Denali 2019

1 day to Day 1 After four days on the road, on July 6 2018 we showed up at the empty Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station, the climbing season was already over. After a few days in the snow storm, everyone was leaving the mountain, park rangers  were packing and flying off the strategic 14K camp, all commercial teams were descending, and no-one was climbing. During mandatory orientation, we were told by a NPS ranger that avalanche season was at it's peak, that recent storm brought one meter of fresh snow, all tracks will be gone and that we would be alone on the entire mountain if we go: there will be  no radio weather update, no fixed ropes at the bottom of headwall, and possibly no return airlift from the base - either have to prepare airstrip by ourselves or walk several days (on a glacier) to a cooler place. They didn't prohibit us to go though - we had our permits in hand. So we made our decision - call it off, until 2019. PHOTO: Typical for Denali: more than half

4 days to Day 1 (1st attempt) On July 2, 2018 we left Vancouver for our first attempt of Denali. Driving along highway, I remember, Vera looked at me and said: "Guess, what we forgot?!" From her look I felt that it was something big, but couldn't figure out. "The sled!" And then I remembered putting it next to the exit door in my apartment, and not taking it! Wow, that's a loss. We were already 500 km away from home. Then Vera quickly suggested: "We will rent it there!" - oh yes, I forgot that Denali air taxi companies all rent expedition sleds. That will do. However, I felt that mountain gods had different plans for us, and leaving the hard to miss big item such as a sled was a message for us in a string of following events, that prevented us (luckily) from entering the mountain. The summit of Denali in 2018 was simply not ready to accept us - counting our Shasta and Spindle accidents, the sled was only part of that vicious chain. PHOTO: Enr

Vera came over at 06:40 a.m., and shortly after we were on our the way to Alaska.