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Introduction:
On
May
16th,
20.00
hr
local
time,
I
reached
the
summit
of
Denali,
6194
m
(20,320ft,
the
highest
point
in
North
America
and
therefore
one
of
the
7
summits.)
together
with
my
climbing
partner
Jose,
being
the
18th
person
to
reach
this
summit
this
millennium.
Just
the
day
before
the
first
person
summited
(one
German
man),
we
were
the
last
climbers
on
the
second
'summit
day'
of
this
season/millennium.
The
weather
was
great
and
that
day
about
17
people
summited
(but
still
the
success
rate
was
about
15%,
normally
about
50%).
I
am
glad
that
I
could
help
raise
$$
for
Warchild,
the
organization
that
helps
children
in
war-torn
countries
like
Kosovo
and
Guatemala
by
building
schools.
The
following
is
my
trip
report;
as
you
will
notice
I
don't
just
talk
about
the
climb
itself,
but
also
about
the
people
I
met
on
the
mountain.
The
report
is
therefore
written
from
my
perspective.
*********
We
left
Seattle
the
evening
of
may2,
slept
one
night
in
a
youth
hostel
and
left
for
Talkeetna
(100km
from
Denali).
That
same
day
we
had
our
talk
with
the
rangers,
and
left
with
Talkeetna
Air
Taxi
for
the
Glacier!
That
was
an
exhilarating
flight,
which
took
about
half
an
hour.
The
pilot
took
us
through
high
mountain
passes
and
put
us
down
on
the
Lower
Kahiltna
glacier
(2200m)
around
19.00.
We
had
to
build
camp
immediately
as
the
temperature
was
plummeting
the
moment
the
sun
disappeared
behind
mount
Foraker....
The
next
day
the
hard
work
begun:
on
touring
skis
we
dragged
about
50
kg
each
(25
on
our
back
and
25
on
a
plastic
sled)
up
the
mountain.
This
first
part
was
9
km
long
but
quite
flat
and
we
were
happy
when
we
finally
reached
a
suitable
camping
spot
in
the
evening.
We
had
to
make
1
meter
high
igloo
walls
first
as
the
winds
started
to
come
up,
so
by
the
time
we
got
to
the
cooking
it
was
almost
'dark'
again
and
the
temperature
outside
the
tent
was
already
-16
the
moment
I
ate
(Jose
was
feeling
sick
and
tired
and
didn't
eat
anything).
Thank
you
The
North
Face,
for
these
wonderful
down
pants
;-}
After
a
restless
night
we
moved
on
the
following
day
up
a
friendly
slope
called
'ski
hill'.
Well,
the
one
who
thought
up
that
name
certainly
wasn't
dragging
a
25-kg
sled
behind
his
backpack
as
this
part
was
really
one
big
fight
with
gravity.
Even
the
climbing
skins
under
the
skis
and
specialized
ski-crampons
couldn't
stop
me
from
sliding
back
down
the
hill
many
times
and
quite
a
few
curses
have
been
heard
on
the
mountain
that
day...
We
didn't
get
as
far
as
we
wanted
and
made
camp
on
the
middle
of
the
glacier.
First
we
had
to
probe
the
area
for
crevasses
(with
a
3-meter
long
pole)
and
then
the
melting
of
the
water
started,
while
temperature
was
dropping
soon.
But
the
view
down
the
glacier
was
amazing
and
we
really
enjoyed
that
evening.
The
next
day
our
odyssey
up
the
hill
continued,
but
we
managed
to
carry
our
stuff
all
the
way
up
to
just
above
3100m
(10,000ft)
where
we
were
the
only
ones
to
camp.
Normally
your
tent
gets
blown
away
at
this
point
(below
Kahiltna
pass)
but
we
were
lucky
and
were
sleeping
under
a
clear
blue
sky.
No
resting
day
today,
in
the
evening
we
took
about
20
kg
of
gear
and
food
we
didn't
need
and
brought
that
up
to
the
base
of
Motorcycle
hill,
3400m
(11,000ft).
This
hill
is
named
after
the
idiotic
steep
motor
races
up
some
hills
around
the
world...
We
cached
our
stuff
in
one
of
the
old
campsites/igloo
walls
and
skied
down.
That
is
we
tried
to
ski
down,
but
the
mixture
of
mountaineering
boots
instead
of
ski
boots,
tiredness
and
difficult
snow
made
us
crash
quite
a
few
times.
But
we
were
very
satisfied
when
we
arrived,
this
had
been
a
good
acclimatizing
trip
and
already
most
of
the
food
was
at
3400m
(almost
another
3000m
to
go...).
That
night
the
temperature
inside
the
tent
lowered
to
-16
C,
(so
outside
it
was
probably
-26
C)
and
we
woke
up
because
of
the
snow
inside
the
tent!
(Frozen
condensation).
After
wiping
the
condensation
snow
from
our
faces
and
sleeping
bags
(I
love
The
North
Face
Dryloft!)
we
started
our
daily
chores:
get
fresh
snow
and
make
a
few
liters
of
water
for
breakfast
and
the
way
up.
While
the
snow
was
melting
we
packed
our
stuff
and
after
breakfast
we
went
up
to
Motorcycle
hill
camp
where
we
left
most
of
our
food
the
day
before.
We
felt
very
strong
and
the
trip
took
us
only
an
hour
and
a
half,
which
almost
made
it
feel
like
a
rest
day.
(It
was
only
400
meters
up).
The
next
day
we
would
have
to
cross
the
infamous
"Windy
Corner"
which
defends
its
reputation
with
pride...
The
plan
is
to
take
up
most
of
our
food
to
Windy
Corner
(4150m),
travel
the
next
day
to
Medical
camp
aka
Base camp
(4350m)
and
pick
up
the
food
the
day
after.
So
we
left
with
our
heavy
backpacks
zigzagging
up
motorcycle
hill.
The
day
before
we
met
a
few
Japanese
climbers
coming
down
who
obviously
though
that
this
hill
wasn't
steep
enough
and
they
tried
the
route
that
has
been
named
the
"Japanese
Direct"
for
this
season.
Direct
into
a
big
crevasse
that
is,
and
they
lost
so
much
gear
and
food
that
they
had
to
abandon
the
climbing
attempt
for
this
season.
The
weather
was
actually
quite
nice
but
the
hill
steep
and
icy.
It's
a
long
way
from
3400m
to
4150
with
a
full
pack
and
it
took
us
several
hours
before
we
reached
the
cache
site.
We
were
both
very
tired,
and
were
feeling
the
effects
of
the
altitude
and
were
very
grumpy
to
each
other.
This
led
to
our
first
big
fight:
at
first
we
planned
to
continue
to
the
next
camp
as
the
weather
was
still
quite
good
(although
even
in
this
perfect
weather,
Windy
Corner
was
the
odd
one
out:
it
had
been
blowing
like
crazy
a
few
hundred
meters
back...)
I
asked
Jose
if
he
could
help
me
put
my
heavy
pack
back
on
and
he
absolutely
refused.
He
said
that
it
was
his
principle
that
every
one
should
take
care
of
his
own
luggage.
I
said
I
agreed,
but
that
we
both
save
energy
if
we
just
help
each
other
with
the
packs,
but
he
kept
refusing
to
help
and
we
got
in
to
a
endless
discussion
and
ended
up
leaving
our
food
at
the
spot
as
originally
planned.
I
was
leading
on
the
way
down
(we
were
always
roped
together
with
a
60
meter
climbing
rope)
and
the
anger
gave
me
a
lot
of
energy.
I
almost
raced
down
the
steep
slopes
and
after
one
hour
and
10
minutes
we
arrived
at
our
tent.
After
an
hour
of
silent
snow melting
I
asked
Jose
if
he
had
anymore
surprise
principles
I
should
know
about
before
we
went
any
higher,
but
he
apologized
and
assured
me
that
I
could
always
count
on
him
on
the
mountain;
that
was
good
to
hear
as
a
team
without
trust
is
no
team…
The
next
day
we
took
up
the
rest
of
our
stuff,
but
just
when
we
reached
Windy
Corner,
she
got
very
nasty.
The
winds
were
ferocious
and
the
temperature
was
dropping
fast.
I
had
to
take
my
inner
gloves
out
of
my
overgloves
every
few
minutes
to
warm
my
fingers
up
again.
Jose
was
very
tired
and
wanted
to
rest,
but
I
had
no
desire
to
stop
at
all
and
decided
to
take
over
his
tent
so
we
could
continue.
When
we
reached
our
cache
site
it
started
snowing
as
well
and
we
went
into
the
snow
walls
for
some
protection.
There
was
a
tent
pitched
and
the
accompanying
two
climbers
came
out
and
advised us
to
pitch
right
besides
them
as
they
expected
much
worse
storm
in
Base camp,
about
1,5
hours
up
the
mountain.
These
two,
Ivan
&
Marc
were
French
Canadian,
around
forty
and
very
friendly,
they
even
helped
us
with
our
tent
and
snow
walls.
Just
when
we
were
finished
two
Austrians
we
passed
earlier
arrived
and
together
we
build
another
snow
wall.
Just
a
few
minutes
later
two
other
couples
arrived,
all
Americans,
living
in
Canada.
One
of
the
woman
seemed
to
have
frost
bite
on
her
hands,
so
Marc
put
her
into
his
big
tent
and
we
started
making
hot
soup
and
tea
for
her.
It
was
amazing
that
she
wasn't
completely
frozen
as
she
was
clearly
underdressed
for
the
situation;
this
turned
out
to
be
our
first
real
encounter
(we
had
spoken
to
hem
before)
with
the
climbers
later
referred
as
"the
2
crazy
Americans".
We
helped
to
build
them
a
camp
as
well
and
after
a
few
hours
we
had
turned
one
snow
wall
into
a
perfect
6-tent
camp!
The
next
morning
the
weather
was
much
better
and
we
started
our
food-carry
up
to
base camp.
I
thought
I
had
lost
my
overboots
and
made
everybody
looking
for
them,
but
finally
I
found
them
in
one
of
my
bags
and
was
rightfully
ridiculed...
We
passed
a
few
minor
crevasses
where
almost
every
group
had
stepped
in
at
least
once
(just
to
their
knees
or
waist)
and
one
really
big
crevasse.
Just
before
Base camp
the
sky
darkened
and
I
saw
Jose
bend
over;
just
when
I
was
about
to
ask
him
what
was
wrong
I
found
out
for
myself
and
I
was
almost
blown
of
my
feet
by
a
sudden
gust
of
cold
wind.
I
had
to
use
my
ice axe
and
walking
pole
to
stay
on
my
feet
and
had
to
turn
my
face
and
hands
away.
After
a
few
seconds
the
wind
stopped
just
as
abruptly
a
it
had
started
and
we
continued
to
walk
the
last
few
hundred
meters
to
camp.
But
then
the
wind
came
again
and
we
hade
to
lean
on
our
pole
again.
This
game
continued
for
about
fifteen
minutes
and
then
Base camp
suddenly
appeared
before
us:
about
7
climbers
tents
and
a
few
big
ranger
tents,
including
a
medical
cabin,
hence
the
nickname
"medical
Camp".
One
group
was
just
leaving
and
we
could
take
their
high
walled
spot.
We
pitched
our
extra
tent
and
put
the
extra
food
inside.
We
talked
to
some
climbers
and
they
told
us
that
the
day
before
all
snow
walls
had
blown
down
and
everybody
had
to
rebuild
and
fortify
them.
We
took
a
last
look
at
our
guy
lines
and
ten
stakes
and
left
for
our
trip
down
to
Windy
Corner,
hoping
that
my
tent
still
would
be
there
when
we
would
return
the
next
day...
When
we
returned
back
in
Windy
Corner
camp
we
heard
that
the
American
woman
with
the
minor
frostbite
had
been
crying;
not
because
of
her
frozen
finger
but
because
of
not
being
able
to
be
on
the
summit
today.
Today?
Was
that
a
joke?
Did
these
people
have
any
idea
what
they
were
up
against?
I
soon
found
out
that
one
of
the
couples
had
quite
a
lot
of
mountaineering
experience,
at
least
in
technical
rock,
but
the
other
two
("the
2
crazy
Americans")
had
no
experience
whatsoever.
They
were
excellent
athletes
(world class
triathletes
actually)
and
they
had
the
accompanying
mentality:
get
to
the
finish
as
soon
as
possible.
They
did
not
realize
that
the
finish
was
getting
off
the
mountain
in
one
(breathing)
piece;
to
them
the
finish
was
the
6194m
high
summit.
The
fact
that
no-one
of
the
experienced
climbers
on
the
mountain
had
come
higher
than
5200
meter
on
the
mountain
so
far
only
got
them
more
excited:
"so
we
can
still
be
the
first
on
the
summit!"
Sigh....
Anyway,
the
next
day
we
packed
our
stuff
and
walked
up
to
Base camp.
The
weather
was
a
little
better
and
it
took
us
little
more
than
an
hour.
On
the
way
we
met
several
big
groups
who
had
spend
over
3
weeks
besieging
the
summit,
but
without
success.
A
few
people
stepped
into
crevasses,
but
the
snow
bridges
were
still
strong
enough
to
keep
them
from
falling
in
completely.
Yes!
Our
North
Face
Mountain
tent
was
still
standing
proudly
in
the
wind!
We
quickly
pitched
our
other
tent
next
to
the
two
French
Canadians
tent
and
started
organizing.
With
two
tents
available
we
finally
had
some
private
space
again
which
was
very
liberating.
Ivan
and
Marc
(the
French-Canadians)
wanted
to
talk
to
us:
"We
have
seen
that
you
are
a
good
mountaineering
team
and
you
are
nice
guys,
therefore
we
would
like
to
warn
you:
watch
out
for
these
two
crazy
Americans!
We
talked
to
them,
and
they
are
getting
more
obsessed
with
the
summit
every
day;
they
are
very
dangerous,
not
only
to
themselves,
but
to
everybody
near
them
as
well!."
(continued)
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