Introducing the New Transcriber

This is Glenn aka Big Gee. Team Powersauce has named me blog transcriber out of a competitive field of my peers. "But you're peerless", you say? Indeed I am. My numerous duties will be discharged with grace and aplomb. Although no longer part of the glacier team, I am eager to earn my Denali 2008 shirt by making Bernie and Matt seem witty and heroic.

Good luck boys!

Satellite Phone

Matt and I have rented a satellite phone and Glenn has agreed to update this blog with our progress. We won't be updating every day, but maybe we can afford to send info every 4 or 5 days.

We pay $8.99 each day that we use the phone and then $1.79 per minute for talk time and $.69 for each text message. Apparently, if callers use the proper method, incoming calls to us have no per-minute charge! I will have to read the plan more closely to verify this.

Matt and I conducting final packing for the trip. June 2nd is almost here. My basement is really getting cleaned up as a I stuff gear into my duffel and backpack. It is the cleanest it has been in months.

Oh, and I wanted to thank Glenn for the photos for the previous post from our trip to St. Marys Glacier. I left my camera in my back at the bottom of the glacier. I will do a better job of picture taking on Denali.

St. Marys Glacier Tune up

Matt, Glenn, and I headed out to St. Marys Glacier so that Matt and I could brush up on our rope work for Denali. It was extremely warm that day so we could not do all that we had wanted. The snow was too soft and avalanche danger was higher than we would have liked.

We learned some valuable info and had a good time placing anchors and realizing that we needed different pulleys.

The Food is on the Way

Matt and I mailed out our food today. Mine weighed almost 54 lbs, and I will probably have some additional snacks to pack for the flight as well. It feels good to have that step complete. Sending the food out really emphasizes just how close this trip is. It does not seem like almost a year ago when Matt and I first entertained the idea of climbing Denali. Soon, very soon we will be boarding the plane!

Blown Away

Matt, Glenn, and I planned to climb the east ridge of Mt. Bancroft on May 11. Our plan was to climb up to a high camp at the base of the ridge around 11,700 feet and camp Saturday night and then climb Sunday morning.

Matt and I headed out ahead of Glenn with the idea that we would meet up at the high camp. As Matt and I climbed near 11,000 feet, the wind was ridiculous. As we gained elevation below the high camp destination, the wind became even fiercer. On several occasions I was actually spun around and knocked down! I estimated the gusts between 60 and 70 miles per hour based upon previous experience with a wind gauge.

After searching futilely for a sheltered place to set up the tent, we retreated back into the trees down lower to establish camp. Glenn rolled into camp not long after we starting setting up the tent.




On Sunday morning the wind was still ripping the upper mountain, and we could see huge plumes of snow shooting off the ridges. The climb was a no-go. We got a great workout with heavy packs, but did not get to summit. The mountain will still be there when the wind is less hazardous.