Denali: The plan

A trip to the top of the continent, Denali is probably going to be cold.

• May 9- June 9
• Summit: 20,320', 13100' gain, 33 miles round trip, 12-20 days plane-to-plane
• Team: Tom Tom Club

  Tom Lopez "Tom" Mt. Heinen Basil's Ridge Peak 10805 Garden Peak

  Tom Martin "Tommy" Mt. Borah Mt. Washington, NH Mt. Mansfield, VT Mt. Chocorua

  Tom Platt "Bro" Mt. Shasta North Sister Mt. Borah Mt. Hood

  John Platt Mt. Rainier (early) Mt. Rainier (02, pictured)

The story behind this expedition

Over a year ago, Tom Lopez (author of Idaho: A Climbing Guide, referred to on this page simply as "Tom") invited me to join him on an expedition to Denali, the great one. I have wanted to go on a major expedition ever since I was young, inspired by reading the book Annapurna (Herzog) as an early teen (in other words, a looong time ago).

Last November my daughter Mariel and I climbed Mexico's Pico de Orizaba. Orizaba gave me a taste of climbing in an exotic locale and also confidence in my ability at altitude. I returned home ready for a bigger challenge. Although Denali was high on my list, any expedition to a great range would have satisfied me. Tom's motivation was slightly different, but I'll let him tell his own story.

Another factor for this trip was my brother. Bro would turn 50 in late May, and this trip was to mark this milestone in his life. The special day might even come with the summit?

The decision

I first met Tom back in the '80s, but we didn't really know each other. We had become better acquainted recently, but only on one hike together. So before I could accept Tom's invitation, I had to satisfy myself that this is a person with whom I want to share three weeks in a tent. In the winter of 2007-2008, we got together for a beer or two, and went skiing.

At that point, Denali was a definite maybe for spring 2008. We agreed on a variety of important factors: style, safety, gear (definitely skis, not snowshoes), motivation, etc. But then Tom had medical issues (explained in his story) so we put the whole thing off.

When we climbed Basil's Ridge the next summer, we started talking about Denali again. Just before we climbed Peak 10805 last fall, Tom got a clean bill of health. So Denali was back on the table for 2009. Then it was a matter of finding an acceptable team. And we also agreed that we needed to be fully committed by January 15 in order to be ready in time.

I had spoken to several people over the last few years (I had originally planned on climbing Denali in 2005, but put that on hold when I broke my leg). When I asked again, I got lots of "maybes."

But my brother Tom (referrer to here as "Bro") was immediately in- he was looking for a special adventure to mark his 50th birthday. Bro has continued his bike racing over the last several years, so he is lean and mean; in a word, fit. How fit? Well, when younger, he won the Bogus Basin hill climb, riding up 4000' in under an hour. He looks like he could still do that.

When Tom Martin (as the youngest of the three Toms, referred to here as "Tommy") joined, I knew we had a really strong four-person team. Tommy is a horse. How strong is he? I'm not exactly small but when I broke my leg in the Lost Rivers, he practically carried me out.

Preparing

From January 15, it seemed like May was an awful long way off. We went round and round about the best dates. Finally Tom chose a May 9 departure, and everybody accepted that. Then began round after round of equipment discussions and purchases, creation of menus, packing gear, etc. etc. until we're all just about sick of that.

Our ace in the hole is my uncle Gene, who lives in Anchorage. Gene graciously accepted the chore of being a delivery point for gear we shipped, and driving us to-and-from Talkeetna. He's also letting us crash at his house. This saves us a ton of money, but also keeps us in our comfort zone- none of us is particularly comfortable in a motel. Plus, he's a great guy. With his positive attitude and can-do help, it feels like he's part of the team.

We did the whole registration with the Denali national Park, choosing the name "Tom Tom Club" for what should be obvious reasons. We also made our reservations with both the flights to Anchorage and the flight onto the Kahiltna glacier, where the climb starts.

And finally, it was time to get our bodies into shape. For the most part, we were all physically capable without doing any extra training. Tommy, Bro, and I are all semi-retired bike racers; we know how to train and also how to put out when it's necessary. Tom had been on Denali twice before, so he knows more specifically what is required. Even so, we've all been doing the extra work that should make our daily travails a little less fatiguing. Up to a point: the last couple of weeks have not been conducive to our schedule; either we have had personal chores to address or the weather in Idaho has been crap. Us Idaho guys were a little concerned about Tommy, who basically lives at sea level in New Hampshire. But Tom pointed out that being as Tommy is still in his 30s, he has an advantage for which us other guys can't really train. But seriously, not to worry. To acclimate properly, we need to go slow on the mountain regardless of how fit we are. So now that slightly slower pace will be enforced.

At least in the crappy weather we can still do our crevasse rescue practice. Anyone for a z-pulley? Wanna climb a tree on your ascenders?

A week to go

It doesn't seem possible that we will leave in just seven days. All our shipped gear has arrived at Gene's. I guess it's time to start stuffing the remaining crap into bags. On the flight to base camp on the Kahiltna, we are limited to just 125 pounds each (!) unless we want to pay extra. But we have 60 pounds each in just food. Then there are the skis and sleds. Tents. Shovels. Stoves and cook gear. OMG- to make the weight limit, we're going to have to go naked! Pictures to follow ;-)

Reports from the mountain?

We are not taking a hundred pounds of telecommunication gear. If and when we can, we will try to call out on a cell phone (don't hold your breath). If our communication efforts are successful, we've arranged to have reports posted onto the IdahoSummits bulletin board.

If you are wondering about the Denali climbing season in general, the Park Service maintains a page for current conditions and statistics.

General information and The Plan

Route map

Talkeetna, 6:30am

Talkeetna, 11pm

Big pack

Denali haircut = loose hats

Special thanks

Weather

Volcano alerts (Mt. Redoubt)

2008 statistics

Trip reports

Important documents

Misc.

Links

Training completed (not comprehensive)

Proposed schedule

2 days' food
dry bag, wands to mark

Climb to 10k camp, 9700'
(usually double carry)

Climb to bottom of Motorcycle Hill
(11k camp)

climb to 13,500' , place 13.5k cache:
3 gallons gas
12 days food
~160#

Possible summit day

2.5 miles (3100' gain)

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