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Denali – up the glacier

Written By: sean on May 28, 2014 No Comment

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 for anyone not experienced with roped travel.  Health concerns here are mostly sun and heat related – dehydration, snow blindness, sunburn and heat exhaustion.  The route then follows the less-crevassed centre, angling slightly north at the top towards the Kahiltna Pass.

Denali extract from ‘Freeze Frame’ – ‘We we wore snow shoes under our new high-altitude double boots.  They took a bit of getting used to but helped to prevent plugging deep into the snow and gave some traction on the up-hills….  After a few hours I became adept at knowing how to spot and avoid the soft snow but that didn’t always apply to the sled behind.  When I went around slanted sections the sled would often slip downhill and sometimes capsize.  Then I had to squat or sit on my backside, anchor myself and gradually haul it up and correct it.  It was an infuriating business and if everything had not been carefully tied down, vital gear could have been lost’.

PS.  It’s Ant’s birthday today.

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