DAY 0:
Starting today, @mountainclimbgrace and I will be sharing a day-by-day account of our Denali expedition - the snows, slopes, storms, shovelling, smiles, shuffles up the hill - and everything in between! .
We took heaps of pics & video and are psyched to share with anyone who either enjoys our antics, loves the outdoors as much as we do, or just wants to get a feel for what a big mountain expedition is like.
Swipe left for a recap of where we started on 10 June, as we finalised our mountain preparations (packing, permits, ponderings) and prepared to leave the comforts of Talkeetna, Alaska and head to the mountain. Little did we fully appreciate the adventure was about to unfold....
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS WE GET OUR 1st taste of DENALI...!
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Day 1: 11 June 2018
Escaping the grey Talkeena skies we boarded our small plane captained by the inspiring pilot / guide / climber / mother Leighan Falley, better known as "The Denali Raven" @leighanfalley. .
@mountainclimbgrace & I had a 'fan-girl' moment as we'd seen Leighan's amazing film, “The Denali Raven” at the Banff Mountain Film Festival earlier this year (a film which had prompted us to head to the Alaska Range!). .
The views as we flew into basecamp were absolutely breathtaking. Our flight was approx. 45 mins and covered approx. 75 miles as we left the lush green of the Alaskan Tundra and entered the granite and ice-filled gorges of the Alaska Range.
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS WE GET OUR 1st taste of DENALI...!
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Day 2: 12 June 2018
Today's learning curve was steeper than the terrain as we moved from Basecamp at 7200ft up to Camp 1 at 7800ft over the course of about 5.5 miles / 8.8kms. Up until this point I don't think I fully appreciated how much was involved in preparing to leave Basecamp..! .
We buried a 'cache' of emergency food in a 6-foot deep snow-hole (in the event that we were stuck in basecamp upon our return in 3 weeks time) and spent another 45 mins rigging our packs and sleds..! @alaskamountaineeringschool Guide Wes Bunch and @mountainclimbgrace helped to prepare me for my first few steps onto the glacier carrying my 50lb pack and 40lb sled. The first few steps were easy but after a long day moving to Camp 1, the pack and sled seemed to get heavier with every step! .
We were lucky to get some mixed-weather today. The views were obscured by white-out conditions - a blessing in disguise... If it had been a sunny day the glacier would basically have become a frying-pan as the sun's rays reflected off its surface.
Spirits are high as our little rope-team cross this incredibly wild, raw and rugged environment. There are crevasse hazards with every step but worth it for views of the spectacular range. We're already falling comfortably into 'expedition mode' and soaking up every moment of the steady rhythm of life in the mountains.
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS WE COMPLETE OUR FIRST 'CARRY' UP TO OUR CACHE AT 9700ft.
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Day 3: 13 June 2018
Blue skies & ☀️ . Officially in mountain-mode - I've lost track of what day of the week it is. All I know is that we're moving some food-supplies and gear up to a 'cache' today at 9,700ft just below Camp 2 at 11,200ft. .
What's a cache you ask (don't worry, I didn't know either). Well, it involves digging a 6 ft deep hole & burying supplies under the snow. The advantage is that it helps manage the size of the loads we're carrying up high - rather than carry 1 gargantuan road, we carry 2 smaller loads and will double-back to unbury it after reaching Camp 2 at 11,200ft. Simples.
We're getting better at rigging up to the sled (hurrah) although I’m not calling it love yet. About 10-minutes into the slog up “Ski Hill”' realised that my ipod was on repeat of the “Flight of the Bumblebee” - FML. 1.5 hours later I'm happy for a break to reset the ipod, rehydrate and refuel. I keep going on about the views but they are simply breathtaking... .
With our cache buried and upon our return to Camp 1 after our 8h round-trip we wait patiently for our daily 8pm weather forecast. All’s 🙌🤟 until the last 20 seconds of the forecast...
SOOO apparently there's a MAJOR STORM WARNING in effect as a cyclone is building and the weather for the next 4 - 5 days is predicted to be ROUGH. Well, that's certainly thrown a spanner into our plans!! Something tells me that I'm not going to be drinking margaritas in Talkeetna in the next 10 days and that Denali is going to start throwing her weight around. Brace, brace...
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS WE MOVE TO CAMP 2 at 11,200ft - and brace for the tail end of a CYCLONE.
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Day 4: 14 June 2018
A 6am wake up & slow start packing up Camp at 7000ft to head up to 11,200ft. Last nights weather forecast courtesy of the Denali National Park Service has us on edge. I wish I had Google to confirm what “major storm warning in effect” actually means on a notoriously weather-fickle mountain like Denali. Our ballpark range is 50 - 70kph gusts and HEAVY snow. As a farmers daughter I know all too well there’s little one can do about the weather... rather than worry about it, you prepare best you can and get on with it. And so we do. 😳
We slowly head up the mountain in variable conditions (fog) with our forever faithful loaded sleds in tow. I moved well today & loved the pace - today finding it easier to get into my groove. It was AMAZING to see Camp 2 ⛰ after about 5h as we crest over the final hill. Bright yellow tents dot a landscape of white with flags marking caches and crevasses. And the views...!! 😊
Teamwork is key on a mountain. We’re a great team but haven’t fully mastered tent-platform building - it’s early days. There’s something about the size, shape, degree of flatness, location, and snow levelling technique that throws us into disarray with various personal “time-outs” being self enforced. But we get the job done 🙌 & our tent is AWESOME. We’ve included a 4-ft perimeter around the tent as a precautionary measure against the predicted storm.🤔 . Let’s hope it’s enough.
Spirits high we collapse into our new home away from home (for at least 2 nights) and anticipate what adventures tomorrow will bring... Will the storm materialise....??
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS WE RETURN TO THE CACHE TO COLLECT SUPPLIES & BRACE FOR THE CYCLONE at 11,200ft.
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Day 5: 15 June 2018
The weather - it's on everyone's mind this morning as we 'pop down' to the cache we buried two days ago at 10,000ft. Retrieving the cache is high priority as it has some of the food, gas and kit that we'll potentially need to wait out the impending storm. It's clear that the weather has already started to change with the wind picking up to 'breezy gusts', snow starting to fall and visibility becoming increasingly poor.
Digging out the cache feels a bit like unwrapping presents at Christmas. Only it's not... Perhaps a better analogy is that we're like squirrels unburying our food after a long winter. Anyway, we make the regrettable decision NOT to use our sleds and I realise that I've vastly underestimated the amount of stuff we've buried in the cache. My pack feels like it weighs a tonne and as we slowly plod our way back to Camp at 11,000ft the wind picks up and my face gets a good sandblasting.
The afternoon brings our first true taste of shoveling. The 4-foot perimeter we've carefully manicured is quickly eroded and we struggle to maintain it. Despite prayers to the weather gods it seems that we are definitely going to be hit by this storm. As we settle in for the night we're all on edge. The long daylight hours has us all staring up at the ceiling of the tent as it's buffeted by wind 🌬 and the snow-shadows creep up on the flanks.
We begin shoveling rotations and bunker down for the night... We're all in good spirits and remain optimistic that the storm will be over in 2 days, allowing us to move higher up the mountain.😳
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS THE SHOVELING FRENZY CONTINUES AND THE STORM STARTS TO DAMPEN OUR SPIRITS...
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Day 6: 16 June 2018
Despite our advanced proficiency in shovelling and fortification techniques, the novelty of shovelling our way out of the cyclone is rapidly wearing off. And, the storm isn’t showing any early indications of abating. We pass the time shovelling, shaking snow off the tent & managing an ever increasing condensation problem inside the tent. The Denali River seems to have appeared between my sleeping bag and Porters. Grace has escaped to high ground...
Shovelling is an excellent opportunity for an “au natural” facial, courtesy of Mother Nature. The wind gusts are so intense there’s little you can do to protect extremities from the wrath of the storm. Every time you think it’s over another gust sends you bracing against the elements.
We’re on hourly shovelling rotation now until the storm dies down. Somehow we’re still finding plenty of ways to keep ourselves occupied- through reading, analysing @mountainclimbgrace ‘s dream about @justinpjtrudeau , hanging laundry in the tent, taking selfies and playing with phone filters...
We’re all hoping tonight’s weather forecast brings good news & sanity to our tent.
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS THE SHOVELING FRENZY CONTINUES AND HEATHER SUFFERS A WARDROBE MALFUNCTION ...
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Day 7: 17 June 2018
During my 5am shovelling shift this morning reality strikes. We've been on expedition for a week now and have done much more shovelling than climbing. In fact, there's a distinct possibility that we'll never leave Camp 11,000ft and that this just might be our summit. I can't lament on this too long as the wind gusts are FIERCE today. Hard, vicious gusts every 10 - 15 seconds and about 60 kph with pelting snow that actually makes you wince in pain.
Accumulation on the tent forces us all to our battlestations - spending the day digging out our tent as well as Wes'. As we dig the walled perimeter around our tent gets higher and higher. It's starting to look like we camped in the Alaskan version of the colosseum.
Despite our potential fate at 11,000 ft we remain optimistic. We all find ways of dealing with the monotony of shovelling. @prddraper is an expert wall-builder, @mountainclimbgrace has an efficient and consistent snow clearing technique and I contribute to the early morning shifts which I am finding strangely therapeutic. To be honest, it feels good just to get out of the damp, wet, and increasingly smelly tent. .
In the mid-afternoon Grace sees the sun. Our spirits are lifted for one brief moment and then get back to our shovelling as we brace for the next soul-destroying stormy gust. Tonight's forecast says there *might* be a very small high pressure window in 2 days time. We aren't able to get more details as our radio cuts out.
MORE TO COME TOMORROW AS THE SHOVELING FRENZY CONTINUES AND HEATHER SUFFERS A WARDROBE MALFUNCTION ...
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