How Nature Challenges Us: Denali

Over the last few weeks we've shifted our courage theme's focus to exploring how nature challenges us. Last week we were fortunate to catch, Brain, a good friend of mine, between trips. Brian's spent the last 5 years working for the National Outdoor Leadership School. From Patagonia to Alaska, he leads expeditions through some of the most remote places on earth. Basically, Brian and I do the exact same thing except for a few things. I teach 5th graders; he, Navy Seals and Harvard Business School students. Our total elevation, 20 feet above sea level; his 20,000 feet. But, we both use a white board (note the plastic bag strung around two ski poles).

Brian spoke to us just after returning home from his most ambitious ascent yet, the north face of Denali, North America's highest peak, coldest mountain in the world.

Brian told the story over the phone while we all sat in awe of the stunning pictures.

Denali in the distance. One of the last images of greenery the group will see for the next month

Challenge 1: Mosquitos. The group has planned for their second challenge, the difficulty of getting food on this side of the mountain. Planes are common on the south face but the team will rendezvous with supplies dropped off by dogsled at the foot of the glacier.  

Inclement weather at this altitude: Not a challenge. Inclement weather covering crevices in the glacier: challenge. 

Camp One. The large pole in the foreground is to test the snow depth to ensure they're not sleeping above a crevice in the glacier.  

Challenge: the true summit (smaller looking peak to the left) Bigger challenge: the traversing the glacier in front of it. Brian explains it like bending a snickers or walking on a cream cheese covered English muffin.

Challenge: In the upper elevation the team rests for days to aclimate their bodies. With no planes or helicopters able to get in or out, altitude sickness must be avoided. 

With all that snow, the last thing you might think about is the sun as a challenge. Sun blindness can feel like needles in the eyeballs. Sufferers must rest for days with their eyes closed. 

Self-Portrait at 18,000 feet. Notice the distance in between climbers. This is to ensure a safe retrieval if the ground over a crevice in the glacier were to give way. The team quickly assembles pulley systems to pull the climber back to safety. Although, sometimes the camera isn't so lucky. Right, Brian?

Students: Let's pause here for a quick inference lesson. What conclusion do you think I wanted you to draw from that last sentence.

Challenge: Finding a route. Here Brian and John head out on a scouting mission.  The excess heating of the snow during the day has required the team to take a few days to switch their bodies over to a night climbing schedule. Summertime in Alaska results in 24 hour daylight. Here's Brian at 2am. That's the middle of the night to you and me. 

Here you get a look at the severity of the crevices. Again, keep in mind that this picture was taken somewhere around midnight.  

The low positioning of the sun in the sky leads to lots of great colors. Challenge: because of the excess weight, you have to leave your canvas and watercolors at home. 

The team has hiked along this crevice for days looking for a safe snow bridge to cross. In the background notice the enormous snow boulders. They've fallen at the base of the peak and over the years, been transported down the glacier.  

The elevation is getting serious. The team rests frequently to adjust to these extreme conditions. 

The thin air makes any movement (especially hiking with gear) a significant challenge. At this height, the team carries less weight and makes a series of trips over several days moving their camp up to 15,000 feet. 

They've built walls out of snow before setting camp for protection in case a storm were to roll through. It's a good thing, too. A ferocious snow storm at this altitude stops the team in its tracks. A group has built their wall too close to their tent. The accumulating snow crushes the tent and they all must spend the night shoveling.  The team is stopped dead in their tracks. They can do nothing but hunker down in their tents until the storm pushes through. 

Once the weather clears the team again spends several days moving their equipment to their final camp at around 18,000 before they reach the summit. At this height, sleeping is difficult and everyone feels tired. The body can not process anything more complex that sugar. The temperature fluctuates between -30 and 0 degrees at the warmest. The metal  crampons suck the heat through the many layers between the feet and the boot. The team stops frequently to take their boots off and warm their feet in the sun. 

After much deliberation, the team makes the decision to continue to the summit. Because the journey is the destination, not officially summiting is not a concern for the guides. The decision is up to the students. Brian and John discuss their concerns and make the decision to lead the group to the summit. 

Nothing but clouds below, the team reaches the summit from the north. 

After almost 4 weeks, the team spends roughly 40 minutes at the summit.  They are officially half way there.

The journey that has taken over three weeks going up, takes only 3 days to get down. Back off the glacier, the guides were very upset with one of the students. Revealing a frost bitten toe, confirmed their thinking just before summiting. Because this student didn't inform the instructors of his conditions on the mountain, he placed the whole team at risk. If the toe became any worse, he may not have been able to climb down placing the onus on the rest of the group.  All was well that ended well. Besides a toe.

The haggard group reachers the bus at midnight a little over a month after their journey began. It's around 3am and you can see the road out of the back of the bus. 


A special thank you to Brian Kasavana for waking up early to share his story with our class.