|
We
kept
on
moving
while
the
sun
was
setting
and
stopped
only
for
taking
some
pictures
of
the
incredible
views
of
the
Alaskan
range.
We
just
blindly
followed
the
other
crampon
tracks
down,
but
when
we
reached
Denali
pass
we
couldn't
find
our
rope.
It
seemed
that
we
had
descended
about
50
meter
too
much
it
took
us
quite
a
while
to
get
back
up
again.
We
roped
up
at
the
start
of
the
traverse
which
is
also
known
as
'the
Autobahn'
named
after
the
speedy
way
many
climbers
go
down
here,
of
which
a
large
number
are
European.
The
next
day
we
heard
that
it
deserved
it's
name
as
one
of
the
Austrian
climbers
we
saw
summiting
slipped
and
fell
over
250m
down.
He
was
very
lucky
as
he
only
broke
his
nose
and
his
ankle
and
he
was
taken
off
the
mountain
by
a
helicopter.
The
rope
got
stuck
again
and
we
decided
to
descend
the
rest
of
the
slope
unroped.
Like
zombies
we
went
down
and
it
was
after
23.00
when
we
finally
reached
our
tent.
Jose
went
to
sleep
immediately,
but
I
was
so
dehydrated
that
I
need
some
fluid
first
and
I
started
to
melt
some
water.
Just
when
it
was
starting
to
cook,
the
sun
disappeared
behind
one
of
the
ridges
and
the
temperature
dropped
to
-25.
I
drank
about
1,5
liters
of
soup
and
energy
drink
while
shivering
all
over
and
then
crawled
into
my
warm
sleeping
bag.
The
next
morning
the
weather
was
still
nice
and
one
of
the
climbers
that
didn't
make
it
yesterday
went
for
the
summit
with
a
ranger.
We
got
up
very
slowly
again,
still
tired
but
satisfied
after
the
successful
summit
day.
The
clouds
were
still
at
4200m
level
and
the
view
down
the
ridge
was
amazing.
I
shot
some
film
of
the
scenery
and
in
the
afternoon
we
went
down
to
base
camp.
We
had
to
stop
several
times
to
take
pictures
of
the
beautiful
ridge
between
5200m
and
4900m
while
other
tired
climbers
slowly
made
their
way
up
the
ridge.
The
mountain
was
completely
surrounded
by
a
blanket
of
clouds
and
only
the
ridge
we
were
standing
on
and
Mt
Foraker
in
the
distance
were
able
to
poke
through,
verrrry
nice!
When
we
came
to
4900
we
had
to
use
the
fixed
lines
again,
but
going
down
is
just
a
bit
trickier
than
going
up
as
you
have
to
face
the
40-60
degrees
slope
while
descending.
The
ice
was
crunchy
and
was
shattering
under
our
feet;
we
were
very
glad
that
the
fixed
lines
were
in
place!
After
the
lines
it
was
just
another
hour
to
base
camp
and
(again
exhausted)
we
dumped
our
backpacks
in
front
of
Jose's
TNF
Mountain
Tent
that
was
waiting
for
us.
The
base
camp
was
fully
packed
and
the
bringing
of
the
extra
tent
probably
saved
us
from
making
a
new
campsite.
We
discussed
the
next
day
and
decided
to
try
to
bring
al
our
stuff
down
to
base
camp
in
one
day.
But
the
next
morning
Jose
didn't
want
to
wake
up
until
late
and
it
was
already
14.30
when
we
left.
We
had
almost
2
weeks
worth
of
fuel
and
food
left
and
we
gave
that
to
a
group
of
Spanish
climbers
who
were
very
happy
with
the
Hamburgers,
Parmesan
cheese
and
chocolate!
Even
without
the
food
our
packs
were
about
30kg
each
and
the
descend
was
very
hard
(We
each
carried
a
tent
now
and
had
all
our
gear
we
took
up
in
two
separate
carries;
also
we
had
al
our
garbage
to
carry
down).
Jose
was
going
fast
and
I
asked
him
to
take
a
rest
around
Windy
Corner
but
he
wanted
to
rest
further
down.
I
was
really
tired
and
it
didn't
take
long
until
one
of
my
crampons
got
stuck
behind
my
other
feet
and
I
tripped.
It
was
not
on
a
very
steep
part,
but
I
landed
on
my
knee
and
the
weight
of
the
backpack
made
it
quite
painful.
I
shouted
to
Jose
that
I
needed
a
rest
now,
but
he
said
that
that
this
was
not
a
good
place,
that
it
was
all
in
my
head
and
continued,
pulling
the
rope
and
me
with
it.
Meanwhile
we
were
inside
the
clouds
and
it
was
very
windy,
but
my
knee
wouldn't
let
me
descend
on
a
high
speed
and
I
tripped
again.
This
time
my
thermos
filled
with
warm
tea
slipped
out
of
its
pocket
and
before
I
could
grab
it,
it
slid
down
the
icy
slope,
full
speed
over
the
edge.
I
was
tired
and
getting
really
pissed
off
now
and
shouted
to
Jose
that
I
did
want
to
stop
now,
as
this
Motorcycle
Hill
was
not
really
a
place
to
trip
and
slide
down
as
there
was
an
even
steeper
and
icier
part
ahead.
I
walked
slowly
towards
Jose,
and
we
got
into
a
heated
discussion!
Harsh
words
fell
towards
the
both
of
us,
but
the
moment
I
I
said
the
magic
words
'Fuck
You
Jose,
I
am
going
to
rest
now'
he
got
crazy.
He
approached
me,
eyes
wide
open
and
shouted
that
no-one
talks
to
him
like
that
and
before
I
could
move
he
put
the
sharp
end
of
his
pickel
to
my
throat,
threatening
to
push
it
if
I
didn't
'behave'.
I
was
really
getting
angry
now,
but
kept
my
calm
and
said
and
did
completely
nothing
but
staring
back
until
he
lowered
his
ice
axe.
This
was
not
the
best
place
to
get
into
a
physical
fight
and
I
wanted
to
get
down
the
mountain
as
soon
as
possible.
After
a
few
moments
we
started
moving
again
without
saying
another
word
until
we
reached
the
Motorcycle
camp.
The
clouds
were
very
thick
now
and
we
could
not
see
more
than
50
meters.
We
found
our
cache,
marked
with
our
skis
and
dug
up
our
big
red
North
Face
duffel
bags
and
the
two
sleds
we
hid
under
the
snow.
There
were
a
few
Swiss
people
in
our
old
camp
and
they
invited
us
in
for
a
cup
of
pasta,
which
we
gladly
accepted.
This
also
forced
us
to
talk
again
which
broke
the
ice
a
little
bit
between
Jose
and
me.
I
went
to
him
and
said
that
we
reached
the
summit
together
and
that
I
wanted
to
get
off
the
mountain
together
too
and
he
agreed.
We
discussed
about
the
best
way
to
get
these
heavy
sleds
downhill
through
the
snow
and
decided
to
let
it
slide
before
us,
while
skiing
behind
it,
tied
to
the
sled
with
a
few
schlinges.
This
was
actually
quite
fun,
although
not
really
effective
and
it
took
us
almost
an
hour
to
get
down
the
hill.
There
we
changed
placed
with
the
sleds
and
dragged
it
down.
Every
time
the
slope
was
a
bit
steeper
my
sled
would
pass
and
either
flip
over
itself
or
flip
me
over
so
it
was
not
the
easy
ride
down
we
had
hoped
for.
After
another
disastrous
descent
on
Ski
Hill
(were
I
took
off
my
skies
and
walked
down
and
still
was
faster
than
Jose
skiing).
We
decided
that
we'd
better
spend
another
night
on
the
mountain
as
it
would
be
at
least
another
few
hours
to
the
landing
strip
and
it
was
after
midnight
already
(but
still
light!)
We
pitched
only
our
inner
tent,
made
some
food
and
went
to
sleep.
The
following
day
Jose
spent
over
two
hours
getting
up
and
organizing
his
stuff
before
we
could
continue
and
we
left
at
noon.
This
last
part
was
almost
horizontal,
but
9
km
long
and
Jose
was
clearly
very
tired
as
he
kept
going
slower
and
slower
(it's
just
in
the
head
right?).
He
asked
me
to
go
ahead
and
I
continued
with
a
firm
pace,
but
he
could
not
keep
up
so
I
had
to
wait
every
few
minutes.
Just
when
we
reached
the
last
hill
-named
heartbreak
hill
because
it's
actually
180m
up-
I
noticed
that
I
didn't
have
to
stop
for
the
last
10
minutes
and
I
looked
back.
Jose
had
untied
the
rope
without
letting
me
know,
because
of
the
weight
of
the
rope
I
had
not
felt
the
difference
and
he
was
several
hundreds
of
meters
behind.
This
made
me
very
angry
and
gave
me
an
energy
boost
that
took
me
up
the
hill
in
no
time.
Halfway
up
I
untied
as
well,
leaving
the
rope
on
the
hill
for
Jose
to
pick
up
and
continued
to
the
base
camp
manager.
She
had
bad
news:
the
clouds
were
so
thick
that
we
would
not
be
able
to
leave
today,
and
maybe
not
even
tomorrow.
I
went
outside
to
tell
Jose
who
was
approaching,
but
he
didn't
answer
and
went
to
the
campsite
to
pitch
his
tent.
I
joined
a
few
other
waiting
climbers
into
the
fuel
storage
and
we
had
actually
a
fun
evening,
with
3
rolls
of
chocolate
chip
cookies
we
got
from
the
rangers,
a
bottle
of
gin
from
a
Canadian
climber
and
lots
of
good
stories
from
the
mountain!
The
storage
tent
was
half-filled
with
boxes
containing
6
gallons
of
Coleman
fuel
each
(the
stuff
we
cooked
on
on
the
mountain)
and
I
spent
that
night
on
top
of
more
than
750
liters
of
explosives,
which
made
it
probably
my
most
dangerous
night
ever!
The
next
morning
it
was
still
cloudy
and
we
spent
the
day
inside
the
basecampmanager's
big
tent
solving
riddles
and
exchanging
stories.
She
told
us
that
last
week
some
climbers
had
seen
a
bear
on
the
mountain
at
2300m
altitude.
They
were
not
completely
sure,
but
it
had
happened
a
few
times
before,
one
time
the
bear
was
even
inside
a
tent
and
another
time
one
had
fallen
into
a
crevasse...
Just
as
we
were
preparing
for
another
night
on
the
fuel
cans
a
patch
of
blue
sky
appeared
and
within
an
hour
about
6
Cessna
planes
arrived.
There
was
a
long
line
of
waiting
climbers
in
Talkeetna
and
therefore
there
were
enough
spaces
to
take
us
all
out.
On
the
way
we
encountered
a
hailstorm
but
the
flight
was
as
enjoyable
as
on
the
way
over.
We
decided
to
spend
another
night
in
Talkeetna
with
the
other
climbers
we
met;
(Jose
and
I
did
talk
to
each
other
and
actually
had
quite
a
good
time,
but
our
ways
parted
the
next
day.)
First
we
went
in
to
the
laundry,
not
for
our
socks,
but
for
ourselves!
There
were
hot
showers
and
you
never
appreciate
such
things
until
you
are
deprived
from
it
for
3
weeks...
The
famous
Roadhouse
was
not
serving
dinners
yet
so
we
went
for
a
big
McKinley
pizza
and
then
continued
to
the
Fairview
inn.
This
place
is
known
for
the
mix
of
climbers
and
locals
and
we
had
a
good
time
until
late
at
night,
drinking
many
pitchers
of
Canadian
beer,
while
the
Alaskan
music
was
played
live
by
a
band
called
Yukon
Rider.
That's
it!!!
The
rest
of
the
time
I
spent
in
Seward,
where
I
walked
up
Mt
Marathon
(900m)
which
is
actually
a
race
every
year
(43
minutes
is
the
record
for
the
ascent
and
descent!);
I
went
on
a
cruise
and
saw
whales,
orcas
sea
lions,
sea
otters
and
a
'tourist'
glacier
up
close;
I
went
to
Homer
and
spent
a
few
days
in
Anchorage
hiking,
mountain
biking
and
relaxing.
I
have
seen
no
bears,
but
did
see
two
big
moose,
of
which
one
up
close,
come
see
the
video!
CU
all
soon
and
thanks
again
for
the
support!
Thanks
and
keep
climbing,
Harry
***********************************************
The
Denali
trip
4
Warchild
team
is
sponsored
by:
*
The
North
Face
Outdoor
Gear:
http://www.thenorthface.com
*
ESIRE
e-consultancy:
Http://www.esire.net
*
Suunto
Wristcomputers:
altimeters
and
more!:
Http://www.suunto.fi
*
Radical
Design
backpacks:
http://www.Radicaldesign.nl
*
Northern
Mountain
Supply:
Online
outdoor
gear:
Http://www.killerdeals.com
*
Talkeetna
Air:
Denali
flightseeing
tours!:
Http://www.talkeetnaair.com
Http://www.7summits.com
!
|
