To the Summit of Denali

Over the past 19 days I had the pleasure of guiding a group of climbers to the summit of the highest mountain in North America, Denali (aka McKinley). The climbers braved the extreme cold of a high peak so close to the arctic circle as well as the extreme heat from the sun's reflection off the snow.

The team hauled sleds up the glacier to 14,200' and then clipped into the fixed lines to ascend to high camp at 17,200', the staging area for the summit bid. We enjoyed relatively good weather through our carrying and caching supplies up the mountain and moving our camp.

By the time we were in position to summit the good weather had lasted an eerily long time. We knew it could not hold forever. Weather reports predicted a prolonged storm on its way. Fearing the closing of our weather window we made our summit bid the day after arriving at high camp. The weather was terrific and we enjoyed pleasant temps with little wind on the summit.

The drama was not over. We made our descent to 14,200' and rested for a day before hiking to base camp through the night. We were running ahead of a ghost storm that could materialize any moment and pin us down. we spent one night at base camp before the incredible pilots at Talkeetna Air Taxi snuck us out of the mountains through a tiny gap in the weather and landed us to steaks and beer in Talkeetna.

Congratulations Alp 4: Team Blueberry on our summit of Denali!

8 days of Denali Prep

Denali is the tallest mountaineering undertaking in North America. It is cold, the are is rarefied, the crevasses are wide and the summit is the goal of the six participants on this trip. They are aware that Denali is an ambitious undertaking. The first step of setting themselves up for success is training. These Denali hopefuls added an 8 day mountaineering course on Mount Rainier to their training regimens.

Through out the 8 days we covered a ton of material on all aspects of climbing Denali from climbing steep snow to high-altitude physiology to crevasse rescue. Every one of the participants lead, aided, and played the victim in a crevasse rescue scenario over a cornice. Not only did they do a great job of setting up pulley systems to increase their mechanical advantage, they showed great bravery roping up and jumping off a cornice over deep snow below trusting their peers to arrest their fall.

The stormy weather provided excellent training for the group but when the sky did clear it was time for some cardio training. The team hiked southeast from their camp and up to the paradise glacier. We traversed above the lower paradise glacier and finally roped up and made an ascent of the Paradise and Cowlitz glaciers to camp Muir. Views of Mounts Hood and Adams in addition to a moon-esque glacial landscape made for breath taking views.

It was a joy instructing you all and best of luck on your expeditions. See you next year on the Kahiltna Glacier!

AMGA Rock Guide Course

Climbing in general and guiding in particular are evolving at a rapid pace. New equipment and techniques to increase safety are constantly developing. Like any profession it is essential to seek out professional development so that I can deliver the highest possible quality and best possible experience to my clients.

I recently completed the Rock Guide Course with the American Mountain Guide Association, the organization charged with training and certifying guides to an international standard of safety and competence. The course was the most advanced rock guiding course offered by the AMGA and is designed to ready participants for a 6 day certification exam in the future. It was an unforgettable and extremely educational endeavor.

The other five participants, two instructors and I climbed thousands of feet and learned and practiced new techniques as we guided each other around Red Rocks, NV. The instructors, Angela Hawse and Art Mooney, are world class guides and always had novel suggestions of how to move more efficiently and safely in big rock climbing terrain.

Working with these instructors was as inspiring as it was educational. The group bonded through out the course as we supported each other through many 430am wake-ups followed by long days of climbing and night time preparations to do it again. We were all as exhausted as we were enriched by the end of the course. Now time for a couple days of rest before the seasonal migration to Washington.

Red Rocks: Rock Climbing Las Vegas, NV

Y2K, Hot Fudge Thursday, Epinephrine, Frogland, these are a few of the classic routes I’ve had the chance to get on in only a few days in one of the world's premier rock climbing venues.

What makes Red Rocks so good? It is hard to decide fromthe quality rock, to the interesting movement or the proximity to exciting Las Vegas. For me I suppose it is the accessibility of routes from under 50’ to over 2000’ long. The bottom line is that this place is incredible!

20 mins from the famous Las Vegas strip dramatic canyons cut through the huge sandstone peaks. Unlike many other areas, the huge routes of Red Rocks are host to rock climbs great for everyone from beginner to expert. Looking to rock climb? Cheap flights to Vegas, convenient climbing, and terrific weather make Red Rocks a dream location. What happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily have to stay in Vegas.

Steep Thrills in the Ouray Ice Park

While many are turning their attention to the coming spring time, a few hardy souls know that the ice climbing is not only still good, the crowds are gone. Scott and I enjoyed two quiet days in the ice park. The second day we were joined by Dave and had the whole scottish gullies area to ourselves.

Scott and Dave both had ice climbed before but were looking for a refresher on the foundations of their ice climbing skills. We worked our way through San Juan Mountain Guides uniquely effective ice climbing curriculum. From triangles to monkey hangs to flagging and using your hips, Scott and Dave quickly moved from low angle ice to vertical ice to

over hung chandeliered ice. Exercises like climbing with no tools then with one tool and climbing without kicking or swinging taught the duo how to stay stable on their feet and how to move creatively on the deceptively varied medium of ice.

Great job gentlemen we look forward to going even bigger next year!

Build it and They Will Climb!

To some climbers the Midwest from KY's Red River Gorge to SD's Needles is a flat barren wasteland devoid of climbing. These poor climbers are gravely mistaken and overlook their brethren who are some of the most committed climbers out there. Not only do these climbers put in the effort to get out climbing the build their own climbing areas!

Matt of Michigan (see the last post) recently came out to Ouray, Colorado to dial his ice skills for a big trip on Liberty Ridge. Matt learned to ice climb with Michigan's Peabody Ice Climbing Club and he came to Ouray well prepared to take on some of Colorado's biggest ice routes.

All over the country people pour water down all manner of structures to manufacture ice climbing and build rock walls and bouldering walls. Despite a dearth of topography climbers in the flatlands of the US prove they are committed to the core.

Thanks to the Peabody Ice Climbing Club facebook page for the photos of the tower!

Train to Go Big

Matt has big plans. This spring he is headed to Mount Rainier's Liberty Ridge, a spectacular objective in and of itself. The ice tower some climbers in Michigan constructed near Matt's home was not quite enough training. So Matt decided to come out to Ouray, Colorado for four jam packed days of steep snow and lots and lots of ice.

Matt and I hit the must see venues of Ouray ice climbing. We spent the obligatory day in the ice park honing Matt's technique over the course of around a thousand feet of climbing. The next day we figured, why not a thousand more? So we headed over for a sunny day on Eureka's Stairway to Heaven. Though the good weather did not hold Matt and I were able to get plenty of climbing in over the next two days on Horsetail Falls, several routes at the Skylight area, and a few long laps in the Pic o' the Vic area in the ice park to wind down the day.

Matt is climbing strong and certainly ready to take on Liberty Ridge. Good luck Matt!