I spent a lot of time dialing in my boot fit in preparation for three straight weeks in them on the mountain. Knowing where things will be accessible in your pack/sled/pockets/harness ahead of time was a big comfort for me as well. 

You are responsible for carrying your personal stuff, so shaving weight down in advance was also something I spent some time on. I had about 90lbs of personal gear (all listed here on my lighter pack list) in addition to about 25/30lbs of group gear that was distributed once we reached Talkeetna. (Alpine Ascents has a great gear list I constantly referenced) Embrace that expedition lifestyle, get comfortable being uncomfortable, mentally prep for the rapidly fluctuating weather, and remember you’re on ice from the moment you step off the plane until you leave… all solid advice from friends prior to the trip! 

I ended up with about 18lbs of personal snacks. I made sure nothing was new to me on the mountain so I wouldn't upset my stomach, especially with the altitude consideration. I packed a lot of chips, chex mix, cookies, jerky, cheese, bagels, and protein bars for the lower mountain. For higher elevations and while on the move I had a lot of chocolate bars, energy gus and gummies, jolly ranchers (loved these on summit day), and tailwind electrolyte mix for my water. The electrolyte mix was essential for the constant intake of easy calories and sodium. Honestly it’s a bunch of high calorie junk food that you crave. 

We also carried 310lbs of group food. Adam, Bobby, and Stephen made fantastic food and we ate super well. We had burgers, pancakes, mac n’ cheese, bacon, rice bowls, ramen, and burritos. Lots of salty, high fat stuff. 

After a super thorough gear check in Talkeetna we grabbed some pizzas and waited for the go/no-go call. The weather looked good for a flight onto the mountain but you never know, weather changes pretty quickly. 

We loaded the truck with group gear (tents, cooking, food, probes, shovels, sleds, CMCs, ropes etc.) and made our way to the Talkeetna airport. We were cleared to fly. You are required to carry CMCs (clean mountain cans) by the park service to pack out human waste. Sure it adds to the weight but it keeps the mountain clean and the Alaskan water supply safe.

Our group of twelve took two DHC-6 Twin Otter planes (built in Canada in the 60’s I believe) operated by Talkeetna Air Taxi and set off. The landscape below gradually turned from green to brown to white and we got some epic views of Mount Foraker and Hunter. We had an aerial view of the massive crevasses and seracs and could truly appreciate how remote and vast this wilderness is. 

After a thirty minute flight Clay (our pilot) landed us on the Kahiltna Glacier and we quickly unloaded the ~1,500lbs of gear (125lbs x 12 people). The plane flew off and we had 13,000 feet of mountain to go. 

We spent that first night at basecamp (7,300ft) right next to the airstrip. We got ourselves situated and prepped for the following days of sled hauling up the mountain. While the distance is only 18 miles from base to summit it would be quite the journey with the heavy loads, weather, and obstacles.

Our first move was from base camp down Heartbreak Hill (this would be a real treat on the way out) and across several miles of the Kahiltna Glacier to Camp One (7,500ft). As promised it was a slog and there was pretty low cloud cover so we didn’t see a whole lot. 

We would spend two nights at Camp One. The first day we cached food, fuel, and CMCs at 10,500ft and the second day we proceeded back up Ski Hill and moved to Eleven Camp. This would be a pattern on the mountain, moving a cache of group gear and supplies uphill to help acclimate and split the loads, and then moving camp and retrieving the cache the following days. 

On the lower glacier (and the mountain generally) managing temperature was tricky while stationary or moving and with the rapidly changing weather. I found Denali to be a lot of setting yourself up to be as comfortable/successful as possible. Are my heavier gloves easily accessible? Is the snack I will want at the next break on the top of my pack? How can I conserve energy? Self care was imperative and little missteps early on could easily snowball into bigger issues in the weeks to come.

Eleven Camp (aka sad camp) gets a lot of poor weather and is the last place we settled before getting into some of the more challenging terrain. We spent one day retrieving our cache from 10,500ft in a horrendous, cold, white out with high winds. The next day we proceeded up Motorcycle Hill on our way to cache at 13,500ft. This was probably the hardest part of the day for me with the heavy pack and sled. We took a rest at the top and for the first time on the trip I felt like we were off of the big, flat glacier and into some more interesting terrain. 

We moved up Squirrel Hill (which required more attention to the footwork), past the flat Polo Fields, and up Son of a Bitch Hill before reaching Windy Corner. Windy Corner wasn’t too iced over but was definitely the most high consequence terrain yet as we looked into some monster crevasses below us. The next day we did it all again but proceeded past our cache site at 13,500ft and up to Fourteen Camp. The last hill into camp seemed to go on forever.

Getting to Fourteen Camp is a milestone. The sleds are stashed here and the lower mountain is behind you. One camp sits between you and the summit. 

We reached Fourteen Camp on the seventh day of the trip and would spend six nights here. Camp is a little mini town with groups constantly coming and going. The Park Rangers are situated here as well. Snow walls are built and teams get comfortable in camp. The first day at camp we had an easy day retrieving our cache from 13,500ft and the second day we would ascend the fixed lines to cache up above the ridgeline. 

Just outside of camp you can see a wall of snow and ice ascending up to the ridgeline that brings you to Seventeen Camp. We proceeded up the steep hill until we reached the bergschrund, a crevasse where the moving glacier meets the stagnant ice below. This is the point where the fixed lines begin. 

We clipped in with our ascenders and began the ascent. There were solid footsteps chopped into the ice and while it was pretty steep, I felt plenty secure. We reached the top, cached our supplies and made our way back down. Jumping over the bergschrund, Brian accidentally clipped his leg with his crampon and put a gnarly hole in his calf. It was a stressful hour that followed but thankfully it was only a flesh wound and he could continue up the mountain as long as it was kept clean and didn’t get infected. 

During one of our rest days we visited Edge of the World, a six thousand foot drop off just outside of camp with fantastic views of Mount Foraker (17,402ft) and Mount Hunter (14,573ft). 

While the weather was nice at fourteen, towards the summit ambient temperatures were reaching -30F with winds up to 45mph. We were sad to hear that an independent Malaysian team of three that we had seen earlier on the mountain were hypothermic and stuck just below the summit. We would find out later that only two would make it down from the severe weather up there. We also heard reports that nearly half of independent climbers were coming back down with frostbite. It was an alarming reminder of what the mountain is capable of and the seriousness of the upcoming climb. I was grateful to still be at fourteen and wondered if we would even make it back up to the ridge again. 

As you might imagine Seventeen Camp is much rougher than Fourteen and the weather was all over the place. I tried to time my bathroom usage while it was sunny out so I wouldn’t go hypothermic sitting on the CMC (or get frostbite on my junk) in the middle of the night.  

The team built plenty of ice walls around our tents and walked around the camp to help with the acclimatization process. I slept a ton, tried to ration my remaining snacks as best I could, and we would pile into a single tent for dice games and group dinner.

Every morning was a bit of an emotional roller coaster if we would go or not. The chances were looking worse and worse by the day and I came to terms with that. I was completely at peace with heading down safely with my fingers and toes intact. The group we had made all the difference in the world and morale and vibes were great the whole time we were up there. Everyone was down to hang and stick it out to see if we would get a shot at the top. A big shout out to Adam, our guide, for sticking it out with us for a week to see if the weather would grant us the opportunity to summit.

On the sixth day at Seventeen Camp we went for it. It wasn’t clear how far we’d make it but we left camp at noon and proceeded up the hill towards the Autobahn. The Autobahn is statistically the most dangerous portion of the mountain as you traverse across the side of a steep dropoff. There is little chance to arrest your fall if you’re not clipped into the protection. 

The footing wasn’t fantastic as no one had crossed it in the past few days. Adam crushed it, chopping out the fixed protection from the ice as we slowly crossed the steep traverse. There was one particularly icy, sketchy section that required front toeing and leaning into the ice ax. This was definitely the biggest “pucker” moment of the trip. We made it to Denali Pass and the wind was whipping freezing cold air at us. We made the choice to turn back and preserve our energy for the following if the weather cooperated. 

I made a point to not expose my fingers while eating or taking photos and always at minimum have my liner gloves on. I got away with the Black Diamond Guide Gloves all day (and hand warmers) and wouldn’t need the expedition mitts. I only used my heavy parka while we were resting and was surprisingly warm (core temp and extremities) while we were on the move.

We proceeded up the steepest section of the day to Zebra Rocks. There is clipped protection here and it was super windy. We guessed roughly -40/45ish with wind chill. We were crowded by some independent groups that were a bit all over the place and we moved pretty quick to get in front of them. A piece of ice cracked below my feet (in low consequence terrain) and as I got back up I had a tough time catching my breath and settling my heart rate. The hill just beyond Zebra Rocks nearly broke me. I thought I may have reached my limit. 

The rope team was crushing it and kept the pace. We reached our break at the base of the Football Fields and this completely saved me. I caught my breath, had some sugary snacks, drank some water, and looked up at the summit ridge. I suddenly felt fantastic and found my second wind. We cruised across the Football Fields (very flat) and then up Pig Hill to the summit ridge. After three weeks on the mountain we were only 35 minutes away from the top and I felt fantastic.

We took one last break when we reached the summit ridge. The weather was closing in and we needed to be quick. I switched to my glacier glasses from my fogged and frozen goggles. There is clipped protection on the ridgeline and we could barely make out where the snow ended and the clouds began. Adam led us to the top and when I saw him stop to hammer in an ice picket I knew we were there. 

We lucked out and the clouds parted for an epic view and we spent about 20 minutes taking it all in from the top of North America. You could see just how far the summit ridge drops off and the largest cornices I’ve ever seen. 

The descent was uneventful and I was still riding the high of the summit. We were treated to another gorgeous, sunny view as we crossed the Autobahn back to camp. We returned to Seventeen camp around 11pm after a 12.5 hour day. 

While it’s referred to as a “death march” I didn’t think it was too bad, perhaps because we were still riding the rush from summiting or because I was so deliriously exhausted I no longer felt anything. But after our last night at Seventeen Camp we broke down everything (in the freezing cold), roped up, and were moving by 12:40pm on June 7. When you’re moving in below zero temperatures it really isn’t too bad, but standing around breaking down tents with your heavy gloves on and off so you can actually use your hands, it can be pretty brutal trying to stay warm.

We proceeded down the ridge from 17,000ft to 16,000ft with some pretty heavy packs (~65 lbs) as we had to pack out a couple tents, group gear, and several filled CMCs. It was pretty slow going as there is only one way down and we were stuck behind a couple other groups. Descending the fixed lines was even slower going but we eventually reached Fourteen Camp and had some lunch. We roped the sleds up and proceeded back down around Windy Corner, Squirrel Hill, and Motorcycle Hill. We were each pulling quite a bit of weight with the group gear split amongst a smaller number of climbers, and Windy Corner was particularly tough fighting the sled as it rolled to your side and tried to pull you downhill. 

After clearing these obstacles it was fairly flat and smooth sailing from Eleven Camp back to the airfield, just a long walk. We skipped our night at Eleven Camp and kept pushing through the night. We walked across the Kahiltna Glacier under a wildly colorful midnight sunset and 4am sunrise. The temperature dramatically dropped but we never needed a headlamp for visibility. At 3am we felt a 1.8 magnitude earthquake and witnessed the resulting avalanches (from a safe distance) fall from the surrounding mountains. Pure magic.

Heartbreak Hill is well named and a definite grind after so much time on your feet. We reached the airfield at 7am the following day after an 18.5 hour push from Seventeen Camp. It was a beautiful hike followed by some fantastic 8am beers and Doritos at base camp. We waited in queue for our plane and were flying out a couple hours later. I fell asleep immediately on the flight back to Talkeetna. Later that night after a nap and a shower, the gang kept the celebration going in epic fashion at the Fairview Inn.