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Last week our WhatsApp climbing group was packed with messages as I woke up. I checked the group to learn that Abdul, whom we had climbed Denali in Alaska, had just died on Everest. Reading from the news, Abdul summited Mount Everest, raised the flag that he was carrying and died on the way down. […]
A very nice picture taken by Kai Girard on our final descent after attempting a summit push on the same morning. We were embarking on a 5-6 hours down-climbing day. About 1-hour in Kai stopped briefly on the ridge and took a shot of us down-climbing. I was leading our rope for this part of […]
Snow city cafe is our place of choice for breakfast each morning for the next 3 days. Large portions of hash browns, home-made biscuits, 20 ounce coffees. Our expedition stomachs can swallow it all! We do our final shopping at REI and AMH, the specialised mountaineering & climbing store. We climb Flattop mountain, a beautiful […]
Maybe it seems as if one should be able to re-adapt immediately when coming back from an expedition. It is not the case for Xav and I. It is a huge change to be surrounded by people, cars, noise, green nature, having running water, being warm at all times. It is overwhelming for our senses. […]
8am we wake up and start packing, its a beautiful day out. Kai and the group from Dustin’s expedition have slept outside. Sunny and blue sky. The storm is not coming today. The flights start at 9am and there is no queue so we should be flying in no time. It’s sad to be leaving […]
Down 2,500 meters to base camp in 1 day. We are waiting for Dustin’s expedition to take their final decision on whether they are moving up or down. His expedition is a group of 3, one of them, Ben, is a wounded war veteran in his thirties – he has his shin fused to his […]
It is today or never, the weather is nice when Kai wakes up, then turns to snow, then good again with some blue sky at times, then not good again. We pack our bags for a summit attempt anyway. 1 sleeping bag for the team, 1 sleeping pad, emergency kit, heavy expedition mittens, all our […]
We have been constantly listening to the weather, trying to find the right window for a final summit push. It is a game between relying on the forecast – which has proven wrong almost every day since we arrived – and looking at the sky and relying on Kai’s instinct in terms of window. A […]
Morning cleaning up camp. Chelsea and Eric are going down to base camp with Marc and flying out. Before they head down, Kai, Marc, Xav and I make a little trip to the Edge of the World, a scenic point about 20 minutes walk from our camp. This scenic point feels like it overlooks the […]
Today one more rest day, recovering from the carry to the 5000m cache on the ridge up the fix lines. We have been wondering for a few days how our expedition would carry on. Marc has been sick and has been struggling to recover at altitude. After going back and forth on the logistics, the decision […]
Not a great night of sleep too tight in the tent. I am squashed between Xavier and Marc, the snow under us is at an angle and Marc slides to my side, it sounds ridiculous but its unbearable after hours trying to sleep. 7 hours of climbing round trip from Camp 3 to the […]
Midday, we head down the mountain to pick up the cache content. Its beautiful. The Alaska range mountains fill up the horizon. Some gigantic crevasses, next to the path down, are masterpieces of nature’s art. Its Kai, Xavier, Eric and I picking up the cache, Marc is resting and desperately trying to recover from his […]
(Featured photo: our home in the mountains, a Mountain Hardwear Trango 4 tent. Officially for 4 people, but just enough space for the 3 of us and that’s with our backpack sleeping in the snow outside and our big boots in the vestibule!) Elevation 4400m Sunny and cold Rest Day to recover from the past […]
We leave camp 2 in the snow again but this time we are carrying all the remaining gear to move to camp 3. It’s heavy and the first section is busy. Lots of traffic going up. Some people walk over our rope, some skiers making switchbacks cross our rope and get tangled up, we are […]
Weather: overcast and snow We carry the loads in order to cache after windy corner planning for our move to camp 3. The first hill right out of camp, motorcycle hill, goes straight up, no switchbacks. It makes it a bit faster but also more difficult. The final section has a bunch of crevasses and […]
Weather: light snow, overcast with some sun at times Kai, Xavier, Eric and I walk down to the cache site. Marc stays in camp to rest and try to recover. At dinner time, we celebrate Xavier’s birthday, a liquid cheesecake is served – it did not have time to set – but the sugar intake […]
Start sunny and magnificent views on the Kahiltna glacier down valley. Half way through the push Marc is not feeling great. I offer to carry the remaining parts of our tent so that our rope team can push to camp 2 and start setting up camp.
Finally we have a some visibility and a little sun so we get moving and do a cache day with all the gear that we will not need for another 2-3 days. It is a very long day up and down from camp 1 to reach the cache site at 3000m. 7hours of climbing with […]
2400m Oxy 93 HR 78 WH breathing: harder to hold breath but feels really good and energised after a 20’ session sitting in the kitchen tent followed by stretches on the snow. Stuck at Camp 1 we cover all options for moving higher on the mountain. None of them seem to make sense at it […]
It is stormy out and Kai calls it, we are not moving today. It is snowing and cold with no visibility. During our late morning breakfast we hear on the radio that a French climber is injured and needs rescue. Melys, one of the National Park Rangers at camp 1, is skiing from tent to […]
Sunny as we land our 1954 deHavilland Otter plane at base camp. We unload, chat with base camp staff, cache the base camp emergency food rations and we are on our way. Push to camp 1 in 5hours. Snowstorm starts as we arrive to camp 1 A few times during the push my hands get […]
That’s it we are leaving 1 day late. Sunny out, we have a flying window!! Check out the video below:
It has been a good day, lot of preparation work done. Unfortunately we are unable to fly out! It has been raining all day and visibility is not good enough for planes to take us to base camp. Early morning we attend the briefing from Park Rangers at the Ranger station, finish preparing gear and […]
Anchorage to Talkeetna, meet at AMS, run and dinner at the brewery with Xav, Kai and Marc
Arrived in Anchorage, final shopping before driving to the mountain tomorrow.
It’s 330am here, and after a 12hr flight to Seattle, a 2-hr connection and a 3 1/2 hour flights to anchorage I am finally in the hotel. Quick shower, earplugs to cover the noise of all the other rooms that seem to all be partying on the late Saturday night Sunday morning, and off to […]
After 2 days of intense packing the day has come to say goodbye to loved ones and get on the plane for the long journey to Anchorage, Alaska. The result: 2 x 100-liter expedition duffle bags packed with technical mountain gear & all the necessary clothing. I spent most of today with Sarah and Oscar […]
This is it, the week that we have been waiting for almost 2 years has come. The project has grown while our team of climbers has dwindled. We were 9, then 8, then 5, then 4 and now 3 after Josh pulled out last week. A bit of panic at first wondering if AMS (Alaska […]
It has been over a year in the making, hundreds of emails, whatsapps, phone calls between all potential team members, guiding company, family, friends. We used to think of it as a project in the distant future. It is finally here and now, 3 weeks before our meeting with the Denali park rangers in Talkeetna, […]
Climbing Denali, like any high mountain, is a long journey not only a summit climb. It requires preparation, dedication, commitment. Training is at the center of the journey. Training, for me, started officially in January. Before that, I was lightly training while recovering from my trail running race ankle sprain. Mike Tse, who coached me […]
Such a long and difficult expedition can hardly be done alone. It requires a group of people, close & reliable friends, supported by many others, loved ones, friends and family and a support team, the guides. Success resides in the work of a group and the unconditional support of one another. A few people have […]
Attempting Denali is a long, arduous expedition in extreme temperatures that can easily plummet to -40C in May or even later in the season at high altitude. The weather in unpredictable, and therefore, it requires the right gear to face what nature throws at us. The every day life ’luxuries’ or what we are made […]
People often ask: Why do you do this, How about the risks, How about the people you love, For what purpose? For me, it is simple, clear and transparent, but for many people it is not, so let me try a simple reply. In its most basic way, in its essence, mountaineering is like any […]
For our last day, Pat has arranged a rental car so we can travel around Anchorage. We rent the most outrageous pickup truck the 2017 Ford F150, it is simply awesome! Pat has spotted the best hike around Anchorage, flat top mountain a 20. Knitted drive from downtown. We are all getting ready, get out […]
Xav and I get dressed in our running gear and hit the pavement for an 8 km beautiful run & trail in Anchorage. REI has memorial days sale and we simply can’t resist. We also go to AMH and the hoarding marmot, 2 Mountaineering stores in the neighbourhood. In the afternoon I have 3 conf […]
(Featured photo: testing beers before picking one, its a brewery after all, might as well taste the beers!) We drive to Anchorage in the afternoon with Tom who totally messed up our pick up and departure time. He forgot he had to pick us up but in the end it all works out. Anchorage, amazing […]
Visibility has improved and we hear Kai shouting "pack your tent guys focus on your own gear, then on the common gear, we might be flying out soon, they are sending a probe plane to test the visibility and conditions" We are psyched and rush to gather all our stuff. Probe plane lands on the […]
(Click picture below to view Base Camp video blog)