Some photos

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-25 04:17:26

2019 (2 years ago) 14K Camp , Denali Expedition, Day 14/23

We already have been two weeks on the mountain!

The morning was clear. As planned day before, we started packing for moving camp to 17K. But some weak intuition suggested to go to ranger station to check weather forecast for the very last time.

"Snow storm is coming late afternoon" - it insisted. It will last three days. Looking at the calm blue skies it was hard to believe in such synopsis, but we decided to play it safe and stay at 14K. Good decision it was: the storm was for real. Noon time it slowly started cloudy, at 13:00 all white out and then...

I will never forget the sound of wind produced on the ridge - as if it was made by a modern passenger jet landing nearby.

Some people either didn't know about this forecast or just ignored it. One of them was Zhula and her guide. They decided to move to 17K camp, but didn't make it very far - they stopped shortly after top of fixed lines and couldn't move up or down because of the wind. They set up their tent, which was promptly destroyed - the wind blew off one of the snow blocks from snow wall and hit the tent. They descended fixed lines, in storm, and spent the night in ranger's station.She said after to us: "Cold is OK. But fear to die...not so.."

The "Austrian Superman" and his wife also went up, trying to climb to the very top (from 14K!) which he had done once before in only eight hours! This time the mountain gods didn't let him repeat it: on Denali pass he had to accept it and quit. As he said to us later: "We had some navigation problems on return". They were on skis and in such wind they descended Rescue gully. Superman indeed - not sure what it takes to ski down Autobahn in whiteout and wind.

14K camp, "Main Street"

With Foraker at the back

Mt. Hunter where the base camp is situated (we came from there!)

That's how you take the garbage out on Denali - roped up that is.

Reviewing climbing fixed lines skills

Not sunnny anymore.

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-26 04:07:46

2004 (17 years ago) China
Forbidden City

BaDaLing Great Wall

2017 (4 years ago) Mount Hood, WA

2019 (2 years ago) 14K camp. Denali Expedition, day 15/23
First full day of snowstorm at 14K camp. Horrible sound from wind at 16K ridge, much like a passenger jet landing. Nonstop: all night and day. Zero activity outside: nobody moves in, out or around. Inside our tent is dry and comfortable. Sometimes wind gusts hit the tent hard, but it stands firm. Weather forecast for 17K: -30°C, winds up to 60 mph. Staying put.

Checking outside on tent guy lines and snow on roof.

Very comfortable inside. Warm and dry.

Our kitchen. We never cooked outside. That's why tents with side doors are preferred for non-guided expeditions.

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-27 04:30:31

2012 Shanghai

2019 14K camp Denali Expedition, day 16/23
It was our "average" birthday. The average age of two of us was exactly 55 years old on this day.

We are ready to move to the the high camp tomorrow. The stuff on the sled is sealed, will stay here until we come back.

Socialising with American climbers. No summit - severe hands frostbite. Will be evacuated out tomorrow.

The storm is over. Tomorrow is a BIG day: moving to 17K camp at 5,220m.

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-28 04:05:29

2011 (10 years) China

2019 (2 years ago) Denali Expedition, day 17/23

A Big day! Moved camp to 17K camp at 5,200 m. Our 6th camp so far. Spent first (and very thirsty) night without stove, drinking water or food.

At 14K camp. Temperature -19.8° C, wind: 0 km/h

Ready to go

Fixed ropes section

Headwall. A bit icy, no?

Exit at 16K ridge

On the 16K ridge, altitude 5,000m, with 50lb backpack.

That's 17K camp at 5,220m. Here the air has only 50% of oxygen compared to sea level. Cutting platform for our tent.

Tent is ready. It will be a long night: no stove, not much water, or food until tomorrow.

Autobahn is a traverse clearly visible in this photo, going from base at the bottom right to the Denali Pass at 18,200 feet (5,547 m), seen as a V-shape feature at the upper left. Although looking rather friendly, and despite being equipped with fixed protection, this section has been the scene of more fatalities on Denali than any other part of the mountain. The legend goes that the name Autobahn implies that a body can gain any arbitrary speed on the way down would it slip unprotected. One of the most recent accidents happened on May-24 2021 when a member of BCMC expedition was critically injured, falling on descent, unroped.

vera · 发表于 2021-5-29 06:46:02

2011 (10 years ago) Hiking Stawamus Chief

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-29 06:57:57

2019 (2 years ago) 17K camp, Denali Expedition, day 18/23

I was really concerned that our thirsty first night at 5,220 m 17K camp may trigger AMS or even worse (e.g. HAPE or HACE). This is to addition that I lost some water from my system having diarrhea bout on 16K ridge. Vera refused all my offers to share remaining water mixed with snow.

In the morning, after sunrise, we packed our stove and went down. Luckily the weather was good - a bit windy a bit cold, but climbable. We descended 16K ridge to the top of fixed lines in 1.5 hours, got our cache and melted snow. We also cooked Mountain House.

After relaxing, we went back up to camp. Some guided team followed us and then passed ahead. I thought they were a bit too fast after climbing fixed lines. Their plan was to move cache to 17K, but after they reached Washburn thumb, they changed their mind. I feel that the speed burnt them out.

Back at 17K camp, hydrated and rested, at 20:00 p.m. we listened to the weather forecast, which didn't look too good - snow was coming. So we had to choose either to wait it over or else.

Vera of course suggested "or else" - to climb Denali right away (what else can you expect from her?!) and I as always took conservative position. Not to mention that we never start climbing before sunrise, that's our style. I listened to Vera: "if we wait, our food and fuel may run out, and then we need to go down, and then it will be very difficult to get back to 17K, we already know how difficult it is". That made sense!

Our neighbours from next tent, young couple from Anchorage, came back at 21:00 after successfully summiting. Vera went to ask for beta which was: "Put on all your available clothes, it's very cold up there. Take all carabiners - some of the fixed pros on Autobahn are missing them. One stretch is 50 meters." That was a very useful beta indeed!

We packed out climbing gear. Vera would carry only light day backpack with essentials and two 1L thermoses. I would carry expedition pack with essentials, spade shovel and tarp for emergency bivy. We will take 30m 8mm rope and one straight ice axe each. The news that one stretch was 50m made us nervous - our 30m would be not enough to protect it, and we knew that Autobahn had its own history of serious accidents - its name comes form German "highway with no speed limit", meaning that if you slip and fall on the traverse you may gain any arbitrary speed.

We set our alarm to 02:30 a.m. and went to bed. Tomorrow can be THE day! Exciting!

From 16K ridge, 14K camp can be seen below

A bit steeper and exposed here

See someone's tent on the ridge.

Happy at 5,000m. Why not!?

Another set of fixed ropes below Washburn thumb.

17K camp at 5,220 meter elevation. Autobahn in its entirety is seen ending with Denali Pass at the top.

See the climbers descending Autobahn (the section that claims most fatalities on Denali).

Some extra footage

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-30 07:50:15

2019 (2 years ago) Summit Denali, Alaska
I woke up at 02:00 a.m. Vera already eyes wide open, waiting for me. It was quiet outside and the skies were clear. Digital thermometer measured snow temperature -19.7°C.

After melting snow and eating we dressed up and left the 17K camp at 04:45 a.m. Although we trained for the Autobahn traverse on Mt. Hood believing it was twice harder than the Autobahn, reality was precisely opposite: Autobahn turned out to be twice harder than what we expected. Hard snow, no self-belay possible, ice-axe is only good for balance. We didn't have extra ice tool, only one straight axe each. So when that 50m unprotected stretch did come, we both realized that one slip of any of us will end it all. It was only 20 meters of unprotected traverse, but we got enough adrenaline pumping!

Autobahn followed by Denali pass, then Zebra rocks, followed by Football field. Finally, Pig Hill came - real challenge left for the very end, 300m up to the ridge.  This got us a bit slower.

Two guides passed by, each with one client. One pair was very fast - I didn't see ropes, axes or big packs.  The other pair was slower. When we finally got on the summit ridge, the forecasted weather front started moving in - it was now a whiteout. The first pair guide-client was already descending, and the second pair was about to start summit ridge. Then we heard one guide saying to another: "..if you don't see us on the ridge by 6 p.m. then...". What "then" meant he didn't bother to explain, it was obvious. It was also obvious to us that we'd better hurry before the weather gets worse.

Now it was 100% milk. When my ice axe didn't meet the surface, I looked to the right, and realized we were walking on the edge. Fixed pros came handy.  Checking GPS - another 30 meters..10..and.. WE ARE ON THE SUMMIT OF DENALI!! It was exactly 15:00 p.m.

We were the only two people there. Wind was already blowing, so we only took one selfie and a couple of single hero shots with the summit mark. Also sent an InReach "On the summit" message. No time for our trademark - "California Climber's Salute" really. We must go down.

In a whiteout I lost our track on the ridge and dropped down too soon, where I tried to place an ice screw, when I saw a climber walking above me towards the summit. That was the track we just lost, luckily it cost me only a few meters down. So we reached the Pig Hill exit and saw another climber waiting for his partner to come up. We stopped for a drink, and learned that the guy was from BC, and from the BCMC club, which we used to be members of for many years. The world is small. His companion came up, no gloves. Why? "To keep things in balance" - strange answer.

At the foot of Pig Hill yet another team of three. Italians. They just finished climbing the route "Orient Express". "Do you have any water? Our stove is broken" - one of them produced MSR Whisperlite with a broken hose. Vera got our two thermoses and offered them all the remaining water we got - not much, one cup really, they mixed it with snow and shared. Three big guys, one shared cup of melted snow - I knew how terribly dry and thirsty it would feel, being that thirsty myself just one day ago.

The wind was blowing hard. When we passed Zebra rocks, a large commercial team was on the way up. I knew that the guides just took them for a walk - a storm was building up and the day was winding down. No way to reach the summit. Still, better than nothing. At least they made it through Autobahn.

On Denali pass the wind was pretty strong, and Vera later said to me that she was sure we were going to spend the night just there in an emergency snow pit.

However, descending the Autobahn was still doable, we saw all the markers and pros and even passed the 50m section without too much worry, protecting it with an ice axe.

The lower part of the Autobahn was not protected, but still steep enough to get hurt. I already saw the end of it, and the tents of the 17K camp when I heard a sound like seagulls make when flying around. "Scree-e-e-e". I thought it was rather strange and even looked up in the sky trying to see those strange birds - found no birds up there of course, and then looked back. It was Vera! She slipped and fell, now stopped in perfect self-arrest on her stomach, not moving. Wow! Would it be a bit more slippery, like in the Shasta accident, we would fall both. Just at the end of the climb, just as what the book said - many accidents happen on Autobahn on the way down and we could have added yet one of those.

Arrived at the tent, took off crampons. It was 21:00 p.m. We did Denali! - the thought made our blood boil. Nothing, absolutely nothing else mattered. We had our tent, enough fuel to melt snow, a lot of food and warm sleeping bags. And no more up, tomorrow we go home!

Ready!

Approaching Denali Pass

With Foraker at the back.

Approaching Zebra rocks

On Denali Pass

Zebra Rocks

Final steps

Official marker - Denali summit!!!

Summit photos

Back to Denali Pass

Autobahn

We are back!

Some footage

vera · 发表于 2021-5-30 09:30:20

谢谢博士令人身临其境的精彩回放！多想再去最美的营地14K露营！

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-31 04:49:15

2014 (7 years ago) Alpine 101 Training

2017 (4 years ago) BCMC Trail

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-5-31 04:59:56

2019 (2 years ago) Emergency bivy at 16K ridge. Denali Expedition, day 20/23.

It was snowing and whiteout. No wind, so we packed and left 17K camp. We are going home! The packs, as always, felt the heaviest. The footpath was partially gone, so by the time with reached the top of fixed lines on headwall, I was concerned that approach will be covered by snow and without it we may wander into a crevasse. So we decided to bivy, just exactly where Mongolians had their tent ruined a few days ago. The platform was already there, so setting tent was not a problem. That's what we thought. Only to discover that tent pole broke. Luckily, it was calm on the ridge, so after few tries, we splintered it with one section of ski pole.

At 17K camp

Packing. No rush.

Ready

Bye-bye 17K camp!

16K ridge

Fixed ropes at Washburn's Thumb

Tent broken?

Temporary fix

Some footage

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-1 04:48:06

2014 (7 years ago) Alpine 101 at Cerise Creek

2018 (3 years ago) Mt. Shasta - Day 1 (from Vera's archives)

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-1 05:19:49

2019 (2 years ago) Denali Expedition, day 21/23

Descending from 16K to 14K camp
In the morning we had breakfast and packed. The packs got even heavier, as always. On descending fixed ropes, despite I've already done it before, my crampons got loose and came off. So I had to stop on the rope and adjust them. 14K camp welcomed us by having free food that commercial team was giving away - they were leaving without summit (gave up on Zebra rocks).

One of the three concerns (descending fixed rope with heavy packs) now was off the list! Tomorrow Windy Corner and Squirrel Hill. Picking up 2nd cached sled at 11K camp and then it will be worry-free walk to the Base.

Ready

Commercial team ascending fixed rope

Sharing beta with Russians. Second attempt - last year they gave up just 50m below the summit.

Good news - after this, no more heavy backpack - will use our expedition sled

Back at 14K - our last camp on Denali.

Gifts for friends from Zebra rocks (all from 5,100m elevation)

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-2 05:51:09

2018 (3 years ago) At the summit of Mount Shasta (from Vera's archive)

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-2 06:11:08

2019 (2 years ago) Leaving our last camp on Denali at 14K. Denali Expedition, day 22/23
Our last full day on Denali.

Left 14K camp at 14:00 p.m. Walked through the Denali "night" straight to the Base Camp, arriving at 05:00 a.m. Hard good snow, used crampons all the way (16km, 2,200m down). Good calm weather. Relatively easy and enjoyable walk, except Heartbreak Hill, where it was a bit slow. We liked travel at "night" - no brutal sun on lower glacier. Vera had only one pole, as her another one was in use to fix the tent - a bit uncomfortable to walk, especially with crampons - and it was a 16km walk!

Making our last breakfast on Denali

Our home for 22 days

California Climbers' Salute at 14K camp

Ready to go

First creavasse punch

A bit deeper crevasse sink at Squirrel Hill

11K camp which we left 15 days ago looked different

We spent some time to locate our cache

Now all good to go, we finally can relax: we are done with nervous stuff like Windy Corner and Squarrell Hill

Pulling two loaded expedition sleds was not a big deal - it is all downhill, besides it is a lot easier to control.

Another cache

Once I got it into the rhythm of things, I was able to just walk and take in the view. The slack in my rope was okay, I was moving, I was breathing, my hands were warm, and I was walking the goddamn Kahiltna Glacier. I teared up more than once at the immensity of it, or the relief of being there; you can’t earn the right to such beauty. It is beyond any of us, a gift we can never repay. It’s humbling, awe inspiring and, yep, I was totally crying. Don’t tell anyone. I was just grateful to be there.

- from blog Nowhere Near Denali – June 2018

Approaching Ski Hill - the last one down

This shot was made at midnight - it is never dark on Denali this time of year

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-3 06:56:15

After-work trip to Stawamus Chief 2nd Peak

Canadian Flag is seen on the Upper Black Dyke

Safety orientation

A good day!

At the summit

Garibaldi

1st peak

Sky Pilot (L) + Copilot (R)

Goat Ridge

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-3 11:05:25

2019 (2 years ago) Denali Expedition, day 23/23
Arrived at the Base Camp at 5:00 a.m. Vera digged out our cache with jerky and other snacks, which tasted fantastic. Then set up tent and I dropped to sleep a bit. Vera started melting snow and packing our stuff for air. At 09:30 a.m. we left Base Camp in Talkeetna Air Taxi.

After 22 days of only snow, ice and rock, the green foliage was producing previously unknown very deep sharp and distinct impression, not sure how to call it. We both entered mental state of absolute inner peace and harmony, and remained in it for the next few days. Nirvana. Unreal pleasure from food, sleep and shower, which we took each in generous amounts.

Midnight on Denali

Heartbreak Hill

Arriving at the Base Camp

Base Camp "office"

Airstrip with Mt. Hunter at the back

Our stuff

Happy climber

Loading in the bush plane

In the air

In Talkeetna

In ranger's office

All our fuel empties brought back from the mountain

Drying and sorting out stuff for the drive back home

Back to ranger's office to check out

The end

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-4 04:55:22

2011 (10 years ago) Stawamus Chief Peaks 2 and 3 (from Vera's archive)

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2014 (7 years ago) Alpine Practice in Murrin

2017 (4 years ago) Alpine Practice at Smoke Bluffs

PanShiBo · 发表于 2021-6-5 05:06:07

2019 (2 years ago) Alaska Highway Yukon

After climbing Denali, we had no rush to get back to BC - during all twenty two days on the mountain we had never been homesick or missed city life. Is it not what they call "a state of harmony" - when only what's needed is present? Remove one necessary piece - you will break the harmony, or add one unnecessary piece you will break the harmony too.

Day 2/6 - Car camp at Donjek River, Yukon