The pictures in this story are a compilation from all the team members. John Simonsen wrote the story.
Contents
Pre-expedition trips
Preparation and the approach to the mountain
Denali information
Day 0 - The flight in to the Kahiltna glacier
Day 1 - Caching supplies at the 7,800' camp
Day 2 - Moving to the 11,000' camp
Day 3 - Retrieving the cache/rest day
Day 4 - Retrieving the cache/rest day
Day 5 - Carrying a cache to 13,500'
Day 6 - Storm day
Day 7 - Moving to the 14,200' camp
Day 8 - Retrieving the cache
Day 9 - Acclimation day
Day 10 - Caching supplies at 16,000'
Day 11 - Moving to High Camp
Day 12 - Summit day
Day 13 - Descending to the 14,200' camp
Day 14 - Storm day
Day 15 - Descending to base camp
Day 16 - leaving Denali
“You cannot stay
on the summit forever;
Because what is
below does not know what is above,
One climbs, one
sees.
There is an art of
conducting oneself
When one can no
longer see,
- Mt. Analogue
Beginnings
In 1963 Kuku
(that’s Hawaiian for grandparent) and Uncle Jim attempted Denali via the West
Buttress route. They were caught in
a storm at the 16,400 foot camp. When
the weather broke, they managed to get to Denali pass, but no further. David wasn’t even born then. I
met Uncle Jim at the airport on May 23, 2000 as we were waiting for our flight
to Anchorage. He came to see David off and to wish us well.
Thirty seven years later Denali was still important to him.
When David was just
a child, Kuku and Uncle Jim would relate their mountaineering adventures to the
family members. David was
fascinated. And the fact that the
family mountaineers had yet to summit Denali was not lost on him.
Somewhere in his formative years David made a commitment to himself:
Someday he would stand on the summit of Denali.
His dream came
close to being a reality in 1994. That
year David was part of a team from Portland.
They turned around at 17,000', but that’s another story.
I’ve been climbing with David for about eight years now. We met when he was a student
and I a faculty member at Oregon State
University (OSU). Although he is 19
years younger than me and much stronger and a better climber than I ever was, we
get along well and have had many epic adventures together,.
We had been talking about Denali for many years, but in 1994 I wasn’t
ready. That was a year after I had
been diagnosed with prostate cancer and my life was full of healing procedures,
both traditional and alternative. I
went into remission a few months after the diagnosis, and have stayed there, but
have to go on the medicine about three months out of the year to do it.
Cancer has brought me many insights and gifts, but that, too, is another
story.
In the spring of
1999 David and I talked about Denali again, and I realized that if I was ever
going to actually do something besides talk, I should do it now.
After all, I was 52 years old. So
I said, “Let’s go to Denali.” It’s
interesting how sometimes a little intention can go a long way.
It seems like everything just clicked into place once we actually made
the decision to go. David was the
obvious choice for leader, and he quickly and easily assumed the leadership
role. After a lifetime of
preparing, he had all the information and was beyond motivated for this
expedition. Had I known then what a
huge commitment of time and money, and what an enormous undertaking Denali would
turn out to be, I would have given the decision more thought.
David said a team
of either four or six would be optimum, so through the summer and fall we talked
to many people, looking for teammates.
While there was a lot of interest from a wide variety of people, genuine
commitment was rare. I announced
the expedition in the OSU Mountain Club, where I am the faculty advisor.
A young man came up after the meeting and announced his desire to be part
of the team. We traded emails.
That was John Dove, who became the youngest member of the team.
Later on, someone at work suggested I contact John Punches, who works in
my department. He was excited to be
asked and quickly joined the team. In
yoga class I was talking to Suzanne, Kyle’s partner. David and I both had climbed with Kyle. He was a bit reluctant at first, but eventually became the
fifth team member. Ryan Singleton
came on later. He also works in my
department at the University and heard about us through the grapevine.
Although he was short on experience, Ryan was, and is, incredibly strong,
fit, level-headed, and a very quick learner.
Other people were considered for the team, but by January, 2000, the
sorting process had sifted down to these six.
We met and laid out a training program for ourselves.
Since there were three John’s on the team, we used last names.
Punches was an instructor in crevasse rescue, so we scheduled classes for
the team with him as instructor. We
also planned several outings as a team, and several indoor sessions prussiking
up fixed lines and practicing crevasse rescue.
Team members were assigned to study altitude illnesses, food planning,
climbing strategies, crevasse travel, and give presentations to the team at
group meetings. A convivial and supportive team spirit quickly emerged.
We had good energy among us.
