From Molly – today the team did an acclimatisation walk to 13000ft (4000m). Conditions are pretty hectic – there was a white out, it was -41 degrees Celsius and windy. Tough. They are all ok and back at Camp 3. Molly had a little scare and stepped into a small hole in the thick snow. […]
May 2014
From Molly – They are all fine. They had a tough, steep climb for about 3 hours in the snow. The sleds are proving to be quite testy. The camp fortunately has a great igloo type set up pre-built with a large tarpaulin over the common area. They are in good spirits.
From Sean this morning – they’ve been plodding on in heavy snow and white out conditions. They’re now at Camp 3 (11,000ft/3352m) and celebrating Ant’s birthday with fried boerewors and popcorn. Sean said it was a beautiful evening at Camp 3. Tomorrow they will push up to Windy Corner for an acclimatisation run and then […]
Update from Molly – they are all 100%. Tough walk from Camp 1 to Camp 2 (9700ft/3000m). They arrived at 6pm and set up their tents. Bear in mind the sun only sets at around 11pm. No-one fell into a crevasse today fortunately!
Over the next few days, the team will be making their way on what is usually a well beaten trail up the glacier. The main obstacles apart from the weather are crevasses so they work in roped teams. From Kahiltna Base the route descends to Heartbreak Hill which if icy, can be a frustrating experience […]
Team Zulu/Maxidor flew onto the Kahiltna glacier and to Base Camp on Monday. At Base Camp they prepared to move up the mountain by organising loads and rigging their sleds. Shortly after they started making their way, Tony fell into a ‘slot’ or ice hollow up to his waist. All were relieved it was only […]
Message from Molly – ‘Hi from Talkeetna. We didn’t fly into base camp due to snow so after waiting around for half the day we found some accommodation and wandered around the tiny town. It was memorial day here so lots of people out and about. We all went to bed really early and have […]
The snow didn’t clear on the landing yesterday so the team had to head back into town. Hold thumbs that they can fly today…
Extract from Sean’s book ‘Freeze Frame’ – ‘Talkeetna’s roadside bars and cafes are resplendent with charming reminders of the pioneers who once eked out a bleak existence in those forested foothills. Bear […]