AAC Trip Report/Summer Update

Hey all!

Thanks for continuing to check in on us. I'm working like crazy, really no time off heading up the wilderness trips department of a summer camp. Working hard to pay off all the debt from the trip (completely worth it)

Also working on writing a trip report for the American Alpine Club, as soon as that's finished I will be posting it up here as well.

Again, a truly heartfelt thank you for everyone that made the trip possible, and everyone that we met that made the trip bearable. I'm not going to go through everyone because Jacon has covered that, and, well, you know who you are.

Truly thank you so much, and thanks to Jacon for not wringing my neck, though I'm sure there were times he would have liked nothing else.

AAC trip report to come soon,

Luego

THANK YOU

So, clearly, the trip report has not been forthcoming. Max is in the woods 4 days a week, and the rest of the time he either yelling at children or flirting with co-counselors. I'm on Long Island, racing/fixing/cleaning/moving/etc. sailboats, at about 70 hours a week. You'll just have to wait - all I can promise is that when it comes, it will be worth it.

In the meantime, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people and organizations that made this possible.

Thank you to Michelle, Trine, Robert, Kei, Nobu and the crew at basecamp. We had a blast. Definitely Type 1 fun.

Thanks to Brian, in Anchorage, for his incomparable hospitality. You got our trip off to a great start.

Thanks to Rob Shaul and Mountain Athlete - your program was brutal, and it prepared our bodies and possibly our minds.

Thanks to the American Alpine Club and to the Cabot cooperative, for your generous grants.

Thanks to Kevin, Joe, Mark and everyone at the NPS for your extreme professionalism, hospitality, and helpfulness. You guys set a very high bar for the rest of the NPS, and you took care of us at 17.

Thanks to Ryan, Ryan, Sarah, Alyse, and dad, for letting us invade your space at 14,200 for not one, but four long, windy days. Your generosity preserved our sanity.

Thanks to Andreas, Magnus, Will, John, Jeff and Ed for all the good times on the mountain and in Talkeetna. You fellas saved us from each other.

Thanks to our friends, for supporting us, and our families, for tolerating us. (Kidding, our families were very supportive).

And finally, most importantly: thanks to Lisa Roderick and Julie Wolf. Lisa, you made our whole trip possible. It was so nice to feel immediately welcome on the mountain, and even up high, we knew you had our back. JWolf - you inspire us to live our dreams, because that's all you ever seem to do.

Denali Pro Pins

The NPS has awarded Max and I Denali Pro Pins.  Very nice of them. 

Clarification / Trip Report Teaser

Thanks for all the positive support we've been getting.  Just a quick clarification: just because we failed at our goal (climbing the Cassin) does not mean we consider ourselves or the trip to be failures.  We did not manage what we set out to do - that's all I intended to convey.

We're back in VT, sorting gear and lives.  I'm still working on all the photos and video for the trip report, but here's a teaser for you:

Failure. Wrecked.

Glacier is possibly the harshest environment on earth.  After 34 days on the glacier, we're back in Talkeetna.  Thanks to everyone for the positive vibes.  We did not summit.  We did not get on the Cassin.  Full trip report to come.

Second Update

There have been no shortage of epics in Denali National Park this past week. It seems Jacon and Max were making their way to high camp when they came across a group of climbers, one of whom was suffering from an allergic reaction. It was determined that the distressed climber needed to descend and seek medical attention, and being the stand-up gents they are, Jacon and Max volunteered to help take the sick climber down. Their party managed to make it back down to camp safely and the sick climber was successfully evacuated to Anchorage.

High winds last week on the glacier were making plane landings both difficult and stressful. The Chicken, in a brilliant show of heroics, left the safety of his tent for the wind-torn glacier to help provide a visual landmark for pilots with his brilliant plumage. Way to go Chicken, way to go...

After an exciting and no doubt tiring week, Jacon and Max are back on track. By now they have made it up to high camp at 14,000 feet. From here they will most likely spend a week or so acclimating and testing out their strength at higher elevations (day trips up to 17,000 or 18,000 feet). More to come as things develop.

First Update

Jacon and Max arrived in Alaska without incident (well, almost...). Apparently the Chicken, who decided to saddle up for the adventure last minute, was temporarily held at a TSA security checkpoint for being unable to produce a valid ID. Eventually, he was released from custody and permitted to depart the contiguous US - and it's a good thing too, because if I know the chicken, he will be relied on for all the sketchiest leads.

Upon arrival the three were put straight to work. Thanks to the generosity of Julie wolf and her friend Lisa Roderick, the Denali base camp manager, the boys were able to work off the cost of their flight to the glacier. Check out the Talkeetna Air Taxi Blog for more info and a glimpse of the Chicken pre-flight.

The most recent SPOT transmission re-affirms that after leaving base camp two days ago, the boys are indeed, still "ok." It sounds as if there have been a few small training climbs, and the trio is acclimating well at around 8,000 feet. I have it on good authority that psych level is sufficiently high, and everyone is feeling well-fed and rested after a week of lounging around base camp playing chess and planning their next move (pun).

More to come as things develop.

****A Special Note To Mom****

Apparently, as a token of their undying love and adoration for their mothers this Mother's Day, Jacon and Max climbed to the peak of a small nearby objective and spent the afternoon reciting Robert Frost poems into the bracing Alaskan winds. After the dedicated ceremony was finished the pair hiked back down to camp in silence. They went to bed dreaming of home-cooked meals somewhere back in Vermont...

Where are we?

Click here. 


P.S.  Our SPOT's name is "William."  Just so that doesn't confuse anyone.  He's adorable, the newest member of our team.  The Chicken actually named him. 

There's a New Webmaster in Town.

BYE

Thanks for all the good wishes.  Keep your fingers crossed for the weather.

This is the last post for me until the trip report afterwards.  Dilts is going to have to take it from here.

We'll do our best to get some word out so keep checking in.

Satelite Phone Issues

So, as it turns out, renting a satellite phone for six weeks actually costs a significant amount of money.  We may end up simply buying a SPOT beacon for a lot less.

If that turns out to be the case there may be no more blog updates, but check in, you never know what Jacon and I are capable of pulling out of our asses at the last minute!

Until next time!

Our thanks to Tavian, Ilerdon and Livian

As our departure nears, we would like to extend a special thank-you to my father Tavian and two of my uncles, Ilerdon and Livian, for the extreme generosity they have shown us.

Without Tavian's contribution of workshop space for our pain cave, Max and I would never have been able to properly train for this trip.

And all three have gracefully loaned us enormous amounts of gear: stoves, mukluks, down booties, sleeping bags, packs. snow stakes, etc. etc.  They did so with minimal complaint.

And of course, there's the dubious thank-you I must extend for getting me into all this crazy shit in the first place. And by "thank-you" I mean "forgiveness," and by "must extend" I mean "probably will never offer."

Sleeping Bags

***UPDATE***

Solved.  The Western Mountaineering bags CLEARLY have more loft than either of Stefan's bags, and loft=warmth.  But... since we're still apprehensive about -20 or colder temperatures, we're each going to bring a lightweight (30-deg) bag as a liner.  We're also going to have vapor-barrier liners and bivy sacks so that should be plenty.

- Jacon

^^^UPDATE^^^

So Stefan has generously loaned us his -20 and -30ish degree sleepings bags and thus the debate rages on.
Is 2 pounds 7 oz of 700 fill down going to be as lofty and warmer than 30 oz of 850+ fill down?
Is 2 pounds 9 oz of polarguard going to be warmer?
Is the slight boost in warmth going to be worth the significant increase in total weight of the bags.


These are the last minute questions we're struggling with.  Hopefully we'll figure it out and bring the right gear or else we'll be spending some very cold nights together.
With a few days left all that's left is dinner with the family, seeing a few friends, and finalizing our packing and checklists and figuring out how to get to Boston for our flight on Tuesday (potential ride from Jacon's mother?).


Should make for an interesting, fun filled weekend.


Cheers

Mother Wolf

This trip would not be possible without Julie Wolf, aka Julie Wolf, or occasionally JWolf.  JWolf is our friend Alex's mother, and she often served as our surrogate mother in high school when our biological mothers weren't quite cutting it.  Her passion for the outdoors is unparalleled (even by us), and as far as we can tell, she regularly wrassles bears during her leisure time.  And she always wins.

JWolf was instrumental to this trip because after moving to Talkeetna, she convinced her friend Lisa Roderick (the base-camp manager on Denali) to put us on her crew for base-camp set-up.  Without that offer, we likely would not have been able to afford the expensive flight to the glacier.

So: THANK YOU JULIE WOLF.  You inspire us.

Some details

I've been getting some questions from professed readers of the blog about the nitty-gritty of the trip.  This post is intended to clear that up.  If you are a student of Denali and the various things required to climb it, you'll probably find this boring.

Dates: We fly out Tuesday, the 26th - a week from today.  Our flight is Boston-Houston-Anchorage, because obviously Houston is the sensible place to connect.  We fly home Anchorage-Houston-Boston on June 9th.

In-town: We will spend the night of the 26th in Anchorage with a friend of Max's.  The 27th is going to be a busy day: we have to buy a bunch of food (freshies, mostly, but there is a long list), go pick up my rental skis at Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking, stop by a hardware store for some stuff to make wands and improve the sleds, drive to Talkeetna (still not sure how that's going to happen), meet with the rangers and get an hour-long-briefing, and then pack everything for the flight to the Kahiltna glacier.

The flight in / Kahiltna International Airport:  A few weeks ago we received an amazing offer from Lisa Roderick, who runs Denali base camp (affectionately known as the Kahiltna International Airport).  We're going to help her set up base camp in exchange for a free flight.  More on that to come.  Anyway, we have to be ready to fly in on April 28th, or the soonest day after that weather allows.

Warm up / Approach:  Because our permit doesn't start until May 8 (we reserved it before we got the offer to set up basecamp), we can't go pass Kahiltna Pass (about 11,000') on Denali until then.  That means we have about a week of enforced warm-up time, which we will hopefully spend on some warm-up climbs.  We've discussed the Mini-Moonflower, Mt. Frances, Kahiltna Queen, and even the Moonflower Buttress itself on Mt. Hunter.  In early May we are expecting temperatures to hit -30 F at night, so perhaps we'll just spend it building ourselves a pimp snowcave.

After the permit starts:  We'll begin moving the majority of our stuff to the camp at 14,200', which should take several days at least, depending on whether we decide to "double carry" or not.  Then we'll acclimate at 14, spend a few nights at 17, etc.  Since we've got plenty of time, we want to use it getting really well acclimated.  We're going to approach the Cassin via the West Rib Cutoff in order to avoid the northeast fork of the Kahiltna, the so-called "Valley of Death."

The climb:  Will be single-push style.  That means no stopping to sleep, just stopping to rest.  I think we're going to bring one sleeping bag and one bivy sack, to discourage stopping.  Light is right.

Then it's back to the KIA and home, and after that who knows.  Feel free to offer us employment at this juncture.  

Introducing our new contributor Ryan Dilts

Dilts has kindly consented to update our blog while we're on Denali.

We'll call him occasionally on the sat phone, tell him what's up, and he'll write a suitably entertaining post for your consumption.

A warm welcome to him.

various thoughts

After sharing a drink with Stefan who climbed the Cassin a few years back I'm considering bringing a much warmer sleeping bag.  Also questioning my own fitness levels.  I need to step it up.

There's a lot to think about.  The exact style to climb the Cassin in, how many stoves to bring, what sleeping bags to bring.  Do we bring two sleeping bags on the route, two bivy sacks?

Nineteen days until we leave and we have our work cut out for us.

I have moments of complete confidence and then moments of doubt.  Overall I think we've worked incredibly hard to prepare and we have extra time on the glacier to gather our strength, maybe get a warm up climb in, and just get acclimated in general.

It's going to get interesting...

Food!

Yesterday, after a painful five plus hours of organization and rations planning we bought food from two online bulkfood sources.  The food total came to about  $380, the shipping total came to about $105.  Not entirely sure if buying bulk online and getting it shipped to Talkeetna was the best way to go though I don't imagine that buying food in the amounts that we need in Alaska would be much cheaper, nor would buying it here and shipping it ourselves.

We still have at least a couple hundred dollars to spend on food when we get to Alaska, not to mention the booze putting as way over our food budget. 

We're both pretty strapped for cash, I know Jacon's running low, my credit card is maxed out, so this should get interesting.  I have no doubt that we'll make the trip happen without any financial hitches, however what happens when we get back to civilization with no money or jobs to speak of is another question.

Regardless this trip is entirely worth it, only 21 days until we leave for Alaska!

The Food Nightmare

Bfast Bagels hash browns granola cereal pancake mix bacon powdered milk butter Dinner Pasta (variety) instant beans instant lentils falafel mix potato pearls rice tortillas quinoa sausage ground beef dried vegetables ramen Trail Mixes (x 3 or 4) nutes dried fruit cookies crackers candy Cheese 'nuff said Spices et al. Hot sauce yeast bouillon cubes salt chili powder curry powder garlic powder cinnamon italian baking soda cumin cayenne ginger soy sauce vanilla oil vinegar Baking white flour wheat flour corn meal brown sugar powdered eggs cake mixes (brownies, gingerbread) Drinks Coffee tea lemonade mix electrolyte mix cider mix cocoa Other Mountain House GU fuel trash bags Freshies garlic onion some other stuff probably

That's what we're getting and also how I feel about this whole nightmare.  We're primarily going to be using a NOLS-style ration, with bulk food and no planned meals (the only practical way to handle a 37-day trip), but we're also bringing some freeze-dried meals for the climb itself.  I think we're going to be able to order most of our food from BulkFoods.com and Emergency Essentials, which is really good because we have very little time in Anchorage.

To give you an idea of how complex this is going to be, we're planning four ration periods, with the ration amount gradually increasing from 2.25 pounds per person per day to 2.45 pounds per person per day.  We then need to multiply by the category multiplier (.35 for breakfast, .37 for dinner, .26 for cheese), etc., and then split up the resulting poundage for each section of each ration period among the different foods so we have variety and such.

Wish us luck, we're going to need it.

Okay, that was an April Fool's joke

Mountaineering is kind of miserable though.  Maybe that's why we like it?

We're giving it up

The dream was to climb Denali. But let's face it: that's really hard. It's high and super cold and the sun and glacier are merciless. Drinking whey protein twice a day really sucked.

So we're giving it up. We're going to use the funding we've received and the money we've saved to take up a far more civilized sport: yachting. It's warmer, Type 1 fun, there are babes.... all around a better option.

We're switching our flights from Anchorage to Newport - that's right, fabulous Newport, Rhode Island.  We're trading in the dumb yellow boots for nice comfy deck shoes.  Our feet will now be encased in leather, which is what they deserve.  And we'll be getting a tan.  That's right, a tan.

Look for us on the high seas.  We'll be sipping rum, flirting with girls in bikinis, and generally enjoying ourselves.  F*#% mountaineering.

Nifty Summit-Photo Solution

If you were wondering how I took that Katahdin summit photo of all three of us, this is the answer.  Finally, the age-old problem of how to take a good summit photo of the entire team has been solved.

I got the idea from a Portland, OR company called Nasty Clamps: my version, though, weighs only 1 oz. as opposed to their burlier 9 oz. Basically I took apart a Gorillapod, epoxied one little leg into the larger camera-mount section (so as to remove the joint that holds the other two legs), epoxied and duct-taped on a 30-cent clamp, and voila! I've got a super light, super functional clip-on monopod that looks like a sex toy.

If you don't modify and create your own gear, you should!  It's both extremely rewarding and you get exactly what you want.

Katahdin Trip Report

Phew! We're back, and we had an amazing time on Mt. Katahdin.

Day 1:  We arrived at the parking lot at about 12:15 AM and found that about four cars had been broken into.  It had clearly happened earlier that night, since the emergency flashers of one was still going.  It appeared to be a random hit - there must have been twenty cars in the lot - but that wasn't much comfort, so we pitched our tent near the car.  We awoke to "STATE POLICE, GET OUT OF YOUR TENT AND SHOW ME SOME ID.  Yes sir.  After talking with the cop for a half hour and then a ranger for another 20 minutes (he was much nicer, incidentally), it was time  to hit the trail.

The ski in was great for the first six miles - slippery, but that meant plenty of glide so we made good time.  I turned to Max and Noah and said something about how nice it would be for an inch or two of snow before we get to the real uphill sections of the ski.  I think it was Oscar Wilde that said "when the gods wish to punish you, they answer your prayers."  We got the two inches, and it was stickiest, wettest snow that has ever fallen from the sky.  Our skis became useless, harder to use than to not, and we walked the final few miles to Roaring Brook, grateful for the lean-to that would keep us far dryer than our previous arrangement of three big guys in a two-man tent.

Day 2: Day 2 is pretty easy, just 3.3 miles to Chimney Pond, and 1500 feet of elevation gain.  We got there with no hassle, picked a lean-to with a sweet pine-bough-and-snow enclosure, and set up on Chimney Pond with a bottle of Jameson, studying the lines.  We met some cool climbers from Boston who gave us some great tips about our trip to Denali (they'd been last year), and we agreed that The Primitives, which rarely forms, was the plum line.

Day 3:  Rain.  The South Basin was totally socked in.  We got up at 6 AM and again at 7 (okay, Noah got up) but then gave up and slept late.   Everything got soaked, despite our very-enclosed lean-to, and we spent the day playing cards, hanging out with Ranger Greg, and generally being lazy.  A rest day isn't always a bad thing.

Day 4:  The Primitives.  We left camp at 7:15, just as it was getting light, and moved quickly.  Max took the first block and we simulclimbed all the way to the base of the ribbon of ice you can see in the photographs, probably about 1000 feet of steep snow and occasional WI 3-4.  Then I took over and led four pitches of snice, which was nice for sticks but awful for pro.  The anchors ranged from tenuous to bomber, and though we moved quickly, a party of 3 is always slow.  The wind picked up around noon and was soon steady at 25-35 mph, withs gusts around 50 or 60.  We topped out at about 5 PM, and were back in camp around 7.

Day 5:  We dropped SO much gear off the climb.  It was freaking amateur hour up there for a while. We dropped a nut tool, a glove, a piton, an ice screw and a screamer.  Noah also lost a tool off his harness on the descent.  So while he went to find his new tool, Max and I headed back up Cilley-Barber and found, incredibly, the screamer, the piton and Noah's glove.  Four v-threads took us back down, and soon we got to work on our second bottle of Jameson.


Day 6:  Ski out, drive home.  We made superb time, about 5 1/2 hours from Chimney Pond to the parking lot.  Burgers were soon in our bellies, and we began the long drive home through - what else - a crazy blizzard.

It's worth noting that this route was about 2200' total, or approximately 1/4 the length of the Cassin Ridge.  Expect more updates to come: Max and I both learned a lot about our systems and the tweaks needed before AK.

               

            

Training Update #4: Katahdin

photo credit: NEIce user "chess"

photo credit: NEIce user "leaf"

Tomorrow we leave on a week-long training trip to Mt. Katahdin, in northern Maine, home of the biggest, baddest, most-remotest alpine wall on the east coast. Yes, I realize that's not saying much.

We're going to be testing our full Denali system - the MSR Reactor, the one-sleeping-bag bivy, the boots, the belay pants, etc. etc. etc.  Every little detail we've ironed out over the past few months will be put to test, and doubtless most of it will change.

Katahdin is nowhere near the scale of Denali, but routes in its South and North Basins involve serious, sustained alpine climbing in an unforgiving environment.  We're expecting temperatures in the teens during the day, if it's sunny, and around zero at night.  If a piece of the system isn't working, we'll know pretty quick.

Main goals are the Cilley-Barber, the Chauvin-Cole, and Waterfall Buttress.  We may also try to climb two routes in a day, which will approximate about 2/3 of the Cassin.

Have a good week!  We will.

Ouch

The number of step-ups we did this evening, onto a 17" box with 40-lb packs.

It was really f#cking difficult.

To put this in perspective, the Cassin Ridge is 9000' long, or 6,356 17" step-ups.

So.... yeah.  The Brits might say we're totally buggered. Right now we're just gonna go with "we need to train more."

Tickets (eek!)

We bought tickets!  Now we are definitely going to Alaska for a month.  $500 roundtrip from Boston with no fees for checking baggage? Could it be?  Yes.  Well, we're not sure sure about that last bit but the fare is bought and paid for.  Of course, we have to fly through Houston.

We're flying to Alaska on May 5th and returning via redeye on June 9th.  Our permit is for May 8th-June 8th. Talkeetna has no idea what's about to hit it.

Gorillas in the Mist (WI6 M6)

Earlier this winter we had a go at Gorillas in the Mist, the Jeff Lowe classic on Poke-O-Moonshine.  It's only been climbed twice (by Jeff Lowe and Ed Palen, and again the next day by Alex Lowe and Randy Rackliffe).  So it was a bit arrogant to think we could follow such an illustrious group.  But conditions seemed promising - after all, Matt Horner, Matt McCormick and Bayard Russell had just put up a variation, Endangered Species (NEI5+ M6+ R), so we thought there might just be enough ice to climb.  There wasn't.  It may not have been our finest hour, but I'm sure glad we tried.  Below is the video I made.

(I would like to note that this is my first attempt at video editing and a lot of the transitions are there simply so I could practice syncing them with music.  It's a little goofy.  Enjoy.)

The Game

Alaska milk

I've been trying to spread this game for a quite a while, and since I've now got this lovely electronic soapbox, it's time to share it with the world.  Max and I have been playing this game as long as we've been climbing together, and now it's practically a ritual.

The rules are simple: find the most calories for the least cash.  The person with the highest cal./dollar ratio wins.  Usually we play in a gas station on the way to an ice climb.

So far the 99-cent bag of peanuts has been very difficult to beat (about 1000 calories).  Also strong contenders: the Snickers bar, at 280 cal., can sometimes be found as low as 65 cents.The gallon of whole milk (ideally, choco) usually goes for about $3.50, and comes in at an incredible 4000+ calories.  Butter, Crisco, etc. are definitely contenders, but thankfully we've never yet been that hungry/broke.

So next time you're out dirtbagging... erm, climbing ... go play!

Training Update #3: Mountain Athlete

Today we started the 9-week "ice/mixed alpine" training program we purchased from Mountain Athlete.  We've been doing the program for the past few weeks at reduced weight just so we can start it again (today) at full weight. That means we leave for Alaska in 9 weeks.

Mountain Athlete is a gym is Jackson Hole, WY, that has built on the writing of Mark Twight and a few other alpinists who pioneered the idea that gym training is necessary to truly push the sport to the next level.  The owner, Rob Shaul, designed a really cool program that incorporates stretching with strength, durability and endurance training. He has also been enormously helpful with our questions.

We also built a pretty sweet workout space in my dad's lower shop, with a system board (a climbing wall for ice tools), a removable pull-up bar, a box, free weights and a bar.  The motto "Train Hard, Climb Fast" is Mountain Athlete's.

I'll be posting some videos at a later date, but for now suffice to say it's really f*$^ing hard.  Which is the whole point.  Rob says his workouts makes you "harder to kill," and after a few weeks of it at reduced weight, we're convinced it's true.

More updates to come.

Mindbender

Mindbender is the middle line

One of the nice things about Mindbender is that you can sing it to the tune of "Goldfinger" as you climb.  In your head, hopefully.

Max was working so I headed up to the Lake on Saturday with Jared Streeto, who had never climbed ice before.  We sought refuge from the high winds in the Mindbender amphitheater, which is a bit sheltered, and had a go at Mindbender herself.  She was in full WI5+ conditions - very mushroomed, which makes it difficult to find placements for ice screws and also makes the whole thing feel overhanging.


Jared was pretty pumped at the top of the first pitch and dropped a tool, so we retreated.  Still a great day.

Jared just before he dropped a tool

Cabot Sponsorship

We just got off the phone with Cabot Cheese, a cooperatively owned Vermont creamery, and makers of the best sharp cheddar in the world.  They are graciously donating thirty pounds of their Extra Sharp and Seriously Sharp cheddar cheeses to our expedition.

Cheese is an essential food in the backcountry because it provides fat and protein in a dense, calorie-rich package.

To the 1200+ dairy farmers across New England who are helping to fuel our bodies while we attempt to climb the proudest line to the highest summit in North America, thank you.  We love your cheese.

Climbing Update

Got out climbing twice this past week.

Tuesday hit up Rumney and worked on getting my lead head back after sketching myself out at Frankenstein a while back.  Climbed Geographic Factor, supposedly WI5 but more like a 4 and messed around on some fun mixed lines.  Sorry, no photos, forgot the camera, really wishing I had a couple of shots of the stuff we were playing around on.

Wed. Jacon and I headed up north to North Stratford, NH, middle of nowhere and explored some super sketchy bac kroads looking for a place to park to ski the 3-4 miles into Valhalla, WI6, saw lots of "Private" and "No Trespassing" and "Cameras" signs all over the place, apparently people in that neck of the woods don't take too kindly to visitors.  After hours of driving around and hours of digging the epically stuck car out of the snow we found the snowmobile/logging trails we could take to get close to the cliff.  Unfortunately we took the wrong trail and ended up not making it to the climb.

We will be returning next week to hopefully climb the notoriously thin and rarely "in".  Pictures of our latest adventure to follow.

Chicken Climbs Ice

He's also been talking about coming to Denali... if he bites the bullet and buys a ticket, we'll add him to the contributors.

Write to Denali and Rainier National Parks and Protest the Proposed Fee Increase

Below is my letter to Denali National Park protesting the proposed fee increase.  $200 is already too much.  $500 is way too much.  You should write one too, here.

To Whom it May Concern,

One of the small beauties of climbing mountains is that it's fairly accessible. No, the gear isn't cheap, even secondhand. And no, not everyone has mountains in their backyard. Of course there are entrance barriers. But compare climbing mountains to riding horses, sailing boats, or racing cars. Compare it to skydiving, or SCUBA, or skiing. There are thousands of ways to seek challenge and adventure in this world, and one of the small beauties of climbing mountains is that they are there for everyone. That's why representatives of the citizens of this great country saw fit to preserve the "crown jewels" of our environment - to preserve them as they are, to be enjoyed by everyone.

A $500 fee is a significant entrance barrier. A $200 fee is a significant entrance barrier. I know, because my friend Max and I are planning a trip to Denali this spring. We each won $600 grants from the American Alpine Club, but still there is an enormous amount of money to raise. We've both just graduated from college and have significant debt, but we love climbing enough to manage that while making this trip happen. Max is working three crappy jobs, while I'm working occasionally as a substitute teacher and writing letters to companies for sponsorship. The current fee of $200 is already a weighty burden for us.

The Park Service has always done extraordinary things for climbers - and not least among them are the rescue services sometimes required and always provided. We appreciate that. Seeking challenge amidst genuine danger is part of the allure of climbing mountains, and climbers should always strive to be self-reliant, but it's nice to know that if things go really, really wrong, there might still just be a chance.

But we're not all rich, thrill-seeking guided tourists. Some of us are debt-ridden lovers of mountains. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that raising the per-person fee to $15 and the per-vehicle fee to $30 would raise the same revenue as raising the mountaineering fees for Foraker and Denali. A 50% raise, and one that amounts to $5 or $10 dollars, is a lot more reasonable than a 150% raise amounting to $300. It's okay to expect mountaineers to pay a special fee for special services; but $500 is too much. Let some of the park's costs be offset by all the other visitors, just as emergency medical services are there for everyone, even though it's drunk drivers, the obese and the elderly who use them most.

Don't turn mountain climbing into downhill skiing: a sport for the rich.

sincerely,
Jacon Mayer

Patagucci Shout Out!

Patagonia athlete and mountaineering great Kelly Cordes gave us a nice shout out about two weeks ago on Patagonia's blog, The Cleanest Line.  Along with the other winners of AAC Mountain Fellowship Grants, we're "young guns."  Looks like there are a bunch of other cool trips happening this year, undertaken by some other youngish climbers.  According to Kelly, "Many of the recipients over the years have evolved into America’s top climbers"....  just so we're clear, that's going to be the other guys and girls.  Still, we appreciate it.  The Cleanest Line definitely gets more readership than our modest efforts.  Thanks Kelly!

Also thanks to my friend Martha, who brought this to our attention.  They don't tell us nothin'.

Training tools and space

Just spent a few hours building a system board and clearing out, cleaning, and preparing a space to do our Mountain Athlete workouts in. Bought floor mats and a set of weights so we're getting there.

The pieces are starting to come together, with a lot of hard work and a good diet (no beer...)we're gonna be in top shape in no time.

Been getting some good time on the ice as well, did some pretty fun/sketchy climbing up at Frankenstein and then at Rumney this week, been a bit warm so the ice was pretty thin, hollow, and detached, good mental training I suppose.

Until next time...