Taking off from Talkeetna:
First view of Denali - It is massive and stands out in the alaskan range.
A closer view of Denali flying in:
Landing on the Kalhitna glacier:
Basecamp:
Moving from Basecamp to Camp 1
Typical day setting up Camp
Camp 1
Caching inbetween Camp 1 and Camp 2.View of the Kalhithna dome.
Moving Back to Camp 1 after caching.
Moving to 11K camp
14K camp
Moving to 17K camp from 14K
16K ridge on Denali
17K camp on Denali- Route description
Summit Video:
The day after summit-ting denali ,at 17K camp
Flying out of the Alaskan ranges(Long video)
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Success rate on Denali
I was looking up the climbing statistics for this year on Denali,Out of a total 1203 registered climbers 641 summited, that brings the success rate to 53%
The NPS website contains statistics from 1903.As of now a total of 37278 people have attempted and 19518 people have summitted bringing the overall success ratio to 52.35%.
More information at below link
http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/current-statistics.htm
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Road to Denali ..
The Beginning:
It all started after Rainier in June 2010. I did not summit Rainier because of dangerous avalanche conditions but i knew i could have climbed it if the conditions were good.After my gradual progression in climbing i had come to a stage where i wanted something bigger.The choice was obvious - 'Denali', but i was not sure if i was ready for it.I was not sure if it was still a couple of years away or was it now?But i knew in my heart that i wanted to do it.I had sleepless night's thinking about it,looking and reading up anything and everything on Denali all the time and trying to make up my mind whether i was ready for it.It was a huge commitment from my side in many ways financially,physically,psychologically,work wise,utilizing off all my leaves which i had saved so far.I was questioning my physical abilities the most,could i carry 100+ pounds over 16 miles over 21 days, my ability to be out in extreme cold for 21 days,my mental stamina,how would my body react at 20,000 feet?the highest i had been to was 14,500 feet on mount Whitney and i did fine, but Denali standing at 20,320 feet is a good 6000 feet more and i have read enough articles on people suffering from high altitude sickness to take it for granted.
After endless questions and rolling overs in bed i finally decided to send my friend Chris a mail to check with him what he thought about my abilities.Chris and i have climbed several times together, he has seen me on ice,rock and alpine conditions and thought he would be one of the best judges and to top it he had scaled Denali the year before in 2010 and would know what is required and whether i would be able to do it.After some assurances from Chris i decided to take the plunge and Chris wrote this recommendation letter to AMS.
Chris wrote this out to Alaska mountaineering school on Nov 12th.
On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 2:27 PM, Christopher Wright wrote:
Hey Julia (and Caitlyn, and who else is in Talkeetna?),
Hope all's well with you guys and you're getting set for the short days to come. Just wanted to drop you a line to say I think Mayur should be a great fit for a West Butt expedition. We've climbed together a bunch in the alpine and on ice and rock throughout the last few years and I think he should surely have what it takes. I've lined him out a bit on some training he might want to get into, maybe a bit more winter camping, but I think he'll slay it.
I think personally this email was the best motivator for me to put my fears behind and go for it. Irrespective of whether Chris really thought i was capable or not he did not discourage me and helped me throughout my training giving me useful tips.I owe a lot to Chris for his help.
Alaska Mountaineering School based on my climbing record and Chris's recommendation immediately accepted my application. I chose the date of June 6-26th and i spoke with my bosses at work for three weeks leave,my immediate manager did not want to take the call so he made his boss have a meeting with me where i explained what i wanted to do and why i needed the leave.It was more like a sales pitch marketing myself that i would safe and am a competent climber and knew what i was doing.The super boss decided to grant me leave and asked me to come back safe. I guess i am thankful to my employers in a way for letting me go. :)
Training
Once i decided to take the plunge in November of last year i knew i had to get a lot of things done in the next 7 months. I had to plan the logistics out - i had to book my flight tickets at the cheapest rates,get all the gear(again wanted it cheap,i am a cheapo that way),get to know my team mates,get to know my guides but most importantly i had to get my body ready!
They say the best way to train for climbing is climbing itself !!
I knew i was at a great disadvantage being in Minnesota,Minnesota is flat!!Not the greatest of places to train to climb the highest mountain in north america.There was not even a small hill within miles to go climb and train.
But i also knew i had the greatest advantage being in Minnesota,Minnesota is Super COLD!! Denali is colder than Everest it seems and Minnesota winter is as cold or colder than Denali(during summer).(I personally agree as I have encountered colder temperatures in Minnesota than what i encountered on Denali,maybe we were lucky). With winter coming up i knew i had the perfect playground to train myself for the cold and test out all my gear.
I found these two great training guides on the AAI website which i used as a template for my training.training chart ,training guide.
I joined the gym and there was an indoor cycling program which i joined as i could not cycle outside because of winter conditions.There were these two great instructors who had their classes on Tuesday's and Thursday's who literally tore the legs off you in their program. I made it a point never to miss their classes,i literally cried and cheated on my first few weeks as my legs and heart could not sustain their tempo but gradually as my fitness improved i improved in their class. I started running outside in the cold,first on the pavements and then in snow.( inspiration from Rocky 4).I incorporated swimming once a week and i used to go to a indoor pool at my friend's apartment.Initially i was focused on improving my cardio, then i started working on my core/legs and back. I started hitting weights in the gym specific to these areas. As a substitute for climbing i started using the stair master in my gym.As part of the training program i had to start climbing with a backpack and i was embarrassed to do it in the gym as there were too many people gawking at me and asking questions, I decided to improvise.I went to the highest skyscrapers in Minneapolis downtown and checked with the security folks whether i could use the stairs to train for my climb,all of them refused.I realized that one of my friends lived in a 17 floor apartment, i asked her whether i could use the fire stairs for the training and use her name to enter in and out of the apartment and she agreed.So i used to go to her apartment with a backpack and began to go up and down the stairs. On days i could not make it to her apartment i used to carry a backpack and walk around the frozen lakes.It used to be beautiful,walking alone in a white world.Once the weather started getting warmer i took my road bike out and started training on that.
So i used to cycle,swim,run,climb stairs or the stair master and lift weights. I made it a point to exercise in someway almost everyday. Towards the end of the program i averaged 6-8 miles of running and on one day took it as far as 17 miles running.I cycled around 25 miles average but hit 50 miles on one motivated day,used to swim 50 laps but did 100 laps one day.Averaged 6 miles with a 70 pound backpack and once walked 11 miles with a 65 pound pack. Maxed 350 floors carrying a 65 pound backpack or averaged 2 hours on the stair master. I did a trip to California one weekend for a Yanni concert and felt so guilty about not training that i ended up carrying a 40 pound backpack upto the top of mission peak.Thanks to Karthik for showing me the documentary on Denali which spooked me out and made me intensify my training even more. :)
I must thank Jasmine and Pranav who kept motivating me on days i felt a little bit lazy and used to urge me to go out.
Gear:
I knew that i had to spend a lot on gear.Yeah! The best mountaineering gear dont come cheap. An absolute zero parka costs 650$,The spantik boots cost 700$,The outdoor research gloves cost 200$,A -40F sleeping bag cost 700$.Yeah!No kidding.
Here is an entire lexicon of what is required - Gear list, lexicon
I put a post on one of the mountaineering forums that do i really need these costly gear to climb Denali and these were a few replies.
'Yes!!Just look at all your toes and fingers and see if its worth 1000$,if you don't think its worth that much,then dont buy the gear else buy it'
'If you are staying at 17,000 camp, without a higher rating parka would be miserable. Put it this way, you are spending boatload of money and time on this trip, do you really want to cut your trip short because the additional $300?'
I think these posts had me convinced.I started scournging for used stuff in good condition everywhere,on craigslists,on mountaineering forums,on ebay,looking for sales on websites. I ended up getting an almost brandnew Marmot -40 bag worth 700$ for 300$ from a Minnesota climber who took it to climb Denali,made it to the top and never used it later on.I got a brand new absolute zero parka for 270$ from back country ,its actual cost is 650$.I got a brand new 200$ black diamond gloves from craigslist for 75$ because the guy found it a size too small and had no takers for it.I got my Spantiks for real cheap on an online sale,the size ordered was wrong but the online site was good enough to send me the correct size without charging me anything extra. I think i spent nearly 3 months to assemble all the gear but it was well worth it as i saved a lot.
This guy here has one of the best trip reports on Denali .
Travel:
Airline tickets - Flying to Alaska from Minneapolis can cost between 600-800$, i ended up using my delta skymiles of 40,000 miles and getting a free round trip ticket.
Travel from Anchorage to Talkeetna - One of my teammates was from Anchorage and he offered to pick me up at the airport and go together to Talkeetna.Otherwise it will cost one about 60-80$ each way depending on whether you take the train or a shuttle.
Accomodation:
At Talkeetna i stayed at the Talkeetna hostel which charged 20$ a nite for a bunk.It was pretty decent with decent baths and toilets.
At Anchorage,I arranged to stay with Lacole who happens to be the wife of my climbing friend Phillip, she had recently moved to Anchorage and Phillip was to join couple of months later and they graciously agreed to have me over at their place.They moved from Charlotte,NC to Anchorage.
I was all set!! Now i just had to go and do it!
I must agree that i really enjoyed the process of preparing for Denali as much as i enjoyed the experience of actually climbing it and reaching the summit. It was a really long process but well worth in the end.
It all started after Rainier in June 2010. I did not summit Rainier because of dangerous avalanche conditions but i knew i could have climbed it if the conditions were good.After my gradual progression in climbing i had come to a stage where i wanted something bigger.The choice was obvious - 'Denali', but i was not sure if i was ready for it.I was not sure if it was still a couple of years away or was it now?But i knew in my heart that i wanted to do it.I had sleepless night's thinking about it,looking and reading up anything and everything on Denali all the time and trying to make up my mind whether i was ready for it.It was a huge commitment from my side in many ways financially,physically,psychologically,work wise,utilizing off all my leaves which i had saved so far.I was questioning my physical abilities the most,could i carry 100+ pounds over 16 miles over 21 days, my ability to be out in extreme cold for 21 days,my mental stamina,how would my body react at 20,000 feet?the highest i had been to was 14,500 feet on mount Whitney and i did fine, but Denali standing at 20,320 feet is a good 6000 feet more and i have read enough articles on people suffering from high altitude sickness to take it for granted.
After endless questions and rolling overs in bed i finally decided to send my friend Chris a mail to check with him what he thought about my abilities.Chris and i have climbed several times together, he has seen me on ice,rock and alpine conditions and thought he would be one of the best judges and to top it he had scaled Denali the year before in 2010 and would know what is required and whether i would be able to do it.After some assurances from Chris i decided to take the plunge and Chris wrote this recommendation letter to AMS.
Chris wrote this out to Alaska mountaineering school on Nov 12th.
On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 2:27 PM, Christopher Wright wrote:
Hey Julia (and Caitlyn, and who else is in Talkeetna?),
Hope all's well with you guys and you're getting set for the short days to come. Just wanted to drop you a line to say I think Mayur should be a great fit for a West Butt expedition. We've climbed together a bunch in the alpine and on ice and rock throughout the last few years and I think he should surely have what it takes. I've lined him out a bit on some training he might want to get into, maybe a bit more winter camping, but I think he'll slay it.
I think personally this email was the best motivator for me to put my fears behind and go for it. Irrespective of whether Chris really thought i was capable or not he did not discourage me and helped me throughout my training giving me useful tips.I owe a lot to Chris for his help.
Alaska Mountaineering School based on my climbing record and Chris's recommendation immediately accepted my application. I chose the date of June 6-26th and i spoke with my bosses at work for three weeks leave,my immediate manager did not want to take the call so he made his boss have a meeting with me where i explained what i wanted to do and why i needed the leave.It was more like a sales pitch marketing myself that i would safe and am a competent climber and knew what i was doing.The super boss decided to grant me leave and asked me to come back safe. I guess i am thankful to my employers in a way for letting me go. :)
Training
Once i decided to take the plunge in November of last year i knew i had to get a lot of things done in the next 7 months. I had to plan the logistics out - i had to book my flight tickets at the cheapest rates,get all the gear(again wanted it cheap,i am a cheapo that way),get to know my team mates,get to know my guides but most importantly i had to get my body ready!
They say the best way to train for climbing is climbing itself !!
I knew i was at a great disadvantage being in Minnesota,Minnesota is flat!!Not the greatest of places to train to climb the highest mountain in north america.There was not even a small hill within miles to go climb and train.
But i also knew i had the greatest advantage being in Minnesota,Minnesota is Super COLD!! Denali is colder than Everest it seems and Minnesota winter is as cold or colder than Denali(during summer).(I personally agree as I have encountered colder temperatures in Minnesota than what i encountered on Denali,maybe we were lucky). With winter coming up i knew i had the perfect playground to train myself for the cold and test out all my gear.
I found these two great training guides on the AAI website which i used as a template for my training.training chart ,training guide.
I joined the gym and there was an indoor cycling program which i joined as i could not cycle outside because of winter conditions.There were these two great instructors who had their classes on Tuesday's and Thursday's who literally tore the legs off you in their program. I made it a point never to miss their classes,i literally cried and cheated on my first few weeks as my legs and heart could not sustain their tempo but gradually as my fitness improved i improved in their class. I started running outside in the cold,first on the pavements and then in snow.( inspiration from Rocky 4).I incorporated swimming once a week and i used to go to a indoor pool at my friend's apartment.Initially i was focused on improving my cardio, then i started working on my core/legs and back. I started hitting weights in the gym specific to these areas. As a substitute for climbing i started using the stair master in my gym.As part of the training program i had to start climbing with a backpack and i was embarrassed to do it in the gym as there were too many people gawking at me and asking questions, I decided to improvise.I went to the highest skyscrapers in Minneapolis downtown and checked with the security folks whether i could use the stairs to train for my climb,all of them refused.I realized that one of my friends lived in a 17 floor apartment, i asked her whether i could use the fire stairs for the training and use her name to enter in and out of the apartment and she agreed.So i used to go to her apartment with a backpack and began to go up and down the stairs. On days i could not make it to her apartment i used to carry a backpack and walk around the frozen lakes.It used to be beautiful,walking alone in a white world.Once the weather started getting warmer i took my road bike out and started training on that.
So i used to cycle,swim,run,climb stairs or the stair master and lift weights. I made it a point to exercise in someway almost everyday. Towards the end of the program i averaged 6-8 miles of running and on one day took it as far as 17 miles running.I cycled around 25 miles average but hit 50 miles on one motivated day,used to swim 50 laps but did 100 laps one day.Averaged 6 miles with a 70 pound backpack and once walked 11 miles with a 65 pound pack. Maxed 350 floors carrying a 65 pound backpack or averaged 2 hours on the stair master. I did a trip to California one weekend for a Yanni concert and felt so guilty about not training that i ended up carrying a 40 pound backpack upto the top of mission peak.Thanks to Karthik for showing me the documentary on Denali which spooked me out and made me intensify my training even more. :)
I must thank Jasmine and Pranav who kept motivating me on days i felt a little bit lazy and used to urge me to go out.
Gear:
I knew that i had to spend a lot on gear.Yeah! The best mountaineering gear dont come cheap. An absolute zero parka costs 650$,The spantik boots cost 700$,The outdoor research gloves cost 200$,A -40F sleeping bag cost 700$.Yeah!No kidding.
Here is an entire lexicon of what is required - Gear list, lexicon
I put a post on one of the mountaineering forums that do i really need these costly gear to climb Denali and these were a few replies.
'Yes!!Just look at all your toes and fingers and see if its worth 1000$,if you don't think its worth that much,then dont buy the gear else buy it'
'If you are staying at 17,000 camp, without a higher rating parka would be miserable. Put it this way, you are spending boatload of money and time on this trip, do you really want to cut your trip short because the additional $300?'
I think these posts had me convinced.I started scournging for used stuff in good condition everywhere,on craigslists,on mountaineering forums,on ebay,looking for sales on websites. I ended up getting an almost brandnew Marmot -40 bag worth 700$ for 300$ from a Minnesota climber who took it to climb Denali,made it to the top and never used it later on.I got a brand new absolute zero parka for 270$ from back country ,its actual cost is 650$.I got a brand new 200$ black diamond gloves from craigslist for 75$ because the guy found it a size too small and had no takers for it.I got my Spantiks for real cheap on an online sale,the size ordered was wrong but the online site was good enough to send me the correct size without charging me anything extra. I think i spent nearly 3 months to assemble all the gear but it was well worth it as i saved a lot.
This guy here has one of the best trip reports on Denali .
Travel:
Airline tickets - Flying to Alaska from Minneapolis can cost between 600-800$, i ended up using my delta skymiles of 40,000 miles and getting a free round trip ticket.
Travel from Anchorage to Talkeetna - One of my teammates was from Anchorage and he offered to pick me up at the airport and go together to Talkeetna.Otherwise it will cost one about 60-80$ each way depending on whether you take the train or a shuttle.
Accomodation:
At Talkeetna i stayed at the Talkeetna hostel which charged 20$ a nite for a bunk.It was pretty decent with decent baths and toilets.
At Anchorage,I arranged to stay with Lacole who happens to be the wife of my climbing friend Phillip, she had recently moved to Anchorage and Phillip was to join couple of months later and they graciously agreed to have me over at their place.They moved from Charlotte,NC to Anchorage.
I was all set!! Now i just had to go and do it!
I must agree that i really enjoyed the process of preparing for Denali as much as i enjoyed the experience of actually climbing it and reaching the summit. It was a really long process but well worth in the end.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Timeline on Denali
Day 1 - Group photo and we leave for the Kalhitna glacier with Talkeetna air.We land on the glacier at 6 PM in the evening. We set up camp and take food.Basecamp is 6900 feet.
From L to R - Robert,John,Mike,Jon,Josh,Helen,Brady and myself.
Day 2 - We get up at 2 AM and leave basecamp at 4 AM to Camp 1.Camp 1 is across the Kalhitna glacier.We reach Camp 1 at around 10 AM and set up camp.Camp is at 7800 feet.
Day 3 - We get up at 1:00 AM and do a carry till 10,000 feet,cache the stuff on Kalhitna pass and get back to Camp 1 around 11 AM.
Day 4 - We get up at 1:00 AM again and pack camp and move to Camp 2 at 11,200 feet.We reach camp at around 10 AM and set up camp.
Day 5 - We have a easy day,leave camp at 10 AM go down to 10,000 to get back our cache and get it to Camp 2.We are back by around 1 PM.
Day 6 - We are up at 1:30 AM ,start at 3:00 AM climb till 13,500 feet and cache beyond the windy corner and get back to Camp 2 by around 9 AM.
Day 7 - We move to Camp 3 at 14,200 feet.Leave camp at 4 AM and reach at 10 AM.
Day 8 - We go back to 13,500 and get back the cache to Camp 3.Around 3 hour round trip.
Day 9 - We climb the headwall and cache stuff at 16000 feet and get back to camp 3 at 14,200 feet. About 6 hours round trip.
Day 10 - Rest day at Camp 3.
Day 11 - We move to High camp at 17,200 feet,on the way up we carry the cache stowed at 16000 feet.This was the hardest day for me. We left at 6 AM in the morning and reached high camp at 5 PM in the evening.
Day 12 - rest day.
Day 13 - We leave at 9:30 AM in the morning towards the summit. We reach the Summit at 6:06 PM in the evening.We spend about half an hour and return back to high camp at around 11:30 PM.
Day 14 - We start at 12 PM from high camp at 17,200 feet in the afternoon and descend back all the way till Camp 1 at 7800 feet.We stop at 4 AM in the morning and set up camp as Jon and John both are suffering because of the 16 hour push.
Day 15 - We rest at Camp 1 at 7800 feet.
Day 16 - We start at 3 AM and cross the heavily crevassed Kalhitna glacier to basecamp.We fly out at 7 PM from the glacier to Talkeetna.
From L to R - Robert,John,Mike,Jon,Josh,Helen,Brady and myself.
Day 2 - We get up at 2 AM and leave basecamp at 4 AM to Camp 1.Camp 1 is across the Kalhitna glacier.We reach Camp 1 at around 10 AM and set up camp.Camp is at 7800 feet.
Day 3 - We get up at 1:00 AM and do a carry till 10,000 feet,cache the stuff on Kalhitna pass and get back to Camp 1 around 11 AM.
Day 4 - We get up at 1:00 AM again and pack camp and move to Camp 2 at 11,200 feet.We reach camp at around 10 AM and set up camp.
Day 5 - We have a easy day,leave camp at 10 AM go down to 10,000 to get back our cache and get it to Camp 2.We are back by around 1 PM.
Day 6 - We are up at 1:30 AM ,start at 3:00 AM climb till 13,500 feet and cache beyond the windy corner and get back to Camp 2 by around 9 AM.
Day 7 - We move to Camp 3 at 14,200 feet.Leave camp at 4 AM and reach at 10 AM.
Day 8 - We go back to 13,500 and get back the cache to Camp 3.Around 3 hour round trip.
Day 9 - We climb the headwall and cache stuff at 16000 feet and get back to camp 3 at 14,200 feet. About 6 hours round trip.
Day 10 - Rest day at Camp 3.
Day 11 - We move to High camp at 17,200 feet,on the way up we carry the cache stowed at 16000 feet.This was the hardest day for me. We left at 6 AM in the morning and reached high camp at 5 PM in the evening.
Day 12 - rest day.
Day 13 - We leave at 9:30 AM in the morning towards the summit. We reach the Summit at 6:06 PM in the evening.We spend about half an hour and return back to high camp at around 11:30 PM.
Day 14 - We start at 12 PM from high camp at 17,200 feet in the afternoon and descend back all the way till Camp 1 at 7800 feet.We stop at 4 AM in the morning and set up camp as Jon and John both are suffering because of the 16 hour push.
Day 15 - We rest at Camp 1 at 7800 feet.
Day 16 - We start at 3 AM and cross the heavily crevassed Kalhitna glacier to basecamp.We fly out at 7 PM from the glacier to Talkeetna.
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