Updated: 2010 Team B-US Denali West Buttress/Upper West Rib Climb Itinerary

After some discussion, it was decided to back off on the full West Rib attempt, and instead focus on getting up the West Buttress with a possible Upper West Rib attempt from 14k camp. If time and weather allows, a light and fast second summit attempt of the full West Rib is not out of the question!

May 8: Jan arrives in Anchorage.

Jan arrives in Anchorage after 20+ hour flight with three legs, pretty waisted. Happy to have a large comfortable bed. Jetlag.

May 9: Andy arrives in Anchorage

Jan sleeps and does some shopping. Things are getting pretty hectic. Jan is still suffering from jetlag.. Things are getting even more hectic once Andy has arrived. Pick up sat phone, do more shopping, coordinate shopping lists.

May 10: Transfer to Talkeetna
 Another possibility to pick up the sat-phone. Some last minute shopping. Morning shuttle to Talkeetna. Briefing with rangers  at 4 p.m. in Talkeetna.

May 11: Flight into BC  7100 ft (2164 m)

Some weather reserve (we have the whole  day to fly in). Hopefully we can fly in in the morning.

May 12: Climb Radio Control Tower (8670 ft / 2643 m)

If the flight is in the morning, May 11, we could try to climb the mountain afternoon.In that case, and if  we feel ok, we can start moving upwards on May 12.

May 13:  Move to 7,800 ft (2377 m) camp 
A standard slog day. Huff and puff on skis with fully loaded bags. The camp can be also at 8000 ft.

May 14: Move to 9,500 ft (2895 m) camp

Another standard slog day. Another huff and puff with fully loaded bags.  Can also be done as a cache and carry project if start moving on May 12.

May 15: Rest (option Mount Capps 10,545 ft /3,214 m)

If feeling bad/tired: rest. Moving 2 days with about 60 kg per person and unacclimatized  should not be underestimated. If feeling ok, it is possible to climb Mount Capps or cashe to the next camp.

May 16: Cache  to 11,000 ft (3352 m) camp

May 17: Move to 11,000 ft (3352 m) camp

May 18: rest

To give body time to recover. Get extra acclimatization.

May 19: Cache to 14,200 ft (4328 m) camp
May 20: Move to 14,200 ft (4328 m) camp

May 21: Rest

To give body time to recover. Get extra acclimatization.

May 22 - May 28: Summit push activities

Example West Buttress:

May 22: Cache to 17,200 ft (5242 m) camp

May 23: Move to 17,200 ft (5242 m) camp

May 24: climb higher + return to 14,200 ft camp
May 25: rest
May 26: Move to 17,200 ft camp
May 27: rest/reserve
May 28: Summit day 20320 ft / 6194 m

Includes flexibility to descend to the lower camp if feeling bad / for recovery.If not necessary, either summit push/ some extra acclimatization/ reserve days

Example Upper West Rib:

May 22: Cache to 17,200 ft (5242 m) camp

May 23: Move to 17,200 ft (5242 m) camp

May 24: rest or  climb higher; descend to 14,200 ft (4328 m) camp
May 25: move to the base of West Rib junction 16,000 ft  (4877 m)
May 26: Move to 17, 000  ft (5182 m) camp on West Rib
May 27: Summit day, descend to 17,200 ft (5242 m) camp on West Butt
May 28: reserve

I wouldn't suggest to plan the summit earlier than day 18. Only if we feel ok, and conditions are right, we could try earlier.

May 29: Descend to 11,000 ft (3352 m) camp
May 30: Descend to base camp, fly out

Descent can be done in one day if need be. Strenuous, but possible. Saves one extra reserve day.

May 31: reserve
June 1: reserve
June 2: reserve
June 3: reserve
June 4: reserve

Those badly needed reserve days.We are happy to have them.

June 5: Andy leaves Anchorage 1:30 a.m.

Team B-US Denali West Rib Climb Itinerary

In Anchorage:
May 8 : Jan arrives in Anchorage. begin trip preparation at hostel.
May 9: Andy arrives in Anchorage. pick up sat. phone, pack, and shop for Denali.
May 10: Morning shuttle to Talkeetna, Afternoon meeting with Rangers. Continue to pack and shop for Denali. Find Hudson Air Taxi. ID sleds, and rig.

Arrival on the Kahiltna glacier:
May 11: Morning flight into the kahiltna glacier (7200'), ski past Camp 1 to 8000ft (Mouth of NE Fork) and set up base camp. Drop cache for NE Fork/West Rib attempt. - 6 miles, 800ft gain.
May 12: Ski to 11000ft (Motorcycle hill camp), drop cache. Return to 8000ft. - 10 miles r/t, 3000ft gain
May 13: Ski to 11000ft, sort and pack gear for west buttress aclimation trip and high cache. - 5 miles, 3000ft gain.
May 14: pack and rest for west buttress, ski around area.

West Buttress acclimatization trip:
May 15: Drop Skis. Carry cache to windy corner @ 13,500ft, return to 11,000ft camp - 4 miles r/t, 2500ft gain.
May 16: Climb to Camp IV @ 14,200ft, set up high camp - 3 miles, 3200ft gain
May 17: Retrieve cache at 13,500ft, return to camp IV. - 2 miles r/t, 700 ft gain
May 18: Active rest day at altitude. Carry cache to West Rib junction @ 16,000ft. - 4 miles r/t, 1800ft gain
May 19: Active rest day at altitude. Practice on Fixed Ropes.

Plan A - West Rib portion of the trip:
May 20: descend west butt to 8000' base camp, pick up skis at 11,000ft camp.
May 21: ski up NE fork of Kahiltna to "moderately safe" camp II (10000'). - 3 miles, 2000ft gain
May 22: ski west rib col approach, to 11000' on the NE Kahiltna, send the col to gain the ridge at 12,800', climb lower rib to camp III (13,300'.) (big day, but at this point we are honed) - 2 miles, 3300ft. gain
May 23: climb lower rib to camp IV (~16,000') - 1 mile, 2700ft gain
May 24: rest at 16,000'
May 25: Summit day! climb upper rib to summit ridge, slog ridge to the top of the continent. descend west Buttress to Genet Basin (14,000'). - 2 miles, 4000ft gain
May 26: Rest day.
May 27: Ski/Descend to Base camp (8000').
May 28: Ski/Descend to landing strip and pack for departure.
May 29: Weather/Rest Day
May 30: Weather/Rest Day
May 31: Weather/Rest Day
June 1: Weather/Rest Day
June 2: Weather/Rest Day
June 3: Weather/Rest Day
June 4: Weather/Rest Day
June 5: Andy Flies out to Talkeetna in the morning. Jan keeps climbing?

Plan B - West Buttress from 14K Camp:
May 20: Carry cache to Ridge Camp @ 16,200ft, return to 14k camp. - 4 miles r/t, 2000ft. gain
May 21: Rest day at 14k camp
May 22: Move to High Camp @ 17,200ft - 2 miles, 3000ft. gain
May 23: Rest day @ 17,200ft
May 24: Summit Day or pick up Cache @ 16,200ft. - 6 miles r/t, 3200ft gain
May 25: Summit day!
May 26: Summit day!
May 27: Summit day!
May 28: Summit day!
May 29: Summit day!
May 30: Descend to 14K Camp
May 31: Ski/Descend to 8000ft base camp
June 1: Ski/Descend to Landing strip and pack for departure
June 2: Weather/Rest Day/Bonus Climbing/Skiing
June 3: Weather/Rest Day/Bonus Climbing/Skiing
June 4: Weather/Rest Day/Bonus Climbing/Skiing
June 5: Andy Flies out to Talkeetna in the Morning. Jan keeps climbing?

Spirit of Morgantown Half-Ironman Race Report

Quick and Dirty:

Swim: 31:17
T1: 1:15
Bike: 2:33:50
T2: 1:11
Run: 1:45:53
TOTAL: 4:53:24

Swim -

New type of swim start which consisted of running off the pier, and jumping off into the water. I found myself praying that no one behind was going to jump on top of me while I was under water. I popped back up, and started flailing trying to get up to speed. Water temp was at the perfect point where pro's were sans wetsuits and age-groupers could wear them. Awesome to be able to hang with the pro's for AT LEAST the swim... swam through some traffic on the back half of the loop, and then hit some serious current as we neared the dam. Raised the effort to get around the buoy's as quick as I could, and then cruised back using the current to my advantage on the way in.

T1 -

LOOOONG run from the swim exit back to the transition area which was situated on the ground floor of a parking deck.

Bike -

Potholes. Everywhere. Worst roads I have ever ridden on in a race, but that made it kind of interesting in a way, and kept me focused on the task at hand. Most of the super deep wheel swallowing holes were marked with paint to help with dodging. Some technical turns, a couple steady hills, some long smoking fast descents, and a nasty 100 meter 8% climb at the end of each loop helped to keep the racing honest. Stayed within myself and paced off one of the elite/pro male dudes for most of the ride. Got an extended Infinit shower during the ride, but its all good.

T2 -

Standard. Grabbed my iced hat and make shift neck cooler out of my cooler that I brought with. Sweet!

Run -

Weakest of the 3 for me, as usual. Run course is entirely flat, with the first 1.5 miles on pavement in the sun, and the next 2 miles on dirt in the shade. Shake, repeat a couple times, and you just completed your half-mary. Felt good in the first mile, and the second, and third mile, but after that I began to fade - and HARD. I was melting in the heat (oh yeah, temps were in the upper 80's and humid by this point). Grabbed all the cold water and ice I could carry at each aid station, and just tried to survive to the finish. I did, barely!

Overall -

13th overall, and 3rd in the AG. Surprisingly fun race, and one I may have to do again next year. Maybe they will re-pave some of those roads? Doubt it...

3 weeks until Canada. Time to rest up, and let all this work pay off!

Mountaineer Half Pre-Race

Spirit of Mountaineer on tap this weekend. It is supposed to be HOTT, and not the skinny-triathletes-in-spandex kind of HOTT. Maybe I'll pack an ice chest for some relief at the start of the run??

It would be great to finally have a breakout half-IM race! With all the IM build training I think this is a good shot to do it...will the heat foil my plans? Only time will tell...

Tentative A+ race execution times: :28/2:25/1:40 ....must dig deep - no excuses!

See ya out there.

Leg Shredding

Hit a training weekend out at Deep Creek Lake with a bunch of good people. PAIN was the name of the game for our time out in the montagnes! Needed these hilly rides in preperation for IM Canada coming up in a few months....

56 miles of the Savageman course followed by a strong 55 minute t-run on Saturday. 95 miles starting from the lake down into the Monongahela Nat. Forest with an epic climb up to some HUGE windmills thrown in for good measure on Sunday. 50 minute recovery swim in the lake on Monday. Sparks, beer, fries, and ice cream for recovery nutrition!

Pics or it didn't happen:

Pre-JFK 50

Its the night before, and I'm a bit intimidated of whats to come starting bright and early at 7am. This "race" will blow my greatest one-time run distance right out the window. I get the same feelings of when I did my first triathlon...what to wear, freak out, what to eat, freak out, how fast to go - you get the idea.

The game plan is to try and stick to keeping the heart rate under 150 at all times, if this means walking some sections then so be it. Each heart beat is critical in a race of this distance, and saving some early on could pay dividends when the going gets tough in the latter miles. Hopefully this plan will stave off the desire to walk, as I'm confident in my aerobic capacity but not as sure about how the legs will hold up. All in due time.

So here goes nothing, off into the dark abyss that is endurance running. I think I can see the light...


Good Song: Ted Leo and Pharmacists - Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?

Another day another dollar

Marine Corps was just a week ago from yesterday. Where does the time go? A successful race, with a finish time of 3:27ish. Still looking to find the secret to running a strong final 6, and the ultimate 3:10 finish. Once thats in hand, the Boston Qual. should be a piece of cake. The legs are feeling good while just walking around now, but any attempt at running and some nasty soreness rears its ugly head again. The next challenge is the JFK 50 in a few weeks, and I'm definetly going to need a full/fresh set of limbs to finish that beast.

For a dose of cross training - an adventure into the western VA mountains was had, and some lovely leaves were a-changing. Good people, good weather, and good scenery made it a sweet day. The woods are where its at...

Good Song: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible