Tuesday, May 18, 2004
I'm not sure what to think of my trip! We met up in Anchorage and arrived in Talkeetna Sunday a.m., ready to fly onto the glacier. Well, the weather wasn't ready for us--there was a slight break on Monday and we loaded up two planes and were heading in when one of the pilots decided he didn't like the look of things and turned us around. One member of the group bailed on Tuesday but I decided to give it one more day. Three days waiting in Talkeetna was depressing, although it is allegedly the town that Northern Exposure was based on (and it definitely has some characters there). Anyway, we flew onto the Ruth Glacier on Wednesday and I immediately found out that I would feel task-loaded most of the time. We got off the plane, put on our packs, put on our skis, put on a sled harness and went off to make camp. The campsites are much closer to the "runway" than i had realized--definitely would have brought more stuff (like a camera tripod and a crazy creek chair). After taking over a previously-used site and setting up tents, the guides were eager to catch up on lost time--we roped up, i put on a coil of rope, my pack and skis and we headed out on the glacier to find a suitable crevasse for practicing rescues. Very hot day with me trying to develop a decent style on the skis resulted in a HUMUNGOUS blister on the bottom of my right foot. The skiing was very frustrating to me--the alpine touring setup allows you to release your heel or lock it in, but wearing mountaineering boots doesn't seem to give you much control.
The Ruth Glacier, where we landed, is truly amazing, with the south face of the Moose's Tooth one of the highlights. To the west of us was Denali, with a view of the Cassin and East Ridges. If I needed any convincing not to try "the big one," watching Denali go from idyllic to horrific conditions in a matter of minutes confirmed my opinion. Most of the time there was evidence of very strong winds (no one had summitted when we started) and you have that coupled with -30 degree temps at the high camp. We had light 24 hours a day and with warmer than "usual" temps, night climbing is certainly the way to go for better snow conditions. Didn't get hardly any climbing in, but I'll probably go back. The American Alpine Institute (the original AAI), seems like a pretty good outfit and has good relations with K2 Aviation. We got to know the folks there pretty well and I can definitely recommend K2--I flew out on Saturday and sat in the front seat of a Dehavilland (sp) Beaver and should have some decent photos from that ride. Most of the team chose to stay an extra day on the glacier and they may still be there! A flexible travel schedule is pretty much essential for this stuff.
Should have some pics posted at my website in a few weeks (I still haven't gone digital), and i'll let y'all know when they're up.
And now let me catch up on the new posts here.
The Ruth Glacier, where we landed, is truly amazing, with the south face of the Moose's Tooth one of the highlights. To the west of us was Denali, with a view of the Cassin and East Ridges. If I needed any convincing not to try "the big one," watching Denali go from idyllic to horrific conditions in a matter of minutes confirmed my opinion. Most of the time there was evidence of very strong winds (no one had summitted when we started) and you have that coupled with -30 degree temps at the high camp. We had light 24 hours a day and with warmer than "usual" temps, night climbing is certainly the way to go for better snow conditions. Didn't get hardly any climbing in, but I'll probably go back. The American Alpine Institute (the original AAI), seems like a pretty good outfit and has good relations with K2 Aviation. We got to know the folks there pretty well and I can definitely recommend K2--I flew out on Saturday and sat in the front seat of a Dehavilland (sp) Beaver and should have some decent photos from that ride. Most of the team chose to stay an extra day on the glacier and they may still be there! A flexible travel schedule is pretty much essential for this stuff.
Should have some pics posted at my website in a few weeks (I still haven't gone digital), and i'll let y'all know when they're up.
And now let me catch up on the new posts here.
