Kili at night. (Photo by Andrew Carafelli)
June 12, 2013
“At Barafu. Weather’s fine and everyone doing well, and my mom’s killing it. Leaving for the summit at midnight.â€
I love Sheldon’s calls – right to the point and everything we need to know.
Phil Ershler
July 11, 2013
Kili in the clouds (photo: Ken Maclaurin)
“Team doing great. Nice day going into Karanga camp. Chicken with fries for dinner. Weather still nice.â€Â This was the conversation I just had with IMG Senior Guide, Sheldon Kerr, from Karanga Camp at around 13,500’ on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. That’s pretty much all we need to know. Oh yah, Sheldon’s mom yelled from the background saying that she was doing great, too!
Phil Ershler
July 10, 2013
Climbing the Barranco Wall (Eben Reckord)
Short and to the point sat phone call from Sheldon today. The team completed their climb up to 14,500’ and then headed down to the Baranco Camp at 13K. Weather good, everyone feeling well so no issues. That’s all we needed to hear.
Tomorrow is Karanga Camp. The morning starts off with the Baranco Wall.  It’s a 2 hour hike/scramble up good rock with sensational views. Looks intimidating from camp but only fun once people are on it. Karanga Camp is close to 13K feet, too. Some folks skip this camp and head straight to high camp at Barafu. Why do that? Adding an extra day gives our teams an extra day of acclimatization, breaks up an otherwise long day and allows us to arrive at high camp quite early in the day and not be unduly tired.
I’d call tomorrow ‘hump day’ as far as the climb’s concerned. Once they reach Karanga, attention will be focused on that summit and no longer on the approach. So far, so good.
Phil Ershler
July 10, 2013
Heading for the barn. (Heli Suokko)
Greg called in yesterday evening. They were able to get high camp cleaned up and packed up and then worked their way back down the West Buttress and descended the fixed ropes from 16K down to 15K and completed the descent to the 14K camp. 14K was a nice place to spend the night. Today, they’ll work their way down past Windy Corner, past Squirrel Hill, down Motorcycle Hill and into the 11K camp. The team will likely brew up a hot drink and a quick meal prior to continuing their descent to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at about 7800’. They’ll spend a quick night here to let the lower Kahiltna freeze up as much as possible and the team will make the last 5 hours of descent to the landing strip when conditions are as cold as possible.
No celebrating yet. Two days of care and work still need to be completed.
Phil Ershler
July 9, 2013
How's this for a view from camp? (photo: Ken Maclaurin)
12,500 ft at Shira Camp on the Shira Plateau. Good day had by all. They’re getting higher now but everyone seems to be handling the altitude well. Sheldon’s voice message was short and sweet – Shira with everyone and everyone doing fine. That works for us.
Tomorrow is up, around and down. They’ll reach 14,500’ and end up at 13,000’ – Baranco Camp. As much as you hate losing altitude, it’s just what the doctor ordered – climb high, sleep low.
Phil Ershler
July 9, 2013
The entire south side of Denali (photo: Heli Suokko)
Greg phoned in about 11 am today, Seattle time. Yesterday was the day. All members on the summit. Back now at 17K and getting ready to get out of there. Nothing is better up high and the sooner they get to a lower altitude, the better. No running, no rushing but unhurried haste always makes sense when you no longer need to stay high. Greg will try to reach me again tonight from 14K to let us know they’re safe and sound. For now, all is positive with Greg and team at 17K. Congratulations to all. No time to let up but it’s easier moving with gravity than against it.
Phil Ershler
July 8, 2013
The trail to Machame Camp (Ken Maclaurin)
First day is done. 4000 vertical feet completed and the team is at Machame Camp, elevation about 10,000 ft. They are right at the tree line tonight. Views of the stars and the mountain should be fairly spectacular tonight, with an impressive sunset and sunrise in the morning. And, tomorrow’s a little easier day. Nice!
Phil Ershler
July 8, 2013
Sheldon emailed last night to let us know her second team has arrived. They’re packed, gear has been checked and they’re ready to go. There was time yesterday to visit the market in Moshi.
Next check in should be after Sheldon and crew have reached Machame Camp at 10,000 ft. This first day is a bit long – 4000 vertical feet. But, the crew has been training/prepping for this day for months. Can you imagine the excitement the team was feeling when they started the hike?
Phil Ershler
July 8, 2013
Denali (photo: Heli Suokko)
Had a good call from Greg yesterday at 17K. Their move to high camp was nice. Good weather and conditions as they made their way up the fixed ropes and along the Buttress. The terrain from the top of the fixed ropes to high camp is the most spectacular of the climb. The Buttress has impressive exposure while still be relatively easy to protect. Great granite dots the entire route into 17 and high camp. They’re playing a waiting game now. While it’s smart to move in marginal weather lower on the mountain, it’s also smart to wait for reasonably good weather for that summit push. Patience is key. Sometimes that break never comes but more often it does.
Hoping to hear from Greg later today. Maybe the news will be that winds were OK and that they’re on their way.
Phil Ershler
July 5, 2013
Photo by Austin Shannon.
We heard from Greg and the Denali team on the 4th of July. Everyone’s sending home holiday wishes from America’s tallest mountain. 14K is a good place to be when the weather’s unsettled. The team’s in a holding pattern until winds and snowfall settle down and allow the team to make a safe move up to high camp. No reason to rush up to high camp if weather isn’t right. The difference between riding out a storm at 14K and riding out that same weather at 17K is night and day. Plenty of food and fuel at 14K and relatively easy to stay dug in and reasonably protected while mother nature get this out of her system.
We’ll let you know when Greg gives us an update.
Phil
