Moving on up the glacier

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I had some technical difficulties.

The team flew onto the glacier on Monday afternoon (June 29) and departed Base Camp in the wee hours of the morning to make the five mile hike up the Kahiltna Glacier to the site of their Camp 1 at 7,800 feet (2380 m). They traveled in the Alaskan nighttime, which means only that they were in the shade, as the sun passed low across the northern horizon, and Denali shielded them from its rays. This is to maximize what little freezing occurs at this time of year. When the snowpack freezes, the crevasse bridges are much more solid. The team reported that the glacier was in great shape, and travel was relatively easy-going.

One of the climbers, Peter, had a rough go of it yesterday. He seems to have picked up some form of G.I. bug, and despite having trained hard for this climb, it really weakened him.

Jacob called at 4 a.m. Alaska time to consult with me and two of our company doctors. The determination was that the Alaska Range was just not a good place for Peter to heal, and his weakened state was not going to permit him to go further. A descending Mountain Trip team tied him into their rope and he walked back to Base Camp with them. It is a bitter disappointment, but also a reminder that "life happens." Peter flew out this afternoon and is headed back to Anchorage as I type.

Jacob was planning on either moving camp to another site at 9,700' or "making a carry" to 10,000' today. We climb Denali making "double carries" which means we essentially pack up half of our food, supplies and kit and carry it to the next camp or to a spot just short of the next camp. We then return to our previous camp to spend the night. This eases climbers into the acclimatization process by enabling them to "climb high and sleep low." It also enables us to transport the massive loads necessary for climbing Denali without crushing ourselves by carrying it all at once.

I'll post more on their progress as I hear it. Again, my apologies for the delay in posting, but we'll keep it current from here on out.