Denali Summit - West Buttress - May 2021
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- May 17 - Flew from Talkeetna to Kahiltna International Airport (glacial airstrip), single carry to 7800’ camp on rope team with W,S&G.
May 18 - Single carry from 7800’ camp to 11000’ camp on rope team with W,S&G
May 19 - Rest day at 11000’ camp and short acclimatization hike to the top of Motorcycle Hill on rope team with S&G. Met M&T.
May 20 - Rest day at 11000’ camp
May 21 - Single carry from 11000’ camp to 14200’ camp solo. Broke trail until 13500’. Low visibility, high winds especially at Squirrel Hill.
May 22 - Moved tent to share campsite with M&T. Started constructing wind walls.
May 23 - Kitchen tent flattened by wind. Expanded wind walls, and repaired tent pole.
May 24 - Acclimatization hike to 15,300’
May 25 - Acclimatization hike to 15,500’ (should have gone higher but neglected to bring up gear to ascend fixed lines)
May 26 - Prepped for bad weather. Rebuilt all old wind walls (sublimation damage), greatly expanded height and thickness. Added wind wall around kitchen tent. Dug underground bathroom.
May 27 - High winds and 2 feet of snow in 8 hours. Camp maintenance all day.
May 28 - Rest day. No one attempted fixed lines due to avalanche risk. Walked to ‘Edge of the World’ in afternoon.
May 29 - Extreme winds. 60-70mph? Stout wind walls did their job. Played cards in kitchen tent.
May 30 - Most of 14200’ camp mobilized and moved up fixed lines (85+ people?). Not me. Prepped for summit push that would begin early next day.
May 31 - Summit Day. Departed 14200’ camp solo at 4:30AM. Moved up fixed lines and West Buttress. Saw some familiar faces at 17k camp but kept moving. Rested at Denali pass and from here to the summit progress was very slow. Felt the effects of altitude more than ever. Changed into down suit at 19300’. Struggled up Pig Hill and summited by 6:22PM. Descended without issue. White out at fixed lines and below with gentle snow. Back in tent by 1:30AM.
June 1 - Broke camp. On trail by 4:30PM. Descended solo to 11000’ camp. Retrieved snowshoes from cache. Roped up with M&T and descended to 7800’ camp where whiteout conditions stopped us around 11:00PM. Made a hasty camp.
June 2 - Broke camp early and made it back to Kahiltna International Airport roped up with M&T by 10:00AM. Flight took off at 2:49PM.
Notes:
Starting gear weight 125lbs. Decided to rope up for the lower glacier due to the size and depth of unseen crevasses, although never had any close calls while roped up. While solo, I punched into about 6 crevasses but was able to pull myself out and find ways around all of them. Lost 15 lbs while on the mountain due to activity and lack of appetite on high exertion days. Drank 3-5L water per day. 14200’ camp is beautiful. Had an amazing time there despite the low temps due to the camp we built, the generally favorable weather, the amazing views, and the friends that I spent my time with. For anyone that wants their summit push to begin from 14200’, make sure you have acclimatization hikes to at least 17000’ first. I regret not going higher as my breathing on summit day was extremely painful and I definitely did some short term lung damage (the following week sucked) pushing myself as hard as I did.
Luke, you are one hell of a badass climber to do that. Congratulations.
Soloing Denali puts you in a very small group.
Summitting solo from 14 camp puts you in a miniscule group.
Doing it without ever going above 15k before Denali and not going to 17k on an acclimatization hike makes you borderline certifiable, but you made it and got down safe💪
Great video too - was totally unsurprised that there was no video from the descent. That must have been mentally and physically brutal.
Anyone watching this should file it in the 'don't try this at home' folder😅
Hi from Tucson , you were so blessed with good weather. So appreciate your beautiful photography as you were expending so much energy just doing the climb. Thanks for taking us along on your adventure,
Excellent video and congratulations!! I summitted on May 18 1996. 18 days in the mountain.
some very high quality video capture of the surrounding beauty.....one of the better videos i've seen
Luke, greetings from Colombia. Good video and good journey. Glad to know that it is possible to attempt the summit from camp 14000. It took 14 hours to the summit. And half going down. Brilliant. What did the rangers tell you for going alone? Did they annoy you or try to persuade you? Why so many days at Camp 14000? I plan to do the same next year. Your camera...? Just the cell ...? Thanks for sharing. A mountain hug.
Possible to summit from 14k, but not advised if you have the time (weather permitting) spend 2 nights at 17k, then summit. That was why I waited at 14k camp for so long - waiting for weather. Mostly worried about high wind and visibility. Worst case summit weather day would be -25C and 25 km/h wind and clear. Any worse than that and I’d say don’t go. Just used an I-phone 11 for the pics and videos. Definitely want a case for insulation and be careful about it getting too cold during use. Be sure to acclimatize to at least 3000m before you head to Alaska. Good luck!
@@lukefusco4384 HELLO LUKE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER. INCREDIBLE THE CELLULAR WORK. VERY GOOD SHOTS AND VIDEO IMAGES. I LIVE AT 2600 MSNM AND I TRAIN REGULARLY AT 3200 MSNM. I AM AFRAID OF THE COLD, THE STORMS AND THE WIND. AND WHAT ABOUT THE RANGERS: DID YOU ANNOY FOR GOING ALONE ...?
@@andresfelipenavasarias3046 You SHOULD BE afraid of the cold, the storms and the wind. Bring the warmest gear you can afford to buy and carry. I had a -40C sleeping bag and would still sleep in 4 layers. Wait for good weather to move. Do not go if the winds are above 30 kmph or if there is poor visibility. You need to have (smart) people checking the weather for you and sending you satellite messages. The rangers were incredibly supportive and helpful - they assume that if you are attempting the mountain that you have the necessary experience with mountaineering, glacier travel and winter camping (make sure that you do).
Hi Luke congrats for you solo climb, impressive. Could you please give me coordinate of the icy traverse on the Denali Pass you are talking about at around 35:30' ? Thanks a lot in advance!
"The Autobahn" is located here: 63.07978, -151.03485
9:40 - were those cross poles there to keep the sled in place on the descent?
Congradulations and excellent vido documentation.
Great video! Thanks for sharing. One question. . . what is the brand/model of your hat with the sun shield for your face?
Thanks! …. Search for “fishing sun hat” you’ll find something that will work.
keren banget
I was on a snowy mountaintop at 6000 feet on April 5th on my own. Was around freezing, 5 feet of snow and I had brought a tent I could only set up on grass/dirt. Ended up sleeping just in my sleeping bag next to a cabin that was locked up. I brought about 45 lbs of gear (i had brought a lot of camera stuff)
I thought that was a bit extreme experience, but it's not even a comparison to climbing Denali. Just wow.
Amazing journey, amazing video! Thank you so much!
Excellent video
Thx
Thanks for the video! Do you mind sharing what brand is that sunhat with what seems like an integrated face cover? Did it work well? Thanks!
Have you been to the highest points in any other states?
Yes, I've actually done all 50 state high points. Denali was #49, then I finished with Mauna Kea in 2022.
@@lukefusco4384I heard some people say that Aconcagua & Denali are on the same continent apparently.
That snow castle is the most impressive work I've ever seen! I wouldn't want to leave!
Glad to see this, chasing purpose, doing big things. Everest at some point?
No plans on Everest at this point… Too much time required and it seems like a bit of a racket with the sherpas and permitting. We’ll see.
How does it work with the plane? Who do you talk to about getting dropped off out there? How did they know when to come back and pick you up?
I live in anchorage and actually don't know how those kind of things work.
(I just recently got interest in climbing so I don't know all of those details)
K2 aviation and Talkeetna Air Taxi (TAT) are the main companies ferrying climbers to and from Denali (they do flightseeing tours as well). Most climbers carry sat phones (e.g. Garmin Inreach) for comms on the mountain and to get weather forecasts (also posted by rangers at 14 camp). Alaska Mountaineering School is the main local guide company in Talkeetna and one of the 6 licensed guide services on Denali.