Team Rhema Grace is officially safe off the mountain.
2 members made it to the summit at 20,320', 2 members had to retreat at 19,000' and everyone came home with all the fingers and toes they started with.
Stay tuned for pictures and journal entries I will be posting on this blog.
Thanks to everyone who has made a contribution. I will get a tally soon on the amount we have raised with the climb.
Cheers,
Garrett
The Climbing Team
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Ivan Chikigak-Steadman - Ivan is a lifelong Talkeetna resident and recent UAA graduate. He is currently traveling through SE Asia. He enjoys the outdoors and spending time in his hometown, Talkeetna. |
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Garrett Yager -Garrett is a former president of the EWB-UAA chapter. He is originally from New Mexico and has lived in Alaska for 8 years. He currently lives in Anchorage with his wife Jamie and his son Liam. |
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Jason Robinson - Jason is a UAA grad who also has strong ties to Talkeetna where he attended high school with Ivan. Jason works for Volunteers of America and lives in Anchorage with his wife Jamie and his children Kaden and Brooke. |
| Chris Love - Chris, who is originally from Michigan now calls Talkeetna home. The mountains and rivers are his office where he works as a flyfishing/river guide and teaches for the Alaska Avalanche School. Chris is also an EMT for the Talkeetna Fire Dept. officially giving him the title "Team Medic". |
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
High Camp - 17,200 feet of elevation
The team arrived at High Camp (17,200 feet) today after spending 4 days acclimating to the altitude at the 14,200 foot camp. Acclimatizing is essential to completing the climb without injury or illness. The 17,200 foot camp is the highest camp on Denali, hence the name. High Camp is the windiest and coldest camp and requires the most fortification from the elements, which makes it an exhausting camp to build at the high elevation. Usually a day of rest is needed after arriving at High Camp.
The forecast at 17,000 feet is a low of -10 F tonight and a high of 5 F tomorrow. Wind is blowing 15-25 mph. Over the next few days the team will decide whether to attempt the summit of Denali. Most teams will not spend more than 5 days at High Camp. The conditions are extremely cold, dry and can be quite windy. There is half as much oxygen in the air at 17,000 feet, which makes even simple tasks laborious. The forecast from Thursday to Saturday calls for continued high pressure, which means it will be fairly clear and snowfall isn't expected. Winds on the summit should be light, less than 20 mph.
To follow the weather forecast on Denali, view the following link: http://pafg.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=SXAK49PAFG&type=public
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Climb Begins
On Friday, May 14th the team landed on the Kahiltna Glacier and began their adventure in earnest. Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Final preperations
With only days left till we depart on our climb, I wanted to describe the necessary gear we have had to aquire.
Denali weather presents prehaps the greatest challenge when climbing the West Buttress route. The high latitude and close proximity to the ocean result in cold,wet storms with very high sustained winds. To protect ourselves from these conditions we have aquired gear that is typically not necessary on mountains in lower latitudes. This specialized gear includes:
-expedition down parka-fully baffled, hooded parka
-Plastic climbing boots with liners
-Overboots-boots that go over your boots to protect your feet from the cold
And many other pieces of Specialized equipment. I have an entire room in our house devoted to packing gear for this trip.
There is a fine line between bringing too much gear and not being prepared. Too much gear or food can really slow the team down and might jeperdize a summit attempt where as missing critical pieces, or having gear that is problematic may also force the team to turn around early.
Cheers,
Garrett
Denali weather presents prehaps the greatest challenge when climbing the West Buttress route. The high latitude and close proximity to the ocean result in cold,wet storms with very high sustained winds. To protect ourselves from these conditions we have aquired gear that is typically not necessary on mountains in lower latitudes. This specialized gear includes:
-expedition down parka-fully baffled, hooded parka
-Plastic climbing boots with liners
-Overboots-boots that go over your boots to protect your feet from the cold
And many other pieces of Specialized equipment. I have an entire room in our house devoted to packing gear for this trip.
There is a fine line between bringing too much gear and not being prepared. Too much gear or food can really slow the team down and might jeperdize a summit attempt where as missing critical pieces, or having gear that is problematic may also force the team to turn around early.
Cheers,
Garrett
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