Expedition stuff, complete
One week to departure.
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Let's do it!
262 days to Day 1 (1st attempt) California Climber's Salute. Two of us on the summit of DaFeng (四姑娘山大丰), in China. Elevation 5,025 m. This peak had been on my mind for more than ten years! After it's over, what's next? We wanted to climb something higher, and as always, without guides and porters. Naturally, there was yet another peak, equally desired by me and equally hard to even think it was possible to climb: Denali (6,190m), the highest mountain in North America. Now, it made perfect sense to attempt. Since that day, Denali would be mentioned by two of us every single day.
Day 19 - SUMMIT !!!
I woke up at 02:00 a.m. to find Vera already awake and waiting for me with wide-open eyes. The sky was clear and quiet, and the digital thermometer measured the snow temperature at -19.7°C. After melting some snow and eating breakfast, we dressed up and left the 17K camp at 04:45 a.m. We had trained for the Autobahn traverse on Mt. Hood, thinking it was twice as difficult as Autobahn on Denali. But in reality, it was the opposite. Autobahn on Denali turned out to be twice as hard as we expected, with hard snow and no possibility for self-belay. Our ice-axes were only good for balance, and we didn't have an extra ice tool, only one straight axe each. So when we came across the 50m unprotected stretch, we both realized that one slip from either of us could end it all. It was only a 20-meter unprotected traverse, but it was enough to get our adrenaline pumping! We then passed Denali pass, Zebra rocks, Football field, and finally arrived at Pig Hill, which was the real challenge at the...
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