Denali 2005: Alpine Ascents Denali 2005: Team Dynamite heads home

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

Team Dynamite heads home June 20, 2005: Hello everyone out there in cyberland this Eric Remza with Team Dynamite. Giving you an update on the last few days. The 17th is when we summited in two parties, you should have received a cybercast about the first summit team. But the second summit team of Lisa Carponelli and Mike Lovell had a successful summit attempt three hours later after the first group. So summits all around for Team Dynamite. We headed back down to our high camp at 17 and were pretty tired so we spent the day and kind of got snowed in. We had a little system come in. So we hit our weather window pretty good (for our summits). After another half day of hanging out in our tents we were able to get down to 14 which was the other day and then right now just above Ski Hill. So we should be heading out 11,000ft camp today and probably spend the night there. Then try to head out to the airstrip late tonight. So our hopes are to fly out on the 21st and then we will give you an update to let you know how that went. So there is a special hello from Lisa Carponelli to all her friends at WOI-TV in the greater Des Moines area. Everyone else wants to wish their fathers a happy Fathers Day. So take care and see you later.

Team 11 The Walking Heads June 20, 2005: Hello this is Andy Rich calling with Denali group 11 also known as The Walking Heads. Today is Monday June 20th and we met up on Saturday afternoon and did a gear check and did our park service briefing. We had a relaxing afternoon yesterday Sunday on Fathers Day. We finished checking gear, packing food, practiced rope systems, review of crevasse rescue techniques, all of this down at the flight strip. This was all done while we waited for good weather to fly but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. We ended up spending the whole day and night in Talkeetna waiting to fly. So here we are, Monday morning, hoping the clouds will part during the day so we can have a safe passage into the mountains.

Our group is strong everyone is getting along very well and we are very prepared to go out there. We have reviewed everything we need to and our intention is to fly here in the next couple of hours. So our intention is to land on the glacier at the 7200ft base camp on southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. That evening that we fly in somewhere around 11:00pm we will begin travel through the night up to our Camp I at 7800ft camp on the main Kahiltna. We will be traveling during the night to take advantage of the cooler temps because it should be fairly warm lower down on the glacier.

We will be in touch with your again in a few days around the 10,000ft level on the main Kahiltna. That’s it for now from The Walking Heads, at this point we are still sitting heads but hopefully we will be walking heads very shortly. Over and out.
 

Team Censored Enlightenment preps for move June 19, 2005: Hello cyberworld and Happy Fathers Day again from team Censored Enlightenment. This is Mark Fisher calling in, today is Sunday June 19 Fathers Day. Had a great day here at the 14,200ft camp and the weather seems to be clearing. Everyone has high hopes of ascending to the 17,200 camp tomorrow. We have food cached at the base of Washburns Thumb everyone is doing well, happy, healthy, and hanging out in the Posh. Sam Plati team member has decided not to continue so interested parties can contact him at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna so he can receive phone calls there. Hope everyone is well this was team Censored Enlightenment take care.

Team Dynamite Summits June 17, 2005: Hey everybody this is David Kratsch calling in from the top of North America with Team Dynamite. We have Kurt, Mike Otis, Will and Brook up here with us up here today. Everybody summited it feels great we are going to be heading out shortly, it is a beautiful blue bird day you can see everything around us but weather seems to be moving in. We are going to possibly try for another summit attempt with Mike and Lisa. The Napoleon quote is “ we have nunchuck skills and we got climbing skills”. So here we are reporting in from the top of North America, Team Dynamite.

Team #10 Experiencing Clear Weather June 16, 2005: "Hey there Cybernauts. Team X here at 9,514.3 feet above sea level. We are fortunate to be enjoying a spell of severe clear, but we have also experienced wind, fog, snow and rain. Everyone is in good spirits as we are celebrating Brennan's birthday. We have just put the finishing touches on the spiral staircase into our outhouse, thanks to Spunky and Ro's design and execution. Jim and J.D. have proven to be champion snow wall builders, so we have a very secure camp.

I would like to dedicate this expedition to "First Candle" as we try to put an end to sudden infant death syndrome. I am carrying a journal with the names of children that perished the year before they completed their first year here. I hope to take the journal to the summit. Hugs and kisses, Vern Tejas

Team #10 Rolls Out of Basecamp June 12, 2005: Hello there cybernauts. This is Team X. We are rolling out of base camp today, and heading for Mt. Francis to establish our first camp at 7,100 ft. Above sea level at the east fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. It's a great team with a fine sense of humor. I'm guiding with Brenner Brunner and having a wonderful time. Jim, Spunky, Smiley, J.D. and Rosemary
are all eager to make this a safe and successful expedition. We practiced our glacier travel techniques yesterday and I feel confident they will be able to pull me out of a crevasse if need be.

Weather is ominous with lenticular clouds over Mt. Foraker and Denali. This morning we're going to move out early hopefully by 7:00 a.m. to beat the storm. Out for now Vern Tejas.

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.

Millet One Sport Everest Boot  has made some minor changes by adding more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to -75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads. Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated collar. Expedition footwear for mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold.  NOTE US SIZES LISTED. See more here.

A cold weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura® upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand See more here.

Altitude pre-
   acclimatization

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Black Diamond

   Botas

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   CaVa Climbing Shoes
   Clearance

   Clif Bar

   Cloudveil

   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Garmin

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps
   Helmets

   HighGear
   Ice Axes

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kelty

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Lowepro

   Motorola

   Mountain Hardwear

   Mountainsmith

   MSR

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Patagonia

   Pelican

   Petzl

   PowerBar

   Princeton Tec

   Prescription Glacier

   Glasses

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Thermarest

   Trango

   Tool Logic

   Trekking Poles
   Yaktrax
   and more here