The flights, to the Kahiltna Glacier, were somewhat uneventful and each climber arrived safely.  Once the entire team gathered and unpacked all of their gear, the climb officially began.  Each climber’s typical load, carried onto the mountain, was near 130 lbs.  The use of sleds assisted with hauling food and fuel on the lower glacier.  The poor weather conditions didn’t offer any relief.

The expedition began with somewhat bad weather; snow and heavy fog kept visibility to a minimum. As the team set off, the first objective was descending the dreaded "Heartbreak Hill".  It really does break your heart; the 500 vertical ft. of descent is quickly followed by 1200 ft. of ascent to the first camp site.  Upon arrival to camp one, nearly 7 hours after heading out, snow began accumulating at a much greater rate.  For the next two days the snow continued, yet the team pressed on; loads still had to be move up the mountain.

The teams next step was to forward carry half of the gear and food from camp one to around 10,500 ft. to cache (store) it higher on the mountain, followed by a descent back to camp one.  The next day’s focus was to pack up and move to 11,200 ft. camp.  During the move to 11,200 ft. camp, the team experienced several small avalanche and serac break-offs directly in front of us.  Linden and Andy, our guides, quickly detoured the route, taking us out of harms way.  It was later determined that an earthquake had occurred and was centered 30 miles east of Talkeetna.  The team members were very fortunate and counted all blessings. The following day the team picked up all cached gear and food from 10,500 ft., then returned to 11,200 ft. camp.   While at 11,200 ft. camp, the snow continued.  As the days passed, the weather began to clear; it was estimated that the snow had accumulated to nearly four feet.  Good weather or not, we still needed to continue on.

The teams next task was to move gear to 14,200 ft. camp.  We climbed "Motorcycle Hill", Squirrel Hill", crossed the "Polo Fields", headed around "Windy Corner", then buried our cached gear just short of 14,200 ft. camp, only to return to 11,200 ft. camp yet again.  The following day the team moved to 14,200 ft. camp, picking up all cached gear along the way.  Once establishing a semi-permanent residence at 14,200 ft. camp, the team look up at the upcoming challenge....2000 ft. of straight-up climbing, and also the dreaded "fixed ropes".  Before heading up to our next camp site at 17,200 ft., we took a walk out to the "Edge of the world", an area of shear-drop-off of nearly 7000 ft.  The views were spectacular and the weather had cleared just long enough for us to see the entire mountain range.  The next day, we packed up camp, ascended the 2000 ft. wall, discovering that it wasn't so bad after all, and the fixed lines were much easier to negotiate than had been expected.  Above the fixed lines the team was confronted by the West Buttress; a narrow ridge with drop-offs, of thousands of feet, on either side. 

The West Buttress was very exciting and somewhat frightening at times.  While on the Buttress, we climbed and negotiated through and around famous landmarks such as Washburn’s Thumb, and narrow ridges only wide enough for one person.  This part of the climb lasted about four hours, coming to a welcome end at high camp or 17,200 ft. camp.  Above high camp, the terrain presented obstacles such as the notorious "Autobahn", and “Denali Pass”, but also allowed for several safe sites for breaks.  The Autobahn is picketed for belaying the entire roped team.  From there on up, the climbing was relatively gentle until the last stretch...."Pig Hill", a 700 vertical foot hill leading to the summit ridge.  The summit ridge was exactly what was expected....narrow.  (As I carefully walked the ridge,  I remembered all of the pictures I had seen of the ridge and all of the climbers that had been there before me.)

The summit came as no surprise....it was absolutely beautiful.  As we stood on the "Roof of North America", the sense of relief was overwhelming. (I had just completed the next step in my goal to climb the highest mountain in the world....Mt Everest.)  Unfortunately, our celebration was cut short; we realized that we were only half way done with the climb....remembering the descend of the mountain typically claims most lives.  As anticipated, the descent was somewhat difficult.  In short, it lasted three days and as the altitude decreased, our loads increased.  The final day was relatively short, consisting of a short haul to basecamp (six hours or so), a flight back to Talkeetna, sorting of all gear, checking back into the motel, shaving for an hour, have a celebration get-together, and preparing for the flight home to our families. 

For me, it wasn't until the flight back to Ohio, that I realized the enormous accomplishment.  I had never climbed large mountains prior to two years ago, yet there I was on a mountain that has been said to be as difficult a climb as Mt Everest.  My plan is to continue climbing large mountains; my next climb will be Mt Aconcagua in Argentina.