ODS Members Interviewed on KTOO-FM

Here's a link to a short story with Shea, Kevin, Travis, and Sammy talking about their experiences on Denali and the ODS program at UAS.

http://ktoo.org/audiofile.cfm?clip=4673

Thursday, June 3, 2010
A Juneau Afternoon with Jeff Brown

Pritty Pitchers of Nature and Stuff

As a recent former president once said, "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."

Thank you to Shea for providing these fantastic pictures!

Let's say this is Yosuke until somebody proves me wrong.

Travis in the foreground, miles of nothing in the distance.

It's Sammy, the Sweetheart of Camp 11.

Yosuke and the soup of the day, miso.

Shea, Sammy, Acacia, and Jack Nickelson display the funny things mountaineering does to your hair.

The famous couch at 14,200 ft. camp, which I now see is more of a loveseat, really. Take your feet off the coffee table, boys.

Climbing towards the summit.

Yosuke on the summit!

Heading back down: Acacia, Sammy, Kevin, TAT Pilot (?), Shea, Forest, Yosuke, and Freddie.

Reverse Roadtrip

A few images from Kevin's iPhone...

I believe this is the fortress they built at 14,000 ft. camp.

Surely within these sturdy walls, their civilization is safe from the barbarians.

No one knows how these ancient structures were built, each block cut so precisely against its neighbor no mortar was necessary.

Kevin paused to take this mystical shot during his ski descent from 17,000 to 14,000 ft.

Smile and say "shower!"

******

The team flew out on Saturday, overnighting in Talkeetna. They came through Anchorage and drove through the night. They are currently on their way to the ferry; then Juneau. If they can make the 8 p.m. Monday ferry, they may even be back tonight or early tomorrow!

On their way down...

17,000 to 14,000: Everyone hiked down with the exception of Kevin, who was happy to take a ski run down to 14,000 ft. camp. 14,000 ft. camp is a hopping place in the good weather we've been having; some people brought up guitars and were jamming, and Sammy and Acacia were treated to some nice cheeses from the neighboring Italian climbing team. Given good social skills, it sounds like one could live there the whole summer on food that descending climbing teams want to jettison. Not that I am advocating the mountaineer bum lifestyle. Okay, it sounds a little bit awesome.

The team departed 14,000 ft. camp last night for a night descent of the mountain. They should be down in Talkeetna sometime today; Travis will meet them there for the long drive back to Juneau.

Hopefully, I'll get some pics today. After they return, I'll post a selection of pics from the trip before wrapping up this blog; be sure to check back for those.

Summit Successful

Forest, Shea, and Yosuke reached the summit of Denali today at around 6:00 pm! They are now on their way back down to the camp at 17,000 ft. I don't have many details yet; I do know it was a cold and difficult climb. At some point today, Freddie and Kevin turned back; I hope to get more details later tonight when Forest reaches camp -- he has the satellite phone! Sammy and Acacia decided to stay snug and happy at the ranger-attended town of 14,200 ft. camp and not to attempt the summit. The whole gang will reunite tomorrow, Friday, for the descent.

Congratulations to everyone! The planning, preparation, and performance required by mountaineering are truly an achievement. Now, get down safely, will ya?

Summit Attempt Day: Thurs. May 27

The team is attempting to reach the summit of Denali today. Their plan was to leave the 17,000 ft. camp at 6 a.m. this morning with minimal gear, returning to the same camp in the evening (or even possibly back to the 14,200 ft. camp.) It will be a long, strenuous day of climbing. Be sure to check out the Spot Locator to track their progress -- they are at about 17,400 ft. as of this posting. They may call in on the satellite phone during the day so stay tuned.

Wednesday May 26 Update

On Tuesday, members of the team resumed their ascent and set up a new camp at 17,000 ft. Depending on the weather, they may take a rest day on Wednesday and attempt to summit on Thursday. The forecast has been good; a high pressure ridge in the area until Saturday, light winds between 15 and 20 miles per hour.