Denali 2010 Rhema Grace Orphanage Charity Climb: High Camp

The Project

The Rhema Grace Orphanage is located near Tiko Cameroon. The orphanage is home to 54 children. The University of Alaska Anchorage Engineers Without Borders (EWB-UAA) student chapter has been involved with the orphange for over two years. They are currently in the project implementation phase, where they plan to install a hand pump for extracting clean drinking water and perform kitchen upgrades in the summer of 2010.

To learn more about the project please visit: http://ewbuaa.uaa.alaska.edu/Projects.html

Contributions

The Denali 2010 Rhema Grace Orphanage Climb is trying to raise money to assist the UAA-EWB in their efforts to provide sustainable solutions to improving the quality of life at the orphanage.

Please consider contributing to our cause. All proceeds go directly to the UAA-EWB Rhema Grace Orphanage project.

Suggested donation amount is $1.00 per 1000ft elevation. The elevation of Denali is 20,320ft = $20.32 (Any amount is appreciated, the .32 helps us identify donations from the charity climb).

To donate to the project please visit:
https://www.ewb-usa.org/donate.php?fund=4&chapter=871

The Climbing Team

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.

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.

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".

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