Day 0

Kyle, Dove, Punches, and David in Talkeetna

The driver from Denali Overland met us at the Anchorage airport at about 1 AM. We had gained an hour. Dove met us at the airport. The team was all together now, with all our gear. We were truly on our way! I tried to sleep in the shuttle van, but was too excited. We were in Talkeetna at about 4 AM. David had been told there was a bunkhouse at TAT we could stay at for free. It was crammed with climbers. All the beds and couches and most of the floor space was covered with bodies. Most of us managed to find a little floor space to sack out on. David slept outside on the deck. I snuck off to the woods to perform the first of my shamanic ceremonies.

I needed a spot away from people, because I didn’t want to answer any questions. I also needed a little fire, and some water. After searching for a few minutes, I found a patch of snow in the woods that I thought would do for water. In the shamanic tradition I had been studying, north was the direction

for earth, east was air, south was fire, and west was water. So I put the snow patch to my west and built a tiny fire with some firestarter sticks to my south. The north, being earth, was Denali. The east, air, was wind. We definitely could use some help there. South was fire, which was the sun, and the metabolic fire in our bodies. West, water, was snow, which meant visibility. I made my offerings and said my prayers and hoped that I did it correctly. I got back to TAT about 5:30 AM, rolled out my bag, and collapsed on the floor. Everybody got up at 7 AM. The ski/wheel planes took three people at a time. Kyle, Dove, and David caught a plane about 10 AM. Ryan, Punches, and I went a bit later. The plane takes off on wheels, then in mid-air, lowers skis down below the wheels and lands on the glacier, at "Kahiltna International Airport" at 7,200.’ The airplane ride covers about 60 miles and takes about 45 minutes. It was mostly cloudy (broken clouds below 7,000' in pilot lingo) and we dodged right and left, staying

Loading the plane at the Talkeetna airport

clear of clouds. Occasionally we got glimpses of the enormous landscape we were flying over. It got clearer as we climbed up the glacier and was mostly sunny when we landed. Once we could see, the flight was breathtaking and inspiring. Huge peaks rose above us on either side of the plane. Brilliant white peaks that drifted in and out of the clouds. The landing strip was a tiny straight line in a narrow valley flanked by gigantic walls of ice and snow. Everything was in black and white - rocks and snow - with a blue sky background. Flying in to this makeshift airstrip on snow with tents lined up in rows next to it was quite a different experience than finding a parking spot at a crowded trailhead, the typical start to my mountain experiences. We hadn’t even stepped onto the glacier yet and all the time, money, and preparation were already well spent.

Flying in to base camp

What a place! Now it truly felt like an expedition. The mountains were gigantic, and everywhere! Once in a while the clouds to the north would part a bit and we had a view of Denali. It seemed so close, but that was an illusion. It was miles and miles away, both horizontally and vertically.

It was only noon and we were in base camp! Twenty four hours ago I had been eating lunch at work in Corvallis, Oregon. The sudden transition was almost shocking. We pitched our tents, melted snow, rigged our sleds, and got our gear ready to go for tomorrow.

Someone had left a nerf football in the empty tent space next to David and me. I hid the football in my parka and snuck down to Ryan and Punches’ tent and hid the football in Ryan’s pack. He was the strongest of all of us, so I figured he

Base camp and "Kahiltna International Airport"

needed a little ballast. I had been trying to convince the others that the way to go was for the faster guys to take weight from us slower guys until everyone was going the same pace. They thought I was joking.

Checking my gear, I discovered I had left my ski skins back in Talkeetna. Also, we had thought Punches sleeping pads, which he had wrapped around his skis, and which I and Ryan had loaded into the plane, were just packing material, so they got left also, along with the baskets to his ski poles, which were packed in them. A lot of people would have been pissed at our obvious oversight. Punches took it well, and started improvising with some patches of ensolite and duct tape. I went to

the base camp manager, Annie, and talked to TAT. They said they would bring the stuff up tomorrow. Finally I could go to sleep. I was out like a light.