Team Dom attempts Denali May 21 - June 10th

[Mats Roing]

Team members:
Frodo
Go
Hamtero
Arm
Stinkyfeet
Jeff Stone
Rob Kettels (Australia)
Mats Roing

The team name is chosen in memory of Neil's son Dominic who's life was
tragically shortened by an avalanche in Lake Louise, Canada, in
January 2008. We will be attempting to carry Dominic's ice axe to the
summit. Though Dom can't be with us physically, we will be bringing
him along in both spirit and in memory...

We are going unguided, which caused us to spend the past 6 months
planning out every little detail from what air service to use to how
many wands to bring, but we are ready to go.

We were originally ten members but Charles Steele from Michigan had to
undergo surgery and cannot participate. And recently Thom Davis (Dr. D)
had to withdraw due to a hip injury.

The West Buttress Route is our choice of route and it's the "normal
route" up the mountain:
http://www.supertopo.com/rockclimbing/zoom.html?r=akdewbut
http://classic.mountainzone.com/climbing/99/denali/map-climbingroute.html

Training has been going well through the winter and spring with both
technical and physical training. The White Mountains and Baxter State
Park in winter make for some excellent Denali training. Several
members of the team also spent 3 days training on Mt. Shasta in April.
Rob Kettels have been training a lot in the New Zealand Alps in the
last year including a summit of Mt. Cook, the tallest peak in NZ. Rob
Kettels is the only team member without White Mountain experience. He
and Mats summited Aconcagua in 2006. He has also Elbrus and Mont Blanc
under his belt among other peaks.

We will have a satellite phone so this thread will be periodically
updated with our progress via Chinook Trail, and a few others.

Looking forward to the see you all again when we’ll get back and the
goal is to celebrate that everyone gets back alive and well. Summiting
is a subordinate goal.

Team Dom

 

[MattC]

Amazing. Here's to a safe, fun trip. Summit success would be the proverbial icing.

Matt

 

[DaveSunRa]

Best of Luck to all of Team Dom.

 

[mookie]

Best of Luck to you and the team! Get lots of photos for us!

 

[timmus]

Awesome trip ahead of you my friends !!

Thanks for carrying the spirit of Dominic up there, this is quite a gesture.

Please bring great pictures, I want to see it ''just as if I was there too''

I wish you the best of the best, be safe, have fun.

-Julie

 

[leaf]

I said it before and I'll say it again. I'll be looking up at Denali during the second week in June thinking about you guys up there. It looks like you'll be flying in alot higher on the glacier then I will if you are landing close to Camp I at ~7,000, so I don't think we will run into eachother, unfortunately. Looks like I won't be able to hear about the trip until I get back on the 15th! So safe travels and good weather wishes!!

 

[Jay H]

Good luck to all on a safe trip!

Jay

 

[mtnmama]

Good Luck

You are some of the strongest hikers I know.
I wish you well.
It's wonderful the team is named after Dominic.
I beleive his axe will bring you good luck.
He will be with you in spirit.
Be safe....and have a great time!!!!!
Let's party when you get back.

 

[Chip]

"Här ska bli andra bullar, sa bagarn, sket på brödspaden."

 

[prino]

Good Luck Guys! Take Care!

 

[poison ivy]

Good luck and take care up there. I'll be looking forward to reading the updates and the trips reports when you all return.

- Ivy

 

[Neil]

Thanks for doing this.

Good luck (the harder you work the luckier you get) on the Butt. We're all looking forward to the reports. Make sure to enjoy every single minute of it.

 

[Rik]

Awesome team name! Good luck folks!










P.S. I'm jealous.

 

[Dave Bear]

Go team Dom! Have an awesome and safe time! Hope you enjoy splendid weather and some comradery with other ascent teams!

 

[mtnpa]

I had the good fortune to join some of the team on a couple of hikes during the long training period.
I've also observed the hard work and dedication that has gone into preparing for this journey
(even if you did take the "easy" route up Coe )

The planning and prep are done. I expect all will go smoothly especially if the weather is favorable.

May the weather gods smile on Team Dom!

 

[Jay H]

I had the good fortune to join some of the team on a couple of hikes during the long training period.
I've also observed the hard work and dedication that has gone into preparing for this journey
(even if you did take the "easy" route up Coe )

MtnPa: I thought the hard work was actually lugging in those 2 mini-kegs... Coe and the Brothers were easy.

Jay

 

[MichaelJ]

Best of luck, fortune, health, and safety to you all on this great adventure.

Come back in the same number of pieces, with stories and pics to share!

 

[Darl58]

Team Dom!

Best of weather and safe travels to Team Dom on your trip! Come back with lots of pictures and stories to share!

Enjoy and be safe!

Darl

 

[ferrisjrf]

The West Buttress Route is our choice of route and it's the "normal route" up the mountain...

How many days have you guys alloted to be on the mountain? And what's your plan for the final 3000' or so? I assume the plan is to go pretty minimal for the summit push?

Anybody bringing skis for the descent ? OK; last question was less than serious.

Jason

 

[Mats Roing]

How many days have you guys alloted to be on the mountain? And what's your plan for the final 3000' or so? I assume the plan is to go pretty minimal for the summit push?

Anybody bringing skis for the descent ? OK; last question was less than serious.

Jason

We have up to 18 days on the mountain. If weather co-operates around 14 days might be realistic.

Haven't decided yet whether to make the summit push from 14K or 17K. In either case we'll be prepared to overnight high on the mountain if necessary. One cool gear item we'll bring along is this Wild Things 4-person bivy shelter: http://www.wildthingsgear.com/prod_mtgear.php (scroll to bottom). The ultralight version weighs only 3.8 oz and protects 4 people from the elements. How can you beat that? They also have a 13 oz version which is less expensive which is still an outstanding product.

We were talking about skiing the lower portion but it's a drag to ski downhill with a sled. We're snowshoeing the lower portion.

Would be nice to ski down to the airstrip in 30 minutes though, wouldn't it!