Denali Light: The 2007 Attempt

Clouds swirl over the South Face of Denali as seen from the landing strip on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Over a thousand climbers attempt to reach the mountain's 20,320-foot summit during the peak months of May and June. Denali is the highest mountain in North America.

May 21, 2007 Our minimalist Stephenson Warmlite 2RL set-up next to more serious expeditions at Camp One (7800 feet) on the lower Kahiltna Glacier. Even without a single guy line, the 2.75-pound Warmlite sheds wind and snow like a champ. But if that sort of thing makes your palms sweat, the 11.5-pound Trango 3.1 (background) sports dozens of tie downs.

May 22, 2007 Multi-purpose, plain, and simple was the key to our cooking system. All our meals were just-add-hot-water, allowing us to bring one four-liter aluminum pot for melting snow. The MSR XGK stove provides the BTUs required to melt large quantities of dry snow in a short amount of time at high elevations.

May 22, 2007 Climbers endure high winds at the Camp Two (11,000 feet) basin. Gusts to sixty miles per hour put our shelter system to the test early in the trip, giving us confidence to move higher on the mountain.

May 19, 2007 Agnes Stowe ‘lugs’ her entire kit up Motorcycle Hill, a steep 700-foot climb above the 11,000-foot camp. Our heaviest days were those where we moved to the next camp. In addition to our entire set-up, we also packed food and fuel for four days during these moves.

May 25, 2007 Climbers ascending to Windy Corner while on their ascent of Denali's West Buttress. Most parties, including ours, make two trips around Windy Corner to cache supplies before moving to the 14,300-foot basin camp. This also helps with acclimatizing.

May 30, 2007 Agnes Stowe gets breakfast going while hunkered down at the 14,300-foot basin camp on Denali’s West Buttress. We employed an 8 x 10-foot Integral Design Siltarp as an oversized vestibule. It served the dual purpose of a cooking shelter in high winds that brought wind chill values off the chart and provided shade during the heat of the day when temperatures can reach over 100 degrees in the tent. Sometimes these two extremes exist only hours apart.

May 28, 2007 Agnes Stowe celebrates her 25th birthday at the 14,300-foot basin camp. No birthday cake here, but a big bowl of chocolate fudge pudding with a couple of candles was a good substitute, not to mention lightweight.

May 28, 2007 Climbers pick over supplies being given away by descending teams at the 14,300-foot basin camp, also known as Barter Town. Groups heading down the mountain try to ditch excess food and gas to lighten their loads for the long haul back to the Kahiltna Glacier landing strip. Coveted items are unopened cheese or butter, anything with processed meat, and unused pee bottles.

May 31, 2007 Climbers gather around Mark Dzikowski, of Alberta, Canada to listen in on the nightly weather report at the 14,300-foot basin camp. Weather forecasts are broadcast nightly at eight o’clock for different areas of the mountain.

May 29, 2007 Packed for our move to the 17,200-foot high camp, Agnes Stowe ascends to the steep headwall at 15,500 feet on Denali's popular West Buttress route. High winds combined with cold temperatures to create a double whammy that turned us back three times from making high camp.

May 30, 2007 Towering loads make their way up to the steep headwall at 15,500 feet on Denali's West Buttress route. The average pack weight on a West Buttress trip sits at sixty-five pounds.

June 1, 2007 Climbers ascend the steep headwall at 15,500 feet where the National Parks Service maintains ropes to aid climbers in reaching the ridge crest at 16,200 feet. Fixed ropes and permanent pickets are located at all the technical sections, leaving you to provide basic gear in case of a self-rescue situation. Many climbers carry excessive amounts of technical gear with miles of cord, numerous screws and dozens of heavy carabiners.

June 2, 2007 After two weeks high on the West Buttress, we returned to Kahiltna International and a cache of post-trip goodies; a pound and a half of thick cut bacon, a fifth of tequila, and lemon-lime Gatorade for margaritas. Agnes gets busy while we wait for a pilot.

June 2, 2007 Climbers crash out at the Kahiltna Glacier landing strip after an all night descent from the 14,300-foot camp on the West Buttress.