2010, by BrennanLagasse

This article is the 4th in a series of trip reports from ski mountaineering on Denali in May of 2010 . Click to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the adventure.

Our first day at 14 camp was nice because the sun was out, and it was the first real down day for all of us where the only trip out of our snow walls was to use the pit toilets that are heli’d up in the early season to deal with absurd amounts of human waste that literally get dumped at 14 camp. But after our nice day of in the sun, we wouldn’t get another good day for more than a week. Every day we woke, and every day the weather was 50/50 or storming outright. Some turned out better than others, but lenticular clouds formed around Denali’s summit just about every afternoon we could see it, and it snowed a few feet on us sporadically over the course of the week. We already knew that two of our primary objectives for the trip, the Messner Couloir and Orient Express, were not getting skied on this mission, but not getting any higher on the mountain weaned on our collective psyche.

We did get one day where we were able to acclimate climbing the fixed lines to 16,200 feet, and skiing back to 14 camp from 15,400 feet, but that was about it (May 10th Powder Journal Entry). The only other day we tried to head up was a day I wish I had back because we forced ourselves to the fixed lines on a bitterly cold morning where everyone came back bummed and worried about potential frostbite or nip (May 13th Powder Journal Entry). Just when spirits were really dipping and we were all trying to remember how amazing it was just to be on the mountain, and that we were all feeling pretty good, the storm cleared.

Early the following day we loaded up to make the slow climb up the fixed lines, and on to the 1,000 foot ridge that connects to high camp at elevation 17,200 feet. I have to say that I am skier first and foremost, but I do enjoy a good climb and while this is not a very technical section (although it is protectable via several snow pickets set in strategic spots with one small section of fixed line by Washburn’s Thumb) walking on this ridge is simply stunning. The views are vast and the feeling is otherworldly. By the time we got to 17 camp we were all jazzed that we were but one more climb, a few thousand vertical feet away from the top. We had our skis and hoped the new snow from the week before would make skiing off the top doable, and we were all here together with a view so grand it almost felt fake.

Sleeping that night was no fun as we had decided to cram all five of us into a four man tent to save weight. That coupled with the high altitude made it really hard to get some rest, especially in that our team along with a scattered crew of 10-13 additional climbers would all be trying for the summit the next day. The weather was 50/50, we had to overcome crux number two of the West Buttress in the autobahn, and we knew we were not going be firing on all cylinders.

Unfortunately the dream died, at least for me, that next day. We climbed the autobahn which really isn’t too bad if you’re careful and make calculated steps, but at Denali pass elevation 18,200 feet we got slammed by a whiteout. In the matter of a few hours we got back to 17 camp, packed up, walked down the ridge as skiing the rescue gulley was blue ice at that point, filed down the fixed lines and were back at 14 camp after some really ugly turns (May 17th Powder Journal Entry). We tried to stay high that night as it would have been easy to get real low, and we did our best to share some smiles and whiskey with our neighbors and contemplate the next move.

We were all scheduled to get off the mountain in the next few days, and part of the reason we didn’t stay at 17 camp was because the weather was supposed to sock back in. We all had obligations to get back to, but of course people started dreaming up plans to stay. If there’s anything more I can share about this experience it’s come with as open a schedule as you possibly can. You just never know how the weather and conditions will change, and if you work that hard to get that high it’s worth staying. Jeff and I ended up bailing believing we had done what we could to summit, the skiing was ice, and we had but one day to get to base camp and hopefully fly out. The rest of our crew decided to bag anything they were supposed to do and stay. Thus my first trip to Denali was done (May 18th Powder Journal Entry).

It all felt fine until Jeff and I got our ride back to the real world and it settled in that we didn’t make it. I kept telling myself I was safe and we tried as best we could. We made sound decisions, which we did, so it was okay. But it still stung to have given up. It’s funny because when you’re up there for a few weeks you think about the comforts of what you’ve left behind: soft beds, warmth, hot food, BEER! But as soon as you eat that first meal and have your share of drink its right back to normal. So my thought here is you better be strong in your convictions whether you stay or go, because your decisions will stay with you long after you leave the mountain.

The other interesting thing for me is except for not skiing off the top it turned out to be one of the radest experiences I’ve ever had on a mountain. It was such an amazing learning experience and I feel like I came away with such a new knowledge base from which to operate from-I couldn’t call the trip a failure, even though I’ve thought that at times during reflection. Well, I actually didn’t have that much time to reflect. Just as soon as I had settled back in at home, finally unpacked, and I started getting into life again with work and the change of the season I got a call to head back up and help guide a group on the West Buttress. In Tahoe it was still snowing in early June, and I probably had gotten 5 days of rock climbing in if I was lucky. Then, just like that, I was back in Talkeetna gearing up for another month on Denali.

I’ll spare the major details of the trip, but at least mention we didn’t summit, we got snowed in at 17 camp for 7 days, and it was really different to be on the mountain as a guide as opposed to a private party. But again, I feel like I learned so much, the other guides and Mountain Trip as an organization was amazing to work with, and it was a cool experience to be on the mountain really early and really late in the same season. In fact, when we got off the mountain there was only one team left and the Park Service had even flown the toilets away from 14 camp. The blue ice had largely disappeared (not completely) high on the mountain, and the lower glacier was literally swiss cheese. What was an area Jeff and I felt safe to ski through on our way down the mountain unroped became the hairiest crevasse territory I had ever negotiated. Of course that was accented by the fact I was leading clients on a stretch of ice that if I was with my friends, I know we would all have been just as puckered.

All in all, I’ve really never had such an amazing mountain experience without achieving my primary objective. Powder skiing in May and July on Denali is sublime, and really, with the will to make it happen it’s a much more accessible goal for a ski mountaineer if you’re willing to put in the time and effort that’s needed to go up there. It was and still is slightly bitter to have had two trips up there without standing on the top, but I guess that just means when I finally make it it’ll be that much sweeter.