. We look forward to our next cybercast, it will probably be a few days until we get up high on Ski Hill, then next few days we’ll be hanging out at Base Camp, getting some crevasse rescue practice and getting geared up to start moving up the mountain. So until you hear from us again, be well.

Updates

Overview: There are certain mountains that need no explanation as to why climb. Denali is such a mountain. Its tremendous size and beauty generate a magnetism that continually draws climbers from around the world. An ascent of Denali, touches the psyche of all alpinists and for those who have undertaken its challenges, it rewards them with an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Denali is often considered America's most classic climb. From top to bottom, it rises nearly 18,000', an elevation gain unsurpassed anywhere in the world. At a northern latitude of 63°, it is the most northerly of any big mountain over 20,000'. No other region offers such breathtaking and diverse views each day of the ascent. The panorama from Denali's summit includes Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter and Mt. Huntington in all their majestic glory.

When Dr. Bradford Washburn pioneered the West Buttress route, he heralded in a new era of Denali ascents and offered climbers a unique approach to the summit. The flight onto the glacier is a trip in itself, presenting overwhelming vistas of the Alaska Range. The West Buttress route remains, by far, the most successfully climbed route on the mountain.

Climb Overview: A Denali climb begins deep in the heart of the Alaska Mountain Range on the Kahiltna Glacier. From the S.E. Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier we begin the climb of Denali's West Buttress. Base Camp plus five higher camps are established on the mountain. When necessary, the team makes double carries between all camps, except high camp, to ensure proper acclimatization and reduce loads. In each camp we build snow walls for protection from possible high winds. The climb takes approximately 17-18 days round trip from Base camp.

Built to handle a myriad of different climbing pursuits, the Ultralight Universal is our best selling crampon. This crampon lives for trekking, glacier travel, or steep couloirs and snowfields. Totally adjustable Zytel straps make this crampon durable and easy to use. Fits everything from moon boots to flip-flops, our lightest crampon available. Weight: 590g Points: 10. See more here.

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