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Archives ALPINE
ASCENTS INTERNATIONAL Denali 2001
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Latest
Update on this climb are here.
June
23, 2001 8:41pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team IX
It is
Saturday June 23rd, we're Team Gus Smokewood, and we
are at 14.2, and we are planning to carry tomorrow to
16.2 and take a rest day and possibly another rest day
after that. everybody's doing really well,
everybody's going on the carry, we're very healthy,
very strong and super prepared: we've had very
good weather to do all of our training and packing,
and so it's been leisurely although it's been a quick
trip, in some ways, the weather's been so good, we've
had tons of time to rest up. I'm going to hand
the phone over to Patrick, he's got some things he
wants to say to folks he knows, and we'll probably let
each person do this once during the course of the
trip. Talk to you guys later.
"Okay
I'll just read what I've got written down here: This
is Patrick at 14,000 foot camp saying hello to my
family back home. Congratulations to Mom,
Kathleen, and Mariah, for finishing up another year of
school, hope you guys are doing great. And to
Dad, a belated happy father's day, and Joe and Jen I
hope things are going great with you as well.
Cory studying hard for sure, I miss you can't wait to
see you in San Francisco, hang in there with class,
you have some happy hour obligations when I get back.
And to all my friends in Avon, Todd and T(?), Jody and
Chris, drink one for me if you get the chance, things
here are going great, incredible weather and views,
and we're progressing up the mountain at a good pace.
I have been and will be thinking about you all and
can't wait to tell you all about this trip."
June
23, 2001 10:49am, Camp IV, Alaska. Team IX
Hey
guys this is John Race, Saturday June 23rd about 10:45
in the morning, and we've chosen as our team name:
"The Adventures of Gus Smokewood," long
story there, but that's our team name. And we're
going to put in a more detailed cybercast later.
We're at the camp at 14.2, yesterday we moved up from
11, and in the morning the weather was a little
questionable, but we went ahead and climbed anyway,
which was a good thing because the weather improves
and it's beautiful right now at 14.2.
Quite
a few of the guided parties are moving up today, we're
planning to go down and pick up our cache at 13.5 and
then we'll spend the day practicing fixed lines and
getting ready basically to make a carry up to 16.2,
probably tomorrow and then we'll be taking a rest day
or two before we move any higher. Everybody's
doing real well, everybody slept real well last night,
they're super strong. I haven't noticed any real
altitude problems at this point, so our team's 100%
and doing real well. We will check in with you guys
later on today and some of the climbers have various
messages they want to pass onto their families, things
like that, so look to hear from us. The weather
is fantastic right now, and we're looking at a couple
more days of good weather it sounds like. We'll talk
to you soon, this is John Race with Alpine Ascents,
over and out.
June
23, 2001 10:51am, Camp II, Alaska. Team X
Hey
cyberland this is db again with Team Nutmeg -- don't
ask why it's a long story. We're down here at
10,300 doing a back carry, we'll be heading back up to
the 11,000 camp, doing our carry to morrow to about
13.5 and we'll just kind of play it by ear after that
because we have a rest day. So I've got
some team members here that would like to say hello to
folks out there, I've got Eric right here and I'm
going to pass him over...
"I'd
like to say hi to my wife Shelley, Kendall Christina.
I'd like to say hi to Faldude(?), Jose and the trigeek(?) it is truly beautiful up here, and we're
real strong and we're having a great time.
Here's Scott Gilbert:"
"This
is Scott Gilbert, just want to say hello to Mom and
Dad, having a great time we'll probably get done early
and swing by in the way home, look forward to that.
And here's Parker Rios..."
"Hello
Milwaukee, hope you're enjoying a good summer, we're
having a great one up here on the Kahiltna Glacier,
Bagging a lot of rays, taking it easy, making some
strong carries, let me pass it on to Gary..."
"Hi
this is Gary, I'd like to say hi to my wife Robin,
miss you a lot, looking forward to seeing you in a few
weeks here, We'll probably be done early, perhaps.
The weather's been great, incredible views here and
everybody's doing okay. I'll pass it back to
Dave.."
"A
couple of our guys are hanging out up at 11.2 camp,
they're taking a bit of a rest day, they're feeling a
little under the weather, but hopefully we can give
them a little bit of rest and they'll recuperate and
be heading up to 14 soon. Here's my
co-guide Matt Szundy to say hello..."
"Hey
there gang, everybody's looking real strong up here,
we're enjoying some fantastic weather, we are in the
process, as Dave said, of doing a back carry and we're
going to eventually get up to 14 in the next few days.
If this weather holds, we're going to be real psyched.
Hi to everybody, thanks, bye.
June
22, 2001 8:49pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VIII
Hello
everybody, this is Allen Carbert calling you from
14,000 feet on Denali, leading the Habaneros Eight to
the top of the mountain. today was a rest day
for us. We had generally good weather despite
some high winds last night that definitely got our
attention. The group is in excellent health and
in good spirits today we lounged around and did quite
a bit of reading, we did some skills review on how to
manage our safety on the fixed lines and how to pass
protection and some nifty little tricks we are going
to need to now higher on the mountain. And then
we all gathered in the Posh House for some ice cream
and brownies and we just finished off a delicious
diner of Phad Thai noodles and hot drinks.
Right
now I am standing in a complete whiteout, I can
probably see about a hundred feet away from me, the
winds are calm and its probably about 45 degrees out.
The forecast sounds really good for the next couple of
days, and we will advance the equipment higher on the
mountain and then put ourselves in position for a move
to high camp. The forecasts have been terribly
inaccurate so what we are doing now what we call a
'now-cast': we just stick our heads outside the
tent and decide what the weather's going to be like.
Beyond that, don't' have a whole lot to say, we'll
give you all a call tomorrow and just let you know how
our carry went. If all things go well, we should
be departing our camp here around 8am and returning
sometime around two o'clock. So that's all for
now and we'll keep you posted as we keep moving up the
mountain, we'll talk to you later, bye bye.
June
22, 2001 8:31am, Camp I, Alaska. Team X
Hello
cyberland, this is Dave Bangert, with Alpine Ascents
final Denali trip of the year 2001. My co-guide,
Matt Szundy and I are having a good time with our
group, everybody's going strong. With us we've
got, Dave, Eric, Gary, Jim, Parker and Scott.
It's a good group, everybody's healthy. Right
now we are moving up to 11 Camp. Our plan for the next
few days: we'll do a back carry tomorrow, do a
carry up to 13.5 the following day, take a rest day,
and then move up to 14. We'll try and get in
touch with you guys in the next few days and let you
know our progress. This is Dave Bangert and
we'll talk to you soon.
June
21, 2001 8:57pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VIII
Hello
everybody this is Allen Carbert calling you from
14,000 feet on Denali. Today was a good day, we
made our back carry to Windy Corner and picked up all
sorts of food, fuel and extra goodies, in fact right
now John Diener is trying to make some instant pudding
and we're going to use some more Oreo cookies to spice
that pudding up. He's working feverishly and he's
doing a darn good job of it too. So listen,
everybody's in good spirits everybody's in good
health, we're having a great time, the weather has
looked real good for us, the forecast might give us
some challenges to deal with in the not-too-distant
future, but that's okay because we're on rest days
right now for the next couple of days. I want to
pass the phone around to all these fine individuals
and let them tell it to you themselves, just how much
fun we're having here on the big mountain. So here we
go:
"Hi
this is Jan, and I just want to tell my new
granddaughter, Olivia Claire, Happy Birthday, and
Grandma will be there very soon to give you a big hug
and Patrice I hope you're feeling great and recovering
very very well, I love you. And I need to tell
my friends Rick, Jim, Perry and everybody an Uniweb,
hi. Here's Ivan..."
"Hi
this is Ivan, I'm doing fine to the whole gang who's
watching this. The weather again, as Allen said
it's been just great up here, although last night it
got real cold, like minus five. I'm looking
forward to summit day which is coming up in a few
days. Talk to you later."
"Hey
this is Brian I just wanted to say hello to my mom,
dad, Megan and Ellen, I miss you guys, I love you.
I also wanted to say hello to Andrew, Sheik, Art, and
the whole group back at Akili, I hope all is going
well and I look forward to seeing you guys soon."
"This
is Mel, I wanted to leave a message for Vanessa. Hope
Denny and David are helping you out taking care of
things there, I'm sure they are, just hang in there
and I'll see you in a couple of weeks."
"Hi
this is Mike. No more dogsleds, no more
dogsleds, thank God we are done with those after
yesterday's big haul. Anyway we've been having a
good time, good fun here. Brian, my ER doc
brother, who is a flatlander: we've got an ER
doc here who likes to get at high altitude.
Anyway we're having a good time, hopefully you can
learn something from Dr. Ivan. To Steve, Mike,
Kenny Kwan, Wendy Marsh, the rest of the guys at
Cisco, have fun doing a live test and bringing those
folks up live, sorry if I missed your names, and to
Jonathan(?) and Matthew, I love you and keep
going."
"Hi
it's pudding John here, In my toasty warm down jacket.
Pop I know you're reading this regularly, I just
wanted to say hello, wish you were here."
June
20, 2001 10:00pm, Talkeetna, Alaska Team VII Final
Dispatch.
Hi
this is Eric and Gene, team leaders of the Mama's
Boys. We successfully completed our climb, and
we're now safely off the glacier and enjoying real
food, at The Latitude in beautiful downtown Talkeetna,
Alaska, elevation 330 feet. Our last day on the
mountain was a challenging march, seasoned by the
email received on the mountain by one of our members
from, you guessed it, his mama. The last hour
and half of our descent was actually uphill, hence the
name, Heartbreak Hill, and reminded us all that
climbing the highest peak in North America is truly a
phenomenal endeavor from beginning to end. The
climbers all agreed that their next vacation may be a
bit less strenuous but the experience of summiting
Denali at 20,320 feet, will stand forever as a major
accomplishment and very fulfilling adventure.
That's all for now, bye.
June
20, 2001 7:405pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VIII
Hey
folks this is Allen Carbert, working with Lhakpa Rita
Sherpa, leading the Habaneros Eight to the top of
Denali. Today was a big day for us, we made our
move from 11,000 feet to the 14,000 foot camp.
This is a beautiful place to be, we've got outstanding
views of Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, and all of the other
peaks of the Alaska Range off in this direction. Just
gorgeous weather today for our move up. The
temperatures weren't too bad until we hit Windy Corner
and then we got above the clouds a little bit and the
sun was intense. But we've hauled our sleds up
here and we've got a great camp set up, we're looking
forward to a delicious dinner tonight and tomorrow is
going to be a pretty easy day for us we think, we're
just going to go back and collect some more food,
bring it up to camp and start enjoying the good life
here at 14,000 feet.
It's
a pretty empty camp right now, I'd say there's
probably only about 50 people around here whereas
compared to the earlier trip I did this year, I'd say
there were probably four hundred people, so we're
enjoying a bit of solitude for once. At any
rate, we want to check in with you all tomorrow and
we'll let you know how people did their first night
here at 14,000 feet. Everybody here wishes their
friends and families back in the states well, and
tomorrow we'll pass the phone around for that personal
touch okay? For now this is Allen signing off
and wishing you all well back at home. Bye bye
June
19, 2001 6:48pm, Camp II, Alaska. Team IX
It's
June 19th at 7pm. This is John Race with Alpine
Ascents Denali expedition, we flew onto the Kahiltna
Glacier June 15th, so this is Trip #9. I'm
leading the trip with Terry Ahern, and this will be my
ninth time on the mountain. Our team consists of
Lawdon, Bradd Rosenquist, Jeff Mathy, Scott Anderson,
Rob Friedman and Patrick Martin. After days of
agonizing over a team name we haven't settled on one
so we'll have that for the next cybercast. We're
camped at 10,350 feet, just below Kahiltna Pass.
Yesterday we carried to here from our camp at 8,000
feet. Today we moved up about four hours and
moved into a perfect camp here at 10.3. This
part of the mountain is know for getting more than the
usual amount of snow. We decided to risk the
extra snow shoveling because the camp provides
wonderful solitude before moving into more crowded
camps at 11.2 and 14.2.
It is
spectacular on this sunny day: we can see a good
twenty-five miles down the mass of Kahiltna Glacier
and can see most of the route we've taken since
leaving base camp three days ago. We've been
waking up at 1:45am and doing any glacier travel
between about 3:30 and 9 in the morning. We do
this because it is unbearably hot during the day and
the glacier softens so much that walking becomes
difficult and crevasse falls are more possible.
During the early morning hours, the glacier is frozen
and we can walk on the surface. The route is in
fantastic shape and we've been running into friends
left and right. Many of the teams know other
Alpine Ascents climbers from their 6 and 13-Day
mountaineering courses, and it's been a real thrill
for them to compare notes now that they are on a big
mountain. We also ran into Emily Johnson and
Anne Keller down from their attempt to climb.
Last night we were in a heavy rain shower at our camp
at 8,000 feet. Despite being a hassle and
potential danger for people away from their camp, it
was a thrill to experience in the shelter of our
tents, I don't recall being rained on here before, it
happens, but not often.
Couldn't
ask for a better team, we range in age from 21 to 57,
and everyone is very strong and very motivated, the
combination of good company and great weather is
making light work for Terry and I. We plan to
move our camp and our cache to 11.2 tomorrow morning,
the twentieth of June. A belated happy Father's
Day to all of our dads and love and good thoughts to
our families. What a day, what a place, talk to
you in a few days when we can pick up cell coverage
again. John Race and Alpine Ascents group #9 on
Denali over and out, bye.
June
19, 2001 4:49pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VII
Hello
everybody this is Eric Larson again and the Mama Boy's
Group. We're doing fine, we just walked from 17
down to 14 camp grabbed our cache and we're packing up
right now to hike down to 11,000 feet tonight to camp,
and then we will be carrying tomorrow morning all the
way to the airstrip and hopefully with weather, we'll
be able to fly out tomorrow afternoon. We'll get
another cybercast to you, tell you what's going on.
This is Eric and we're out of here. Bye.
June
19, 2001 1:22pm, Camp III, Alaska. Team VIII
Hi
this is Habaneros 8, we are at Windy Corner where we
are caching our gear which we brought up from 11,000.
Nice little snowstorm last night, not really a snow
storm, but just a few inches of snow, but it did rain
all night. We had a wonderful breakfast this
morning, bacon, that Ivan of course wouldn't eat.
Everybody's doing really good. (Static prevented
the rest of the message from being intelligible).
June
18, 2001 5:12pm, Summit of Denali, Alaska. Team VII
Hey
cybercasters, friends and families, this is Eric
Larson and Team Mama Boys, we're
at 20,320 feet in North America, the highest point,
Denali! Everybody's doing pretty good it was a
rough start, rough going, but we made it and we are
going to take our time getting down
today, It's five o'clock in the afternoon so we should
probably be getting back into camp around ten o'clock
I'm guessing. Everybody's doing well, spirits
are there, and we'll try to get another one out to you
as soon as we can. Bye.
June
18, 2001 5:01pm, Talkeetna, Alaska. Team VI. Final
Dispatch
Hi
this is Mike and Jesse reporting from the Denali 6
ascent. On Sunday, the 17th of June the Global
Penguin Patrol reached Kahiltna Base Camp on yet
another fantastic day. After a bright scenic
flight and discovering that a rumors of a hot water
shortage in Talkeetna were false. We all met at
the West Rib grill and bar. Our waitress, who
was obviously not having a good night, was further
thrown off kilter when most of us ordered a second
main course later in the evening. This is Mike
and Jesse signing off with strong feelings of a
challenging and fun trip which we will hold with us.
Hooray to all.
June
18, 2001 10:21am, Camp III, Alaska. Team VIII
Brian:
Hey this is Denali expedition #8. We were
calling ourselves the Habaneros Seven but I think we
need to do a little bit of correction and change that
to Habaneros Eight before we go any further. We
are presently at 10,600 digging up one of our caches,
we are about to head back up to 11,200 where we were
camped last night. Had a little bit of cloudy weather
midway through but all in all everything's looking
pretty good. Everyone's doing real well, looking
really great, they're all staring at me right now,
making me a bit nervous.
We're
just getting ready to pass the phone around, I just
wanted to say a quick hello to my father, I hope you
had a good father's day, and to mom, granddaddy's been
with me every step of the way. To my sister I
hope all is going well, and to Ellen, I miss you and I
love you, and I am going to hand the phone off now to
the rest of the group."
"Hi
this is Jan, just wanted to say hi to Joe and my
family. My daughter, I hope you are doing well,
and that baby's about ready. And I just wanted
to say hi to Jack, my climbing partner, haven't found
a 5.10 yet, except down in the pub which isn't too bad
a place to find a 5.10. Anyway hope everything's
going well and hi to all of my friends.
Hi
this is Ivan, good morning up here. Mountaineers
sure love bacon, but I'm not eating any of that stuff,
I'll tell you that. Wanted to say hi to my dog
Beethoven, Aitcha(?) miss you love you and I'll talk
to you soon."
"This
is Mel. Brian I hope you had a great Father's Day, and
the girls took care of you just great. otherwise
things are going well, and hope everyone's having a
good time back there. Take Care."
John:
"Hi just wanted to say hi to all of my friends
and family. It's beautiful up here. Wish
you guys could see this, it looks great, the weather's
holding up really well, we're having a good time,
everybody's in good shape, so we'll go on from
there."
"Hi
folks this is Mike Matthew, hope all is well, Just
down on the land lovers. Wanted to say hi to Donna,
Christy, Matthew, Cloud and Buddy, hope Cloud and
Buddy are having fun running around on the stairs.
And I just wanted to say hi to my friends and family,
I love you all. This is a great group, we're
having lots and lots of fun. Its the longest sled ride
I've ever done in my life, about 2,000 feet and that's
one of the best sled rides I've ever had."
"Okay
folks this is Allen signing off and we'll catch up
with you in a couple of days when we get back in cell
phone range. bye for now."
June
17, 2001 4:37pm, High Camp, Alaska. Team VII
Hello
this is Gene Pires from Alpine Ascents Denali
Expedition #7, the Mama Boys, and today we're resting
up at the 17,000 foot camp, and the weather's perfect,
hardly a breeze, things are nice. Our plan is
tomorrow morning to go for the summit, and then come
back tomorrow night and rest again. And then
hopefully we'll be on our way down the day after back
to the airstrip. Everybody's doing fine and
everybody sends their love and best wishes. All
right, bye.
June
17, 2001 8:40am, Camp III, Alaska. Team VIII
Hey
folks this is Allen, with the Denali Expedition #8, I
think we've been calling ourselves #7 because that's
the more lucky number. At any rate we're making
our move to 11,000 foot camp. We're on a night
schedule, so this morning we woke up at 2am and were
out of camp by 4. It's a beautiful sunshiny day
with light winds and cool temperatures. The
group is doing real well and we expect to be at our
11,000 foot camp here in a bout an hour and a half.
We'll make one more call tomorrow morning and then
that'll be it for a couple of days because we will be
out of cell phone contact. I would like to wish
a happy father's day to all of the fathers out there
and beyond that stay tuned for more thrills, chills,
laughter, and action. Bye for now.
June
16, 2001 9:19pm, High Camp, Alaska. Team VII
Hey
guys this is Eric Larson again. We're at 17.2,
we just did a long day of carrying up. We got
lucky and we switched camps with the other expedition
so we were psyched that we didn't have to carry tents
up. It's blowing about thirty miles an hour
right now and everybody's doing all right, we are
going to have a rest day tomorrow, the weather's
looking god for Monday's summit, so we'll keep in
touch with you, wish us luck.
June
16, 2001 7:51pm, Camp IV, Alaska Team VI Final
Dispatch
Hi
this is Mike and Jesse from the 14,000 foot camp, it's
the 16th of June, it's the second transmission for
today. We just wanted to let everyone know that
we got down to 14 safely and are continuing on down to
11 this evening as was our plan. This means that
this will be our last transmission for this
expedition, because below 14 we don't get out on the
cell phone. We do expect to be at Kahiltna Base
mid-afternoon tomorrow and if all goes well, we'll be
flying out tomorrow evening. It's certainly an
amazing day, we're all sweltering in the heat here at
14, it's fantastic. You should be getting some
phone calls soon, so smiles to everyone.
June
16, 2001 11:22am, High Camp, Alaska. Team VI
Good
morning this is Mike and Jesse from the 17,00 foot
camp on Denali for the Denali #6 expedition. On
Friday the 15th, seven members of the Global Penguin
patrol reached the summit of Denali in perfect
weather. Those who summited were: Doug
Mayfield, Justin Dempsey, Dawn Ellefson, Avital Shlomo
or 'Mony", Arnold Witzig, Jesse Williams and Mike
Roberts. We left high camp at 9am and reached
the summit at 6pm. The descent took a further 4
hours making an arduous 13 hour day total.
Our
plan today, Saturday the 16th is to descend to the
14,000 foot camp where we have food and equipment
cached. Provided everybody feels up to it, we
will head down to the stickier and warmer temperatures
of the 11,000 foot campsite. Given flyable
conditions, we should return to Talkeetna on the
evening of Sunday the 17th of June. It will not
be long now before loved ones and friends will be in
contact. Best wishes all from Mike and Jesse.
June
16, 2001 10:28am, Camp II, Alaska. Team VIII
Hey
gang this is Allen with the Habaneros Seven.
We're at the top of Ski Hill now, it's a beautiful
day. What I'd like to do is to pass the phone
around to the expedition members and let 'em send a
quick hello to their friends and family back in the
states.
"Hi,
it's John Diener here, just wanted to say happy
father's day Dad, Hi mom, Hi Ming, Everything's going
well, nice weather, and hopefully we'll make it to the
top soon."
"Hi
this is Jan here, wanted to say hi to my dad. Just
wanted to let you know that you're still my hero, even
though every since I've been a little kid it's been
you. You know what you still are. I love you
Dad, happy father's day. Wanted to say hi to Joe,
Dad's sisters, Patrice, Eric Hunter and Paige."
"This
is Mel, having a great time, weather's been good,
feeling great, so hope you all are having a good time
back in the states."
"Hi
this is Ivan, wanted to say hi to everybody, my dog
Beethoven, My girlfriend, Aitcha(?), Bob, Michelle,
the whole gang, it's just beautiful up here, it's
beyond description. Talk to you later."
Mike:
"Hey happy father's day, Dad, hope things go
well. Hi family, hello Donna, Christy, and
Matthew, hope things are going well. Hope the
coyotes aren't too noisy at night and the rattlesnakes
are safe. I guess we'll talk to you all
later."
"Hey
this is Brian, just wanted to say hello to my family,
say happy father's day to my dad, I love you. Mom, my
diabetes is doing well and to my sister, tell Joel he
wouldn't believe the pilots up here. And to my
girlfriend Ellen, I love you and miss you, be strong.
Just another quick hello to all my friends in Dallas
and Atlanta. This is the Habaneros Seven signing
off.
June
15, 2001 11:30pm, Los Angeles, California Team IV,
"The Climb for Courage" Final Dispatch
This
is Phil here, writing in this time from an internet
café from Los Angeles, a scant four days since we
came off the glacier. As I imagine is the case with
just about anyone who undertakes an expedition on
Denali, I have scores of thoughts blowing around in my
mind and heart like so much snow at 17,000. I'm not
going to try to convey all of the many half-formed or
half-baked or still obscured by something or other,
but there are a few points I'd like to mention, a many
thank yous I'd like to make.
To
update you on the play-by-play: We got to spend a few
days in Talkeetna, which was great fun and, if not
exactly a remedy for lack of rest. The Fairview
does stay open pretty late, and breakfast at the
Roadhouse gets going pretty early, it was a terrific
way to spend some more time with the members of the
team, including Sonya, who waited for us in town (and
mothered us upon our bleary-eyed arrival), Wally and
Matt, Julie, the glue that holds the AAI AK operation
together, and assorted other folks. Ellen and I rode
into Anchorage with Sonya and a newly clean shaven Jon
(Michelle stayed in Talkeetna and for all I know could
still be there), then hopped in a car and drove down
to Homer for a few days on Matt's recommendation.
And
everywhere were thoughts and images and memories of
Denali. We hurried to get pictures developed, because
the whole experience passed so quickly, a documented
record seemed necessary to prove it actually happened.
We talked about specific instances, about the long
haul from 14 to 17, or from 14 back down to base camp,
about various meals at various camps, about the summit
and how, in the context of the entire trip and the
entire mountain, it was not really the primary
objective, but part of the larger effort. We wondered
about incorporating the experience(s) into the rest of
our lives, when we go back to New York or Hong Kong or
wherever, about holding on to the feeling of taking on
a challenge that seemed, perhaps, greater than one's
ability, and then surmounting it.
Wally
and Matt both talked about the summit, as a concept,
often being attached with some sense of finality, as
if once one reaches it weather permitting, of course,
that's it, the party's over. But that's hardly the
case on the mountain, not with the arduous task of
getting down, with all the care that must be taken to
guard against any lapses and the inherently difficult
task of descending the steep faces, was it like this
on the way up? that had to be climbed to get there in
the first place. And that's not the case with coming
off the mountain. We're all probably dealing now with
the issue of re-integrating into our
"normal" lives, where colors other than
white exist, where the sun goes down once in a while,
where things flush and flow from taps and have wheels
and there is news and noise and people who have
concerns other than getting to the next camp
(literally if not metaphorically). But the mountain is
still there, and that trip up its West Buttress is now
internalized, still challenging, possibly more so
because its path is less defined.
The
team effort and it was a wonderful team is now a
series of individual ones, each unique, nuanced,
likely to change from day to day, person to person The
idea I'd like to leave with, the idea I feel most
strongly right now, right here in LA (I'm visiting my
sister on my way back to Hong Kong, which is a
re-entry I expect to go about as smoothly as Apollo
13's), is that of mindfulness. It's a word Matt used
often, a state of awareness needed in climbing when
you're depending on partners and teammates and weather
and any number of things over which we have no control
whatsoever. It's about keeping eyes and ears open,
about mixing aggressiveness with patience,
determination with compassion, and understanding, in
the end, that the journey, the way up, the step by
step by step, that's the goal, the objective. The
summit, should it present itself, that's good fortune.
Mindfulness
has a special resonance for us as well, given the
purpose of our climb. The torture survivors at the
Bellevue / NYU Program don't give off immediate signs
of trauma. Dr. Keller can recognize symptoms, but most
everyone would be hard pressed to do likewise. But by
being mindful of anyone, one opens oneself up to the
possibility of lending a hand, of being around when a
person reveals a way in which they could use some
help, for a moment or for a period of time. It's a way
of walking through the world of sharing the world and
understanding that the people who surround us might,
at a given time, be in need, or they might be able to
help us when we're in need. This is something to work
towards with vigilance, an ideal, I should say, before
I imply that it's an everyday reality for me as
opposed to an aspiration. Again, awareness, eyes and
ears open, determination, patience, respect,
consciousness. I think all of us who were on the
mountain as part of the Survivor Fund effort and the
scores of people who supported us around the world
walked off Denali stronger because of what we shared.
Thanks
to everyone who checked in. I hope these reports added
something to the trip, to the nuts and bolts and to
the nuances that play just as big of a role. It was
such a thrill to be a part of and to experience, and
we're glad you chose to share part of it with us. Take
care.
June
14, 2001 11:30pm, Talkeetna, Alaska. Team V
Team
V called in to say that they all made it back safely
to Talkeetna and are heading off to enjoy the culinary
delights of this wonderful Alaskan Town. They
thank everybody who followed their adventure and will
be seeing you all real soon.
June
14, 2001 5:11pm, High Camp, Alaska. Team VI
Hi
this is Mike and Jesse from Denali ascent #6. On June
the 13th, the Global Penguin patrol successfully
completed a camp move from 14,200 to 17,200 which is
our high camp. Everybody is now descending the
headwall fixed ropes, each for the second time around,
the section of which from 16,000 to 17,000 is the most
stunning of the climb. While laboring under
heavy packs, we were blessed with fantastic views and
beautiful evening light. It was 1:30am before we
finally laid our heads to rest. Today, June 14th
we are having a rest day at high camp and once again
we had perfect weather.
Our
plan is after hearing the evening weather forecast and
assessing the condition of all team members to decide
that we will take another rest day and attempt the
summit tomorrow. Thinking of all family and
friends. Manana.
June
14, 2001 12:19pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VII
Hello
this is Gene Pires and Eric Larson of the Mama Boys
with the cybercast. We're at the edge of the
world and we're going to pass the phone around to
everybody, but me first: Hi to Gabby, miss you,
love you. Here's Matt:
"Hi
to everyone that's watching, feeling great, the place
is unreal, Stace, love you and I miss you.
here's Doug":
"This
is Doug just saying hit to everybody out there."
"This
is Richard Hi to Liz. We've got a great team,
sorry we got cut off last night and we'll be down
shortly."
"Hi
this is Chris Hi to Pam hi to Stuart hi to everyone at
work. I'm on the edge of the world I'll pass the phone
on. Love you all, bye."
"Hi
this is Pat. Hi to Paula, Brittany and Will.
Love you all. Everybody else at work I don't
really miss you much at all (laughter) you'll have to
do without me for another week. We're having a
great time the scenery is spectacular, we'll see you
all in a little over a week I guess."
"Hi
this is Paul standing at the edge of the world,
looking down 5,000 feet. I'm feeling great, having a
wonderful time. Here's Eric:"
"Team's
doing great, we're ready to do a carry up to 16.0 and
we'll be pushing up to high camp soon. The
weather: we have a high pressure system and with
luck we'll be successful. Thanks a lot,
bye."
June
13, 2001 11:47am, Summit of Denali, Alaska. Team VI
Good
morning the is a report for Tuesday 12th of June for
Denali Team VI, The Global Penguin Patrol. On
Tuesday we successfully carried a load of fuel food
and equipment to 16,100. This involved climbing
the fixed lines up the intimidating head wall to gain
the West Buttress proper, which everybody did very
well. The weather was light snow and restricted
visibility but the winds were relatively calm.
Today,
Wednesday the 13th of June, after much deliberation,
The Global Penguin Patrol has decided to head up to
high camp at 17,200. The storm warning for this
Thursday has been downgraded and a high pressure
system is expected on Friday. Everyone is in
good spirits and all are in to face the challenge of
the final Camp. Best wishes to all family and
friends.
June
12, 2001 11:30pm, Summit of Denali, Alaska. Team V
This
is Karl calling with Don, John and Jeff. We're at
20,320 ft on Denali's summit. The other guys
want to talk too. Here's Don...
"Hey
Tammy, Hi kids, hope everything's going well. We're at
the top of Denali. I'm having a hard time talking
cause I can't breathe very well but I'll be home in a
few days and I'll try calling you a little later on.
Mom, dad grandma thanks for following things on the
internet, I heard you were doing that, it was nice of
you to do that. I'll send pictures when I get back,
bye."
"Hey
everybody, this is John standing on the top of North
America. I can't believe it. Hi Mom, Hi Tanya, I
really wish you could see what I'm looking at right
now. I'm a little emotional right now but I'm going to
pass the phone on now. See you all soon, bye."
"This
is Jeff. Top of North America doing a blood test. Who
would have thought? I say hello to everybody I love
Carrie, Mariah, mom, dad, Bobby. (static) Talk to you
soon, bye."
Karl:
Thanks for all your help Julie, we'll be down soon.
Bye
June
12, 2001 11:20pm, Talkeetna, Alaska. Team VIII, Team V
Hi
Denali viewing audience, this is Julie in beautiful
scenic Talkeetna, Alaska I'm talking to you from the
Talkeetna airstrip right in front of Talkeetna Air
Taxi. It's about 11:00 at night and we just got a
phone call that we can fly into base camp. So we
rousted everybody out of their beds at the Hostel and
we are now at the airstrip.
Team
V Update: But before I go on with that and hand off
the phone to Allen let me tell you that Karl Swanson
summited Denali this afternoon with three climbers it
was Karl and John Cole, Jeff Mazer, and Don Morgan.
I would just like to report that and we congratulate
them. And now I will hand off the phone to
Mountain Guide extraordinaire, Allen Carbert who will
tell you a little bit more about his day at the
Talkeetna International airstrip.
Hey
folks this is Allen, with an update from Day I of our
expedition. Yep, we got a call tonight at about
9:30pm from the air service telling us that conditions
were flyable on the glacier. So we rousted ourselves
form our beds and well here we are at the Tarmac.
It's now 11:15pm we're going to be taking two flights
in, both on the Beaver aircraft, so it will be about a
two hour delay possibly, between groups arriving on
the glacier. So Lhakpa is going to take three to four
expedition members in with him and set up a camp and
the rest of us will try to wait patiently here in
Talkeetna for the Beaver to return and then land us on
the glacier. So stay tuned: it will be
about three days before we get to the top of Ski Hill
where we can make our next cybercast. During the
time before that we will be making a carry to Camp I
and then moving to Camp I and that will be the
following day that we can keep you guys posted on our
progress, so for now we'll just say goodbye and we'll
look forward to talking to you all soon.
June
12, 2001 10:34pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VII
This
is Eric Larson and the Mama Boys, welcoming everyone
to the 14,200 foot camp on the West Buttress of
Denali. For the past two days weather has come
in and dropped about 12 inches of fresh snow.
Our carry to 13.5 and the move to 14.2 camp was very
strenuous and the team is definitely feeling the
altitude. Right now we are cooking a Phad Thai
meal in an igloo, go figure. We're thinking
about our strategy for climbing the rest of the
mountain because it is pretty cold and everybody is
tired. Tomorrow we're going to be dropping down
to 13,500 to retrieve our food and fuel. The
Mama Boys give their love to everyone.
June
12, 2001 6:41pm, Talkeetna, Alaska. Team VIII
Hey
folks this is Allen Carbert proud to be working with
Lhakpa Rita Sherpa leading Alpine Ascents #8 Denali
expedition. We'll come up with a more creative
name here as our mental capacity allows. I'd
like to introduce the expedition members here by their
first names and encourage you guys to follow our
cybercast from here on out. I'd Like to welcome:
Ivan, Jan Mike John Mel and Brian on board. Just
to give you an update as to how things are going right
now: we've had a good travel day, on Day 1, most of us
have traveled 120 miles from Anchorage to Talkeetna.
The weather: we're experiencing no winds with
probably 60 degree temperatures here in Talkeetna --
we're having a weather delay, gang. We've got
poor visibility in the mountains, and the pilots just
aren't flying. So we've got to sit tight and
keep patient and hopefully we'll get off the ground
first thing in the morning. We do plan on giving
cybercasts whenever possible but keep in mind folks
that there are some areas in the mountain range where
cellular communications and radio contact are limited.
So there might be a few days where we are ducking in
and out of radio contact, but stick with us and we'll
keep you posted as to how we are doing on the
mountain. Until next time, we'll talk with you
later.
June
11, 2001 10:11pm, High Camp, Alaska. Team V
This
is Karl with Team V at 17,000 feet on Denali's West
Buttress. We're just on our second rest day up
here and everybody's doing pretty darn well. We
had about a hundred yards of visibility all day today
had about 20 knot winds so we stay kind of hunkered
down reinforced the snow walls and ate.
Continued
static prevented most of the dispatch from being
understood, one message did come through: "Hey
this is Joe, I'd just like to say congratulations to
my little brother Jimmy who is graduating from High
School this week, and my love to everybody at
home."
June
10, 2001 6:24pm, Camp III, Alaska. Team VII
Mike
Roberts: I have another message it's from Eric and
Gene (Team VII) it's from the 9th of June. They
say: "Hello everybody, this is Eric and Gene
again. It is day #6 and we are now at the 11,000
foot camp at the base of Motorcycle Hill. We
have been making good time on the night schedule on
the lower glacier. We expect to be at the 14,000
foot camp in three days. The weather has been
favorable, with cold mornings recorded at minus 10
Fahrenheit. We will be leaving snow shoes and
sleds behind and we'll be trading them for crampons
and ice axes for the remainder of our stint. The
self-proclaimed Mama Boys have been in good health and
spirits and are thinking about their loved ones back
home. Good night everyone from Camp III.
June
10, 2001 6:22pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VI
This
is Mike and Jesse from Alpine Ascents' IV Denali
expedition. The members of the Global Penguin
Patrol are now reunited at the 14,200 foot basin camp.
Jesse, Mony, and Justin had a great sense of timing,
they left the 11,200 foot camp this morning and
arrived at 14,200 foot camp just in time for brunch.
While strong winds are likely to stop some summit
attempts, we spent the afternoon in relatively calm
conditions, admiring the view and fortifying the snow
block walls that protect our tents.
Conversation
around the sociable 14,000 foot camp centered around
the weather outlook of three days of strong winds and
possibly some snowfall. We are all happy to have
a rest day tomorrow. I have a few personal
messages to pass on here: "Hello to Emily
from Jesse. Arnold says hello to Sima.
Kisses and all my love Lilali from Mony, Mony also
says hello to family and friends. Hello Keisha,
family, and friends from Justin. And Dawn says
hello also to family and friends and says not to worry
as she is feeling fine and staying warm. Doug
says hi to everyone and keeps running with me.
Mike passes on special love to Patty and family.
So that's all from the expedition on June 10th.
June
10, 2001 6:24pm, Camp III, Alaska. Team VII
Mike
Roberts: I have another message it's from Eric and
Gene (Team VII) it's from the 9th of June. They
say: "Hello everybody, this is Eric and Gene
again. It is day #6 and we are now at the 11,000
foot camp at the base of Motorcycle Hill. We
have been making good time on the night schedule on
the lower glacier. We expect to be at the 14,000
foot camp in three days. The weather has been
favorable, with cold mornings recorded at minus 10
Fahrenheit. We will be leaving snow shoes and
sleds behind and we'll be trading them for crampons
and ice axes for the remainder of our stint. The
self-proclaimed Mother Boys(?) have been in good
health and spirits and are thinking about their loved
ones back home. Good night everyone from Camp
III.
June
10, 2001 6:22pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VI
This
is Mike and Jesse from Alpine Ascents' IV Denali
expedition. The members of the Global Penguin
Patrol are now reunited at the 14,200 foot basin camp.
Jesse, Mony, and Justin had a great sense of timing,
they left the 11,200 foot camp this morning and
arrived at 14,200 foot camp just in time for brunch.
While strong winds are likely to stop some summit
attempts, we spent the afternoon in relatively calm
conditions, admiring the view and fortifying the snow
block walls that protect our tents.
Conversation
around the sociable 14,000 foot camp centered around
the weather outlook of three days of strong winds and
possibly some snowfall. We are all happy to have
a rest day tomorrow. I have a few personal
messages to pass on here: "Hello to Emily
from Jesse. Arnold says hello to Sima.
Kisses and all my love Lilali from Mony, Mony also
says hello to family and friends. Hello Keisha,
family, and friends from Justin. And Dawn says
hello also to family and friends and says not to worry
as she is feeling fine and staying warm. Doug
says hi to everyone and keeps running with me.
Mike passes on special love to Patty and family.
So that's all from the expedition on June 10th.
June
9, 2001 11:04pm, High Camp IV, Alaska Team IV
"The Climb for Courage"
Another
part of climbing is that you're often trying to have
discussions with people, but it's very difficult
because you just sort of stare at them and you can
tell they're talking to you, but you don't really
understand what they're saying and it sounds like your
own sentences come out as if they're in a kind of
Latin syntax. You don't want to eat, you don't
have any appetite, even though we were told that it's
really a 6,000 calorie day, but then finally you get
there you get to the summit. And it's such a long day,
and then all of a sudden, everything is there, every
thought, every emotion, it all comes together and then
it recedes and it's just the moment. And, that's
everything, you know, that's what's significant about
it I think. Nothing else is needed, It's every step
that it took to get there, and me personally I was
just thinking of many many things and weeping and
carrying on and such but that's it you know:
it's the moment. And then it's time to go down.
Quickly. And afterwards you feel like you woke
up from some epic dream and you're not sure if it was
real or not, but you know it's forever, you know it's
yours. I don't know if that makes sense or if
that gives anyone an idea, but I still am at altitude
so maybe that has something to do with it, but it was
truly phenomenal. Thank you and we're on our way
home maybe tomorrow or maybe the next day, we'll see
on the weather in progress, but we will certainly keep
you all updated. Thanks, bye.
June
9, 2001 10:58pm, High Camp, Alaska. Team V
Team
V called in a brief (but static-filled) dispatch
saying that they were safely at High Camp and were
enjoying a dinner of Mac and Cheese after a touch day
of climbing. They are having a good time and
wish everybody well and they will phone in another
dispatch soon.
June
9, 2001 12:34pm, High Camp, Alaska Team IV "The
Climb for Courage"
Hi,
this is Phil Zabriske calling from the Survivor Fund
Team, a little out of breath at 17,000 feet. I just
want to follow up on Wally's news that we did indeed
make it to the summit. It was a pretty thrilling
day it started off really miserably: cold and windy
and sort of crowded on the trails, and the first
couple of hours were not much fun at all, but by
keeping through we got to above Denali Pass and some
still weather. The wind died down, and on to the
Football Field and Pig Hill and the summit ridge and
all of a sudden we were there, and it was awesome and
amazing and any other words that I might be able to
come up with at lower altitude. Mainly, I think
it was a celebration of the efforts that this group of
eight people has put in of the spirit of the torture
survivors back in New York. And we were all
carrying things from them and from the program and any
number of things that any of the individuals here
brought from the program.
We
are going to start our descent now in a little while.
I'm looking at the ridge that we're going to head down
to camp at 14,000 stay there overnight and then head
back down over the next one or two days after that and
then we'll be on our way home. Thanks again for
checking in and we're just exhausted and thrilled and
still in a kind of dreamlike state, and hopefully
we'll see you all soon, take care bye.
June
9, 2001 10:48pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team VI
Hi
this is Mike Roberts calling in from 14,000 feet for
Alpine Ascents Denali VI expedition. We're
calling ourselves the Global Penguin Patrol. We
include many different nationalities, such a global
group. We have Arnold Witzig from Switzerland,
Justin Dempsey from Ireland, Dawn from Canada, Avital
Shlomo, (who prefers to be called Mony) from Israel,
Douglas Mayfield and Kathleen Sisler from Texas, and
guides Jesse Williams from New York State, Mike
Roberts from New Zealand.
June
the 7th we carried a load of food, fuel and equipment
from the 11,200 camp to 13,500. The weather was
light blowing snow and low visibility. On June
the 8th, regrettably the decision was made by Kathleen
Sisler to head down due to her bronchitis and an
unresolved chest infection. Jesse, Mony, Justin,
and Kathleen arrived at the Kahiltna Base in the early
afternoon in perfect weather. After Kathleen
flew out, the other three began their return journey
up the Kahiltna Glacier and up to the 14,000 foot camp
where they have yet to arrive. Meanwhile on June
the 8th Arnold Dawn Doug and Mike completed a camp
move from 11,200 to 14, 200 in perfect weather.
Today
is June the 9th, the weather is once again fantastic
Doug Dawn Arnold and Mike plan to retrieve the cache
from 13,500 feet. Later today or tomorrow our party is
expected to be reunited as Jesse, Mony, and Justin
move up to the 14,000 foot camp. That's all for
this morning.
June
9, 2001 9:11pm, Camp IV, Alaska. Team V
This
is Karl with Team V at 14,000 feet on the West
Buttress of Denali. We took a load up to 16,000
feet yesterday, brought a bunch of food and fuel and
all our warm clothes up. Today our plan is to
move up to 17,000 feet high camp and get ready for the
summit. We're going to pick up all our warm
clothes on the way some food and some fuel. And
Wally, the angel that he is, will leave his camp up
for us so we'll move up into a nice established camp.
Everybody's really excited, everybody's doing really
we checked each other's pulse this morning everybody
seems really healthy and raring to go. And I'm
going to send the phone around so you can talk to some
people, here's John:
"Hey
this is John, I wanted to say hi to Mom and Tanya
again, and we are having a rockin' time I cannot
believe the weather we've gotten, and the idea of
moving up the headwall, we're all pretty
psyched."
"Hi
this is Don doing very well we're all excited to be
able move up and hopefully next time we talk to you
will be after a summit on Tuesday or so."
"Hi
it's Joe, I'm feeling good and feeling strong.
My love to Linda, Jonathan, Nicholas, Erin and Joseph.
And also to Mom, Dad and Jim, talk to you hopefully up
at high camp."
"Hello
this is Jeff again. My love to Mom and Dad,
thanks for your support likewise to Bobby, who I
haven't said hello to, but Terry and Ryan I love you
guys very much we're all doing well and as we said
we're moving up today, pretty excited we'll talk to
you soon, bye.
Karl:
This is a message to Amy and any of Forrest's friends,
Forrest is still in bed so he couldn't give you this
message (laughter in background), but he's thinking
about you, and we'll talk to you soon. bye now.
June
9, 2001 12:01am, High Camp, Alaska Team IV "The
Climb for Courage"
Wally
Berg: Well it's midnight in Alaska and I should
report to you that the entire team has descended to
our 17,200 foot camp safely. Tired, the good
kind of tired that comes from hours and hours of
exertion and working hard for a goal. A very
satisfied team sitting around in our cook tarp right
now. I'm standing out on a rock to give you this
dispatch. I'd like you to know that we returned
safely and I also should describe that the Alaska sky
is just absolutely beautiful this evening, the sun is
low of course, still up, but low on the horizon and a
beautiful alpenglow is lighting Foraker, Hunter, and
of course Denali. I'm looking right up at a
golden Denali in the twilight hour with that same
still sky that we had up there with no wind a few
hours ago. So a very satisfied Survivor Fund
Team to go to sleep for an indeterminate time now.
This is Wally Berg reporting to you from 17.2.
June
8, 2001 7:59pm, Summit of Denali, Alaska
Hi
it's Wally Berg calling you at about eight in the
evening, and I am very happy to report complete
success! All seven if us, the entire group of
the Survivor's Fund Team that set out from high camp
today are standing on the summit of Denali! And
it's a magnificent feeling although believe me we feel
the immediate and real presence of big mountain forces
right now. As John looked to me just a few
minutes ago and said "I need to go down."
We
were, as I mentioned this morning, humble and
confident, as we climbed these beautiful ridges. I'll
describe our climbing day to you briefly: we
went up in the cold darkness traveling on running
belays to Denali Pass at 18,000 feet, (I shouldn't say
darkness, I just mean the sun wasn't on us), then we
began traversing the West Buttress and for the last
hour and a half or so we've traversed the spectacular
knife-edge ridge that leads up to the very summit of
Denali, roped together.
The
scenery has been stunning, the sense of accomplishment
has been real and deep with every member, the
camaraderie and the teamwork has been really profound.
We got up here together, we relied on one another, and
now we are on the top of North America with complete
success. Our trip home is going to involve more
teamwork, more effort, more humility, and patience,
and paying attention to the mountain and pushing hard
and that's what we'll undertake to do soon. But first
we're going to spend a few minutes savoring this early
evening brilliant light from the top of Denali.
June
8, 2001 10:11am, High Camp, Alaska Team IV "The
Climb for Courage"
Wally
Berg: "Reporting in on the morning of June
8th and this is it this is finally, our day, we are
are going to try for the summit today. This is
what it's all about. I'm looking out across a
beautiful clear sky, the Alaska Range is just
magnificent today. We have some wind, but all in
all, looks like it's definitely a good summit day so
here we go. This is the payoff for weeks and
months of planning and preparation. I'm thinking about
Steve, who got to Alaska at least a month ago now,
took a twelve-day mountaineering course, rested a
couple of days and then came up here on the West
Buttress with us. And then the entire original
Survivor's Fund team that came up with this dream, (I
believe it began with John) and worked and planned and
trained for months. And here we go. This
is going to be our summit day.
I saw
Ellen a few moments ago bundled up in her down jacket
and down pants, her green ball of fluff, her green
Michelin Man look, out stretching and loosening up for
the climb today, and that picture sort of said it all
to me. Here we are in a very harsh,
arctic, really demanding environment, but at the same
time we live well and take care of our bodies and
prepare for the full effort we are going to have to
give if we are going to be able get up this mountain
today. Denali 'the great one' will get the last word.
You always climb on a great mountain like this with a
great sense of humility, because the forces around you
are far greater than you. We go up there with
all the wisdom and strength and compassion for one
another, dedication to one another as a team we can
muster, for we are watching the great one, we are
watching Denali because this spirit is going to call
the shots today. If it's our day we are going to
have a magnificent time standing on the summit.
If it's not we are going to know we have given it our
best shot and we're going to come down safely
together.
June
7, 2001 10:05am, Talkeetna, Alaska Team III, Final
Dispatch.
Good
Morning cybernauts, this is Vern Tejas with Snow White
and the Seven Dwarves Expedition for Alpine Ascents.
Yesterday started bright and early, clear skies hard
snow, we got up at four o'clock, had our breakfast,
broke down camp moved from 11,200 feet all the way to
the Kahiltna Air Strip. It took us just a mere
six hours down there due to the fact that we there
were actually sled rides going down Ski Hill and we
marched in there and were greeted by Annie, Annie,
Annie our favorite Base Camp operator and she got us
going on a pair of trips back to Talkeetna in just a
mere matter of moments. We were whisked away and
back to the hands and hearts of civilization. We
spent the afternoon getting showered and shaved and
then we headed of to the wonderful Cafe Michelle,
where we had fine dining and popped the champagne
corks and celebrated all the way around. We are
very fortunate to have such a fine group and fine
weather. We summited three days ago in clear
fantastic skies, we celebrated this and gave a rowdy
round of applause to everybody who contributed to our
success all the members are doing well and now are on
their way home. After Michelle's of course we
went off to the bar just to celebrate a little bit
more. So soon you'll be seeing your friends and
loved ones coming back to you and hopefully they'll be
no worse for the wear and tear. Thank you very
much for joining us for our expedition. This is
Vern Tejas saying goodbye and farewell..
June
7, 2001 10:01am, Camp III, Alaska. Team VI
Hello
and good morning this is Vern Tejas calling for Mike
Roberts and Jesse Williams' trip (Team VI).
They're doing well, On June 1 after completing
check-in and some familiarities at Talkeetna, the team
had a spectacular scenic flight to the Kahiltna Base
Cap. On Day II they remained as Base camp for a
complete revision of glacier travel crevasse rescue
and other alpine expeditionary skills. Day 3,
June 3, they departed the Kahiltna Base at 5am in
order to avoid the heat of the day and they
established Camp I at the base of the Ski Hill, 7,800
feet, and had another fantastic day. June 4 they
cached a load of food and equipment at 10,500 feet and
then returned to ski hill in very low visibility but
high snow falling which precluded the views.
Fortunately there was no wind. June 5th, they
had a spectacular day and they made camp at 11,200
feet below Motorcycle Hill. And they plan to be
here for the next three nights so they can
acclimatize. On June 6 they had a free day to
retrieve the cache at 10.5 and rest up and recuperate
and build new red blood cells. On June 6th they
are also planning to move a load of food and equipment
around Windy Corner at 13.5 and cache it there.
And they expect to actually be going live on June 7
when they get to the 14,200 foot camp. Bye now
for Team VI.
June
7, 2001 9:12am, High Camp, Alaska Team IV "The
Climb for Courage"
Okay
it's Wally Berg again and I have an update for you at
9:00am on the 7th. The weather is definitely
heading in the wrong direction on us now, and
we're not going to make a summit attempt today. We
were up for a couple, three hours giving it the full
benefit of the doubt, getting suiting up, taking hot
drinks, watching the weather and it has definitely
deteriorated since I last talked to you three hours
ago. So we're doing the hang, as I described
before the team's in good spirits this is what
mountaineering's all about and we'll let you know how
our shot goes tomorrow we hope.
June
7, 2001 6:13am, High Camp, Alaska Team IV "The
Climb for Courage"
Good
morning, Wally Berg with a report to you from the
Survivor's Fund Team from 17,200 feet on the West
Buttress, it's about 6am on June 7th. As I said,
I got up at about 5am this morning actually thinking
this would probably be our day. It still may be.
I thought it was good, because despite the bad weather
last night, I lay in a tent and listened to very still
winds last night. Crawled out this morning and thought
"no visibility," however, so we're going to
take it an hour at a time for the next few hours.
We'll certainly have time to go for the summit if this
lifts.
We're
optimistic based on weather reports. We do get
weather reports up here and in fact, as I was standing
out at this little prow of rock last evening, I had a
pleasant surprise: I heard a familiar voice with
a New Hampshire accent on the radio. And that was
Annie. Annie ran base camp for the flight
services down at the Kahiltna Glacier landing area for
years, is well-known to all the climbers of the West
Buttress route as well as other routes and certainly
well-known to all the guides via radio traffic and the
warm welcome off of the big jug of cold jui |
