Well another expedition over. I will be posting and adding pictures over the next few days. Thanks to everyone who was watching, and for the encouraging comments.

May 31 - Talkeetna

The travelers managed to get down to Base Camp and also get a flight out to Talkeetna. They are planning to spend the night there, and visit the authorities tomorrow to close out the expedition.

After that, a ride back into Anchorage where they will either hop right on a plane or spend one night before catching a flight home Thursday.

So, they will be home sometime late Wednesday or Thursday. Who needed a trade for Friday?

This will be my last post on the expedition. Lucille will post more once she gets back to civilization.

Thanks for following.

Back at Basecamp

We arrived at Camp 3 - below Motorcycle hill - at 8pm last night and put up the tent. The plan was to get up early so that we could safely get to base camp. Since Denali has had very little snow this year, the snow bridges over the crevasses are almost non-existent so the only way to make it through safely is while the bridges are frozen in the middle of the night. Our friends the French Canadian team of 6 showed up at 11pm in a blizzard. We slept until 0130 when Domhnall woke up noting that the blizzard was over and visibility was good. We quickly packed up and started heading down. The difficult part was keeping the two pulks (sleds) with about 200lbs of stuff on them tracking down the slope.

This was the view of the sunrise.

We arrived at base camp at 9am after almost 7 hours of non-stop moving. Once we arrived we waited about 5 hours for the sky to clear so that we could get picked up. This is a photo of Domhnall resting while we waited for our flight out.

May 30 - Back to Camp 3

Yesterday, the team made it all the way down to Camp 3 at 11,000', collecting all of their gear and extra food on the way.

The plan for today is to get a really early start, descend all the way to Base Camp, and with any luck, get a flight back out to Talkeetna. You might think it is all downhill from here, and you would be mostly right, except for Heartbreak Hill, which is a 690' rise just before they arrive at basecamp.

Then they will reschedule their return flights for home. All I need to know is....what time should I pick them up at the airport tomorrow?

Check-in/OK message from Go Spot Go SPOT Personal Tracker

Go Spot Go
Latitude:63.07439
Longitude:-151.14659
GPS location Date/Time:05/31/2011 09:50:07 NPT

Message:Denali Eh OK.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/4wx6k/63.07439N/151.14659W

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Down to Camp 3

Today was a long day. We got up and packed up which took about 2 hours then headed down to basin camp at 14,000 feet. I took these pictures out our tent flap before we left. This is where we were only 24 hours ago, making our way to the summit. I counted over 40 people heading up.

We are feeling good after our summit yesterday, but we are moving slower than usual. We headed down the ridge to the fixed ropes. We stopped to speak with many people on our way down, and they were all asking the same questions.....had we summited and how did it go? The temperature was hot and sunny, and were we ever glad to be going down instead of up. At basin camp Domhnall dug up the cache we had left behind, and fried up some cheese sandwiches for us. After about an hour we continued to head down, but now with a sled. Everything was going well until we reached Windy Corner......not sure why it is called that.....other than it is always WINDY!!!!! Just beyond the weather deteriorated and visibility was significantly decreased. I sometimes lost sight of the next wand that is used to keep us on the right track. Eventually we made it down to Camp 3 just below Motorcycle hill.

May 29 - Camp 5 - Summit - Camp 5

Lucille phoned on the Sat Phone after summitting, and with quick breaths described how she still has an in with the weather gods. Despite concerns early in the day about high winds possibly stopping their attempt, she says they had a sunny blue sky with no wind at the summit.

They returned to camp 5 to sleep, but over the next couple of days you can expect a rapid descent. Probably camp 3 today, and base camp tomorrow. They will probably be sleeping in their own beds by Friday night.

Check-in/OK message from Go Spot Go SPOT Personal Tracker FROM THE SUMMIT !!!!!

Go Spot Go
Latitude:63.06913
Longitude:-151.00627
GPS location Date/Time:05/30/2011 09:12:35 NPT

Message:Denali Eh OK.

See my blog at http://myfriendlucille.blogspot.com

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/4wOPR/63.06913N/151.00627W

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Summit!!!!!!

Summit day!!!!

We woke up at 0630 where I started melting snow and making breakfast for us. After about 1 1/2 hours we headed out the tent, ready to head for the summit, but the mountain was not ready for us. It was windy....too windy to go for the summit. We wandered around camp talking with other teams, no one else was prepare to make a move with the conditions we noted on the summit. After a while we headed back into the tent, into our sleeping bags to warm up and Domhnall made us some soup. Around 11am Domhnall noted that the wind direction had changed thus making a summit attempt possible. We rushed to put on our crampons, get our packs and head off. After the traverse it got windy and much colder. I pulled out my down pants and jacket. We all put on all the clothing we had with us including face masks and goggles.
Eventually we reached the football field, and the wind calmed down, making it possible for us to remove our down clothing. Just one more hill and then we were on the summit ridge. After 8 hours we were standing on the summit in calm wind and sunny skies. Beautiful.

May 29 - Run for the Summit.

This is it, the summit push is on.

Check-in/OK message from Go Spot Go SPOT Personal Tracker

Go Spot Go
Latitude:63.07891
Longitude:-151.05389
GPS location Date/Time:05/29/2011 00:56:27 NPT

Message:Denali Eh OK.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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May 28 - Rest Day

Just got news that they are officially resting today at 17,200'. Watch for the summit attempt tomorrow.

May 27 - Move to Camp 5 - 17,200'

Today was a move to the high camp at 17,200' (5,200m). They are now staged for a summit attempt, weather permitting. May 28 may be a rest day, but the weather forecast would indicate that if they are rested enough already, that they should push for the summit right away. If they don't go for it this weekend, snow and wind is on the way.

...ABOVE 14 THOUSAND FEET...

.FRIDAY NIGHT...MAINLY CLEAR.
LOW AT 17 THOUSAND FEET...5° BELOW (-20C).
WINDS FROM 17 THOUSAND FEET TO THE SUMMIT...EAST 15 MPH.

.SATURDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY.
HIGH AT 17 THOUSAND FEET...5° ABOVE (-15C).
WINDS FROM 17 THOUSAND FEET TO THE SUMMIT...EAST 15 MPH.

.OUTLOOK SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...
PARTLY CLOUDY TOWARD THE SUMMIT.
MOSTLY CLOUDY AT LOWER ELEVATIONS.
SNOW LIKELY BY TUESDAY.
SUMMIT WINDS...EAST 20 MPH OR LESS SUNDAY BECOMING
SOUTH MONDAY...INCREASING TO 50 MPH BY TUESDAY.

Here is what the possible route to the summit would be. Watch the Spot for further developments.

May 26 - Rest Day

Today was a day to rest up before moving to the 17,200' camp 5 tomorrow. Looking for the right weather to make a summit bid.

May 25 - Carry to 17,000'

Today was a carry of supplies to 17,000' in preparation for the move to camp 5. Returned to camp 4 to sleep and continue with acclimatization. Move to camp 5 is coming soon.

Check-in/OK message from Go Spot Go SPOT Personal Tracker

Go Spot Go
Latitude:63.0699
Longitude:-151.07489
GPS location Date/Time:05/26/2011 11:40:59 NPT

Message:Denali Eh OK.

See my blog at http://myfriendlucille.blogspot.com

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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May 24 - Rest Day

Today, the guys descended to windy corner to retrieve their cache and bring it up to camp. Lucille took a rest day. The plan for tomorrow, weather and restfulness permitting, will be a carry to near the 17,000' camp 5, and descend back to camp 4 to sleep.

The following voice message left by Lucille is chopped up at the beginning and end, but has some good content overall.

Listen to Lucille.

Check-in/OK message from Go Spot Go SPOT Personal Tracker

Go Spot Go
Latitude:63.06989
Longitude:-151.07547
GPS location Date/Time:05/25/2011 03:06:46 NPT

Message:Denali Eh OK.

See my blog at http://myfriendlucille.blogspot.com

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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May 23 - Head Wall

Headed up to the head wall ropes - 15,675' (4777m) for acclimatization in preparation for a move to camp 5. Returned to camp 4 to sleep.

Check-in/OK message from Go Spot Go SPOT Personal Tracker

Go Spot Go
Latitude:63.07001
Longitude:-151.07555
GPS location Date/Time:05/24/2011 09:40:25 NPT

Message:Denali Eh OK.

See my blog at http://myfriendlucille.blogspot.com

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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