Part 2: Week 1 on Denali

To get an idea of what life is like on the mountain, I’ll give a brief overview of our typical camp. We shared three Trango 3 tents in twos, with the guides all in a slightly bigger Trango 4. The tents are easy to assemble and surprisingly comfortable once snuggled up in my big down sleeping bag! We dug out platforms for the tents so the ground is level below them and built snow walls to protect us from the wind – sometimes left by a previous team to save us some work! We also set up a teepee style kitchen tent known as a “mid” where we can commune for hot drinks and meals. Meals were cooked by the two junior guides who did a spectacular job of rustling up a range of meals over their camping gas stoves – from breakfasts of oatmeal or bacon butties, burrito lunches, to dinners of cous cous with chicken, pesto pasta with sausage, and pizzas. We even got a cheesecake freshly made! Mornings / early afternoons are taken up with walking then we usually got a chance to rest and recuperate relaxing in our tents, playing cards, or reading until dinner and the weather report from Base Camp at 8pm.

Saturday 4 June – Day 1 – Base Camp to Camp 1

Early Saturday morning we divided up the team and personal kit equally onto our sleds and packs and departed Base Camp at 6.30am (early due to the warmth and danger of crevasses) to go down Heartbreak Hill and onto the glacier. We wore snow shoes on our boots, which I hadn’t used before but soon got the hang of. It was a straightforward slog although the weight pulled on my legs and back – 40kg compared to my bodyweight of 55kg! Luckily we stopped every hour for a snack and drink to rest and recover. At midday, we set up Camp 1 at 7800ft, near the junction with the NE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier.

Sunday 5 June – Day 1 – Cache Dropoff

We are following the “climb high, sleep low” method up the mountain, part load carrying along the way and allowing our bodies time to get used to the drop in oxygen. The next morning we awoke at 3am to carry loads up the first big slope we'd encountered; Ski Hill – loading our sleds with items we wouldn’t need for the next 24 hours such as spare food and gas, axes, and high altitude gear. It was another slog but at least the loads were lighter than the day before! The weather started cloudy but cleared as we ascended the hill and the scenery around us was stunning. Five hours later we reached the cache site at around 10,000ft – the guides dug out a large hole for all the kit to be buried, whilst we strapped the now empty sleds to our backpacks then walked back down to Camp 1 (around 2 hours). Feeling strong still although my boots are rubbing a little so I took time to tape up my feet and calves in the evening to avoid blisters.

Monday 6 June – Day 2 – Camp 1 to Camp 2

The head guide woke us at 3.30am the next morning to move to Camp 2. I sleep in my thermal base layers and socks with my water bottles, face wipes, contact lenses and sun cream in the foot of my sleeping bag to avoid them freezing in the night. Once I’m up its just a case of throwing on my fleece, buff, hat, gloves, Gore-Tex trousers, Gore-Tex shell, down jacket, thick socks and big boots. Before we depart I usually switch to thinner base layer gloves and take off my down jacket as we soon warm up when walking. Meanwhile the junior guides set about boiling snow for drinking water and making breakfast for us in the mid tent.

The climb up the slope again was mentally quite dull given we had done it the day before, combined with very cold and windy conditions. I ended up wearing my thick Black Diamond guide gloves with primaloft inner as well as putting my down jacket back on. It was busy on the mountain and at some points we were halted behind other groups heading up the same track. At 11.30 we reached the cache and picked up our axes. As we moved off uphill again it was progressively getting warmer and I was soon sweating in the midday sun. I started to feel dizzy and dehydrated, my cheeks burning, and shouted at my guide to stop for so I could take a layer off and put on my sunhat. I was anxious to get to Camp 2 and cool down but the pace instead seemed to slow and we finally got to camp around 1pm at 11,200ft at the base of Motorcycle Hill. We set about making camp and rehydrated with water with salts then rested for the afternoon.

Tuesday 7 June – Day 3 - Cache Pickup

We had an “active rest day” the next day. I woke up with very puffy eyes, which was a side effect of the altitude, and a headache from being so dehydrated in the heat the day before. I drank as much water with rehydration salts as I could before we set off to pick up the cache we left near Kahiltna Pass. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies so a relaxing 2 hour round trip to pick up our cache. In the afternoon we practiced using our crampons and then improved our axes by wrapping foam around the top to prevent our hands from getting cold on the metal. I’d cut it from a small seating pad I had and used the leftover foam to create a make-shift water bottle cover to prevent freezing at night. The team joked I should sell them on the mountain! It’s a really beautiful camp and I feel blessed to be here. Everyone in the team is getting on well and starting to get used to expedition life.

Wednesday 8 June – Day 4 – Cache Dropoff

The next morning we awoke to bad visibility and high winds. We had originally aimed to leave at 9am for the next cache but given the weather we had to wait it out until 10.40am. Each of us carried a sled with spare team kit and our packs with personal kit for the high camps that we wanted to cache. It was steep snow climbing up a 1000ft high Motorcycle Hill in our crampons – hard going with the sleds trailing behind us but I maintained a good pace and made it up without difficulty for the hour. Once we were at the top there was a traverse then we ascended Squirrel Hill (so called as due to legend a squirrel was spotted here!). It was less steep but I was sweating again in the sun and frantically ripping off my hat and gloves to stuff in my jacket! The next section was a long plateau for 45 minutes known as the Polo Field and then up another hill around Windy Corner where the upper mountain comes into view. The name was very apt with around 20mph winds and we put on our helmets in case of any loose rock fall. 20 minutes later we reached the next cache site at 13,200ft – it had taken 4.5 hours but only 2 miles in distance! I snuggled into my Gore-tex hood, down jacket and goggles to brace against the wind whilst the guides dug out the cache hole. Again we strapped the sleds to our backpacks and it was around 2 hours straight down to the campsite, arriving at 6pm.

Thursday 9 June – Day 5 – Camp 2 to Camp 3

Today we moved to Camp 3. We dismantled the camp and I cached some kit at Camp 2 including my snow shoes and thinner trousers. Going up Motorcycle Hill felt slightly easier than yesterday maybe because mentally I’d done it once before. However as we neared the top, the wind picked up. We took a break at the top and I had to laugh as one client had lost his crampon early on walking up the slope but hadn’t noticed – luckily the guide picked it up for him!

As we continued to climb the wind picked up to 30mph and the visibility was non-existent. I thought at one point we would have to turn back to Camp 2 but kept on going – thank god for my Gore-tex jacket and trousers. Combined with goggles and balaclava it was just about bearable. It didn’t subside across the Polo Field and was tough going - other teams turned around. At the next break I turned around just in time to see a black glove fly by as the same client had taken them off and lost control of one! Luckily he had a spare set.

At this point I should note the difficult logistics of trying to pee on the mountain whilst you are a girl, in a harness on a rope surrounded by 8 men, let alone in high winds! There are some women who don’t drink enough on the mountain because they don’t want to have to go through it and therefore get dehydrated. Fortunately I have few inhibitions and have the technique sorted!

We eventually got around Windy Corner (ironically the least windy part of the day) and around 30 minutes later reached the cache site. The sun came out and we had an opportunity to enjoy the surroundings and warm up. It was another 1.5 hours up a moderate slope until we reached Camp 3 at 14,200ft at 6pm. The camping area is on a huge flat glacial plateau with plenty of suitable areas to pitch our tents and a NPS Rangers station. We put up camp, although the same client lost another glove in doing so (whispering to us not to tell the guides!). We later found it under a tent! The views from this camp are spectacular across the range of Mt Hunter, Mt Foraker and up to the summit of Denali. It was cold at night and spent most of it shivering despite my thick sleeping bag, finally I put on my down jacket and managed to get some rest.

Friday 10 June – Day 6 – Cache Pickup

Had a lie in this morning and set off at 10.30am to pick up our cache from just before Windy Corner. It was only 20 minutes down and about an hour up, but I started to feel tired and dizzy ascending the slope and noticed my feet dragging – probably from the lack of rest the night before. I drank some water and had chocolate but Jason was concerned and kindly took my sled for the last 30 minutes back to camp. At Camp I was glad to drink some water with vitamin C and put on some warm, clean layers that had been in the cache. I wish we could have more hot drinks and a hot water bottle for bed but the guides say there isn’t enough fuel and it takes time to boil snow.

In the afternoon the head guide did some “mountain surgery” on one of the clients feet – he has huge, painful blisters – and then we went through some fixed line techniques e.g. jumaring along a rope, over anchors, and arm-wrapping on the descent. It was all pretty straightforward and most of us had done it before. Slept well after dinner as my body has acclimatised and conditions improved so it wasn’t as cold as the previous night.

Saturday 11 June – Day 7 – Cache Dropoff

Was so snug this morning it was difficult to get out of my sleeping bag! We were heading for a cache today so set off at 11am with light bags and sleds. Wearing our crampons, we walked to the foot of the slope next to the camp and started to ascend with ropes and poles. It was a couple of hours uphill until we reached the base of the fixed lines (a long rope tied to the slope which can be used as an aid to ascend). With the steady pace and the sun, I was really enjoying the day! As we neared the base of the fixed lines I counted 15 people already on them, including a large and slowly moving Chinese group. Calling “anchor, climbing” as we went and pushing our jumar up the ropes we made slow but steady progress. In the end it took over 2 hours to reach the top (it would take less than an hour usually!).

We decided to cache at 16,200ft. Afterwards we descended using our cows tails (a piece of cord attached to a carabineer and our harness) and by wrapping our arms around the rope. This was a much faster technique than other groups we saw descending who were using their ice axes. In the end it took 30 minutes to get down the fixed lines then another hour to camp. I went first and the visibility had worsened so was difficult to route find on the way down.

The slog is starting to feel monotonous at times but I’m still feeling very grateful to be here on the mountain – experiencing some fantastic views and pushing myself mentally and physically every day. Luckily tomorrow we have a rest day and then it should only be two hard days left (to Camp 4 and the summit – eek!). I hope I stay strong and make it to the top.

We played cards in the tent, had dinner and listened to the weather report at 8pm. It’s supposed to be a good day tomorrow and then worsen with 50-70mph winds on Monday! Progress may be slower than I'd hoped…