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Rich McDrew and Dennis Swanson were recipients of a Backpacking Light Magazine Adventure Grant. Their grant award was based on some state of the art mountaineering and snow travel gear - including Ushba Altai Titanium Ice Axes, Northern Lites Snowshoes (on Denali? You bet!), and more. Rich and Dennis are no spring chickens - in their 60s, they were thrilled to share their success with us to the top of North America's highest peak during a foul weather window that saw few successful summits among scores of attempts. Part 1: Summit Day Narrative, offers some insight into the minds of a couple of aging regular guys hell bent on reaching the summit of Denali. Part 2: Gear Notes, offers some insightful commentary on the logic of balancing weight with safety when selecting gear for a Denali expedition.--- End of free preview ---
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Discussion
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This thread is intended to provide a forum for discussion in combination with the following articles at BackpackingLight.com:
Classic Denali: Climbing America’s Highest Peak (Part 1, Summit Day Narrative)
(M) Classic Denali: Climbing America’s Highest Peak (Part 2, Gear Notes)
Denali’s West Buttress Route is a supreme mountaineering challenge, and more than once has been the pinnacle of one’s backpacking and climbing career.
Packing for a 3-week Denali expedition is no easy task, when you consider that (1) you must provide enough gear to be self-sufficent, and (2) you must plan for conditions that can range from over 90 degrees F on a parabolic glacial bowl at the lower camps to minus 30 degrees F – or colder – with astoundingly high winds above the highest camp en route to the summit.
Hopefully, the articles, and this forum thread, will provide a basis for ongoing discussion of gear and strategies for “going light” on a Denali climb.
– Ryan
As I approach the age wall I am encouraged by two men my age willing and able to tackle the hard challenges.
Wow, what a great and inspiring story! I am curious about your food. Did you use store-bought dehydrated food, or homemade dehydrated food, or something else? Also, the pictures are great! What kind of camera was used?
We used primarily dehydrated food. Our favorite brand, and we have tried most of them, is Mountain House. The camera we used was a one-time use one by Kodak, and the great advantage is that it is light. One must be careful to protect it from the freezing conditions, otherwise it will become useless.
Great story, and useful tips for any significant summit attempt. Is the gear list posted somewhere? I can not find it. Thanks.
I too would love to see a gear list! I just did Rainier and Denali is my next lofty goal (when i get the money and vacation time).
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