Denali 2015 Trip Report - A Retrospective

[Puma concolor]

Only took me seven years to write …

Denali 2015: The Ecstasy and the Agony

 

[skiguy]

Good read. Definitely a good expose of the dynamics of climbing in a large, guided group.

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks for checking it out.

 

[maineguy]

That was great! I really like your writing style. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[peakbagger]

Great work, it goes back to the days when the hiking forum was just a part of VFTT with a very active climbing forum.

 

[Puma concolor]

Appreciate that guys! When I was writing it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to post the link anywhere. But I ultimately decided I needed to just put it out there. Process has been kind of cathartic for me.

 

[maineguy]

I thought that it belonged in an issue of Appalachia from times past. Back when it had articles on expeditions to faraway places, the issues were about twice as thick as today, and...was included with your AMC membership.

 

[Rhody Seth]

That was a great read! As much as I would like to do something like that, I think I'm better off staying at lower altitudes. That HACE freaks me out!

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks Rhody!

There is certainly a lot to be said for our far more reasonable Northeastern mountain altitudes.

Never really seriously thought something like that would have happened to me though. Ambition and overconfidence are definitely not a good combo.

 

[TEO]

Thank you for sharing your story!

 

[Salty]

Likewise, thank you for the great write-up. I can understand why it took 7 years before deciding to put it to words, and I really appreciate you being so open about it. We are all mere mortals, each with our strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Puma concolor]

Appreciate the time you took to read and comment, TEO and Salty!

 

[Peakbagr]

Read every word and looked at every photo. Spellbinding and written in the best mountaineering style trip report. Thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[iAmKrzys]

Really great report! It reminded me of this book "Minus 148 degrees" that I read a while back. Personally, I know my limits (which are much lower) and I'm generally pretty careful not to exceed them.

 

[Puma concolor]

Thank you so much, Peakbagr and iAmKrzys!

It really means a lot to me to realize that folks I respect are reading every word of this TR and then taking the time to respond. It was certainly a tough one to write.

I’m not sure it’s worthy of a “Minus 148 Degrees” comparison but to even be mentioned in the same paragraph as such a historic expedition is truly flattering. Fun fact: Dave Johnston of that legendary survival feat subsequently became the 88th person to complete all 50 US State Highpoints. I was number 270.

Thanks again.

 

[Jazzbo]

Thanks for your efforts to write this up and sharing with us! Besides the personal problems and experiences your narrative and photos do an excellent job of showing us what such an expedition is like.

 

[Bombadil]

Thanks Mark for sharing your experiences in such vivid detail. Congratulations as well on your Denali summit and 50 high points, but boy what a harrowing tale. I can't imagine descending from Denali Pass in such a state but it sounds like you had a great team with you to help and perhaps were faring better than on Pig Hill. I'm glad to hear the incident hasn't derailed you from climbing. There's far more fine climbs on beautiful mountains to be had than we mortals can possibly hope to climb in a lifetime. Keep on keepin' on...

 

[Puma concolor]

Once again, thanks for the incredible feedback, Jazzbo and Bombadil! Your words are very meaningful to me.

I’ve been caught a bit off-guard by the interest that some have expressed in my report. So glad that it has offered a glimpse into what a guided expedition on Denali is really like. Beyond that, I hope I have contributed something to the Man versus Nature struggle that lives within all of us.

 

[nartreb]

I gotta say I have mixed feelings about the guides. Granted you weren't completely forthcoming about your symptoms, and at some point they did overrule you and get you down, but they could have done more, earlier. Short-roping a stumbling client on a traverse is some cowboy ****, and I about punched the screen reading their radio reports of "oh, everything's fine"

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks Dave! Your comments are my favorite (no offense to anyone else).

I read them aloud at dinner to my wife, who remembered you.

Thanks so much for reading the report! And yeah, I get 100 percent of what you are saying. Was just one of those things that no one exactly expected to happen. And then yet it did.