Here
are some Facts about Denali
I
WANT TO SET MY GPS:
63° 07' N, 151° 01' W
ONE
OF THE SEVEN SUMMITS
At 20,320' (6190M), Denali is the highest mountain on the North American
continent.
THE
NAMES CONFUSE ME
Denali (Athabaskan for: The High One) is the Native American word for
North America's highest peak. It was renamed Mount McKinley in honor
of William McKinley, a nominee for president, by gold prospector, William
Dickey. McKinley was a champion of the gold standard.
WHY'D
THEY DO THAT?.
"When later asked why he named the mountain after McKinley, Dickey
replied that the verbal bludgeoning he had received from free silver
partisans had inspired him to retaliate with the name of the gold-standard
champion."
— from "Mt. McKinley: The Pioneer Climbs" by Terris Moore
ABOUT THE ALTITUDE
The difference in the barometric pressure at northern latitudes affects
acclimatization on Denali and other high arctic mountains. Denali's
latitude is 63° while the latitude of Everest is 27°. On a typical summit
day in May, the Denali climber will be at the equivalent of 22,000'
(6900M) when compared to climbing in the Himalaya in May. This phenomenon
of lower barometric pressure at higher elevations is caused by the troposphere
being thinner at the poles.
WHAT'S
THE WEATHER LIKE
"The highest point near the Arctic Circle... Denali is buffeted
by storms from the Gulf of Alaska and from the Bering Sea. In few mountain
locales of the world does the weather change so precipitously and dramatically.
A balmy day of glacier travel can rapidly deteriorate into a day of
survival-snow-cave digging. The intense cold is, of course, another
unique feature of Denali, comparable only to the Antarctic ranges. The
Himalaya is tropical by comparison. On the South Col of Mount Everest
(26,200 feet) in late October, the lowest temperature we recorded in
1981 was 17° below zero. On Denali, this would be a rather warm night
at only 14,300 feet in May and June. Temperatures between the high camp
and the summit even in the middle of the summer, are routinely 20° to
40° below and even lower at night. This combination of extreme weather
and temperature pummels the unprepared."
— Peter Hackett, M.D. from the preface to "Surviving Denali"
by Jonathan Waterman
WHAT
HAPPENS UP THERE?
It has been estimated that above 18,000' (5500M) on Denali a person
is reduced to roughly 50% of their mental capacity. (not good for me!)
During the winter climb of 1967, the three members stranded at 18,200'
Denali Pass for six days required approximately twice as much time to
answer a series of subtraction problems as they did at 7000' on the
Kahiltna Glacier.
THE COLD..Oh, THE COLD!
"With five people crammed in the tent, morale decreased rapidly.
There was no interest in cooking meals and by the next day no one was
even interested in melting drinking water. We found ourselves very apathetic...not
caring whether or not we got enough to drink or eat or if our gear was
wet... we just lay there and waited with little or no sleep... by morning
the cold had taken its toll... Jerry Lewis and I had numb feet, and
I had numb fingers."
— from the diary of Joseph Wilcox, leader of a 1967 Denali party
THE WIND
"Hurricane-force winds, familiar to Mount McKinley's arctic latitude,
slowed to a rough gale during the night, then quit toward morning. After
five days of living in fear of flying off the Cassin Ridge in our two-man
tent, Jeff Duenwald and I prepared to retreat 5,000' down the ridge
to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier... We didn't panic, nor
did we consider being rescued by the National Park Service. As Himalayan
veterans, Duenwald and I climbed with a singular attitude: that responsibility
begins and ends with the climber. We began our descent... My only regret
was that we had not taken Mount McKinley as seriously as it's higher,
but warmer cousins in Asia."
— John Roskelly, 1993, about his 1981 climb
JUST TO SURVIVE
"We had climbed rope but simultaneously, front-pointing forever
into a revived storm and relentless wind. Everything was cold, even
our souls. Frostbite was waiting to jump at the slightest sign of weakness,
but both of us played our own winning game with it. McKinley's climate
is tough. We were drawing heavily on all our Himalayan experience just
to survive, and it was a respectful pair that finally stood on the summit
ridge. It took a few hours to dig a miserable little hole, but free
from wind and spindrift, and there we spent and an equally miserable
night. We had climbed the mountain too quickly to acclimatize and now
we were suffering!"
— Dougal Haston on his climb with Doug Scott, 1977, "American
Alpine Journal"
OFTEN UNDERESTIMATED
"The fact that the West Buttress route is not technically difficult
should not obscure the need to plan for extreme survival situations.
Of course, some climbers manage to get up and down in perfectly nice,
but rare period of weather; when back home, they encourage others to
climb this 'easy walkup' of a mountain. Little do they realize that
it was only by sheer luck they weren't trying to keep their tent up
in the middle of the night in a 60mph wind at 40° below zero, with boots
on and ice axe ready in case the tent suddenly imploded. Because of
the non-technical reputation of the popular West Buttress route, it
is a terribly underestimated climb."
— Peter H. Hackett, M.D., from "Surviving Denali" by
Jonathan Waterman
Ok,
HOW DO THEY DO THAT?
Denali National Park sanitation guidelines: Use pit latrines where they
are provided. At other locations: Dig a shallow hole in the snow or
use a plastic bucket. Line the hole or bucket with a biodegradable sack.
Stake the corners of the bag open with wands and use a snow block to
cover the top when not in use. A little attention to prevent overfilling
will make the process of disposal much easier. Use this bag as the latrine
for all members of the expedition while at camp. Develop a separate
urinal spot and mark with a wand. When you move camp or the bag fills,
simply tie it off and toss it into a deep crevasse. If no crevasses
are available, the bag should be carried until a suitable crevasse is
found. The wastes are usually frozen and will ride well on a sled. On
steep technical routes, the bag can be tossed away from the climbing
route or feces can be deposited on snow blocks and shoveled off the
route. Crevasse ONLY human waste. All other trash must be carried off.
Thanks to the NPS
& Mountainzone.com(Used
with Permission)
