Rest and Preparation
A couple of days rest were enough to get us very eager to climb higher on the mountain! In basecamp, we met other climbers, though none were there to climb Denali. We dug up our food caches and tried to pack all our supplies for the next three weeks on the mountain. Julien had a new mattress flown in after his started to delaminate, while I finally managed to repair a small puncture in mine.
Marc De Keyser from weather4expeditions.com started sending us daily weather updates simply because he believed in our project, thanks so much for that! After enjoying some good food and much needed recovery, we headed back up the mountain.
Strategy and First Rotations
Our plan was to take our heavy sleds as high as possible, making rotations to acclimatise and conserve energy. On the first day, conditions were ideal, the snow was firm, preventing our sleds from sinking. We made excellent progress and soon arrived at Camp 1. Thanks to our 10-day trek into the mountain instead of flying in, we felt strong and efficient as a team.
The next day, we moved up to Camp 2 with relative ease, buried some food, and continued toward Camp 3. Just before reaching it, we left the Kahiltna Glacier, a special moment as we had now traversed its full length. The final stretch to Camp 3 was tougher, with icy conditions requiring us to attach ski crampons. Leading a steeper and icy section, I suddenly lost grip due to the sled’s pull and fell. Fear surged through me at the thought of dragging Julien down, but I managed to roll over and arrest my fall. A bit shaken but relieved, we reached Camp 3 and carefully searched for a safe campsite, avoiding crevasses and avalanche prone terrain. After another hour of digging a platform and building protective walls, we settled in.
The following day, we retrieved the supplies we had buried at Camp 2 and returned to Camp 3, ready for the next stage.
Perfect Timing
Marc’s weather updates were crucial in planning our ascent. Making the right decisions was mentally difficult, especially with no one else on the mountain, no trails, no platforms, just us and the elements. We pushed for Camp 3 ahead of worsening weather, hoping to climb above the clouds and benefit from the sun and calmer conditions. Somehow, we managed to stay above the clouds most of the time, and our timing was spot on.
From Camp 3, we could see Motorcycle Hill. It didn’t look too technical at first glance, but it was icy. After navigating the hard ice and snow with heavy sleds, we reached the top within an hour. “This is why we love this,” Julien said as we saw the beautiful views.
Next came Squirrel Hill, a steep and icy traverse where our sleds constantly pulled us sideways. Each step needed to be taken carefully to avoid being pulled off balance. Falling here would be disastrous, but thankfully, there were no crevasses.
Windy Corner, known for its high winds, was our next challenge. The ice was blue and hard, making foot placement difficult while our sleds pulled us sideways. I was leading and felt immense pressure, any mistake could be fatal. At one point, I stepped onto what looked like firm snow, only to sink in waist-deep. A small crevasse fall, but still very scary. My heavy sled pulled me sideways, making it tricky to escape. Staying calm, I assessed my situation while Julien encouraged me. Eventually, I crawled out, and we carefully crossed Windy Corner. Relieved but aware that we’d have to face it again, we pressed on.
We navigated a few more crevasse fields before reaching a gentle, sunny slope where we buried our supplies before heading all the way back down to Camp 3, exhausted but satisfied with our progress.
Pushing Higher
The next day, we left Camp 3 with really heavy packs, we left our sleds and skis in camp to avoid the sidepulling struggle. While physically harder, it made the ascent much easier. We passed Windy Corner with more confidence despite the cold wind and finally arrived at Camp 4. After another hour of digging and building walls, we felt great and closer to the summit. We spotted the next section of the route to camp 5, we’re almost there!
After a good night’s rest, we retrieved our buried supplies and spent the afternoon making our walls stronger. It felt like being kids again, building a snow fortress, but this time against the fierce storms that could hit at any moment. The next day was a rest day, enjoying the views and taking naps as needed. The summit felt within reach.
But one major obstacle remained: the Headwall.
A Critical Decision
The Headwall is a steep section usually equipped with fixed lines, allowing climbers to ascend with relative ease using jumars. We had been warned about its icy conditions at the time and expected the fixed lines to be buried or frozen in. After an hour of climbing from Camp 4, we reached the Bergschrund at its base. We spotted ropes, but they were under extreme tension.
Julien climbed up to assess them, and we had no choice but to cut one loose. I anchored myself and our gear before cutting into the rope, expecting a violent snap. The moment my knife touched it, the rope snapped with such force that it pulled out our anchor and sent one of our backpacks flying. We watched helplessly as it tumbled down the mountain, stopping just before a crevasse. We calmed down and went down for the pack, then returned to the Headwall.
Freeing the frozen lines required hours of chopping with our ice axes in -30°C temperatures at 4500m elevation. By sunset, we had only made it halfway up, completely exhausted. Back at Camp 4, we had a serious decision to make. We needed more technical gear to safely climb the Headwall. The forecast showed two perfect summit days ahead, but beyond that, some bad weather came in. Staying in Camp 4 for a week, risking our supplies would finish, was not an option.
With heavy hearts, we made the difficult but necessary decision to descend. We contacted Brian, who, despite it being his birthday, drove for hours to buy and deliver fresh supplies to the company that would airdrop them to basecamp.
I felt defeated, but Julien reminded me: “If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.” His words helped me find my motivation. This was an epic adventure, if it was easy, I wouldn’t be here.
Many thanks to my sponsors who make this adventure possible!
