A tough winter "hike" - Denali solo in winter

[SteveR]

Wow!
http://www.grindtv.com

 

[TCD]

I was impressed when Vern Tejas did the first winter solo in 1988. Tejas' climb was in March. January might even be a little tougher!

 

[BISCUT]

Winter on Denali ='s negative 60's and 100mph winds. And here I am thinking "cold" is single digits.

 

[skiguy]

Probably was safe to leave the bug dope at home on this one. Well done!

 

[Brambor]

amazing feat

 

[Puma concolor]

No doubt, an amazing accomplishment.

But it was 45 degrees warmer this morning in Talkeetna than it was at my house in New York. I think he may have caught the "right" conditions.

 

[marnof]

No doubt, an amazing accomplishment.

But it was 45 degrees warmer this morning in Talkeetna than it was at my house in New York. I think he may have caught the "right" conditions.

Agreed, simply an outstanding accomplishment. Try, try again -- and eventually you may catch the break you need. The weather gods were smiling on him this year.

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local...cle_c57f0f8a-85c9-11e4-81f8-a72a0a07bac9.html

 

[Chugach001]

Wonderful achievement

 

[DougPaul]

Try, try again -- and eventually you may catch the break you need.

Or you may end up in a crevasse. A number of other winter soloists have disappeared without a trace, presumably in crevasses...

Doug

 

[sierra]

Or you may end up in a crevasse. A number of other winter soloists have disappeared without a trace, presumably in crevasses...

Doug

My memory is not the best, but I believe Vern Tejas did his climb tied into the middle of a large aluminum ladder to "Catch" him in the event of a crevasse fall. Personally, I always wanted to climb Denali, but two things kept me from doing it. The crowds, the cold, ok 3, the time involved.

 

[Puma concolor]

Dunno about Tejas but I do remember Jon Krakauer writing about the ladder/crevasse technique on Devil's Thumb in Alaska in his original book Eiger Dreams.. Back before Into the Wild and Into Thin Air when he was an obscure climber.

Denali is a big time commitment for sure. Took a lot of years of planning to get my life in a place where I'll finally be able to spend a month in Alaska this coming June. Haven't yet decided if the warm winter is a good thing or a bad thing. If it continues, I would expect crevasse hazard to be more of a concern on the West Buttress route I'll be on and a huge issue on some of the more difficult approaches.

 

[dug]

Dunno about Tejas but I do remember Jon Krakauer writing about the ladder/crevasse technique on Devil's Thumb in Alaska in his original book Eiger Dreams.. Back before Into the Wild and Into Thin Air when he was an obscure climber.

Denali is a big time commitment for sure. Took a lot of years of planning to get my life in a place where I'll finally be able to spend a month in Alaska this coming June. Haven't yet decided if the warm winter is a good thing or a bad thing. If it continues, I would expect crevasse hazard to be more of a concern on the West Buttress route I'll be on and a huge issue on some of the more difficult approaches.

I had not heard directly of Kraukaer until after his Everest reporting. I went back and read his older work. Decent writer, but he does hack a knack to keep you interested.

I had been following Lonnie's attempts for a couple years now. His prep and logistics work is amazing.

A month in AK? Enjoy that!

 

[DougPaul]

My memory is not the best, but I believe Vern Tejas did his climb tied into the middle of a large aluminum ladder to "Catch" him in the event of a crevasse fall.

I don't recall who, but using a ladder to catch one in the event of a crevasse fall is a well-known technique. I don't know how often it is actually used.

(Must be hard to climb with a ladder around one's middle--balance, wind, etc...)

I was just pointing out that even with perfect weather there are some very serious risks in climbing Denali solo in winter.

Doug