May 22, 2012

Mt. Logan

Mark Allen, Mt. Logan Expedition Leader called in with a status report today.

The team is healthy and doing well. They just finished a heavy schedule of work the last two days. And are now enjoying a well deserved rest.

On Sunday, May 20 the team carried to Camp 3 (13,400’) and spent one more night at Camp 2 (10,800’). Yesterday they moved to Camp 3 at King’s Col. The weather went from very warm to windy and cold at the Col and made for some extreme clothing adjustments during the day, but Mark says it is a beautiful camp with incredible views.

To this point the team is on a relatively slow schedule compared to others on the mountain, but the group feels good about this and it is good for their general acclimatization.

Tomorrow the team will make a carry to Camp 4 (15,500+) and drop back down to Camp 3 for another night at the Col.

George Dunn

May 19, 2012

King Peak

Mark called in late this afternoon to report that all continues to go well on Logan. They’re at C2 now “right in the middle of King’s Trench” with great views of their objective (Logan) and King Peak. Tomorrow they’ll carry to C3 and double back to sleep at C2. Climb high, sleep low works as well in Alaska as it does in the Himalayas.

If the weather holds they’ll move into C3 on Monday.

No scheduled check in for a couple days so as always: “no news is good news”.

Tye Chapman

May 17, 2012

King Peak near Mt. Logan

Mark Allen called in today to report that all is well on Mt. Logan.  They enjoyed the night at C1 and are en route to C2.  It’s a big day even after dropping a cache about halfway. They’ll pull into camp tonight around 10pm, not a big deal in the great white north this time of year.

Tomorrow they’ll sleep in and have a big breakfast before heading down to retrieve their cache.  An ‘active rest day’ we’ll call it.

All is well. Next scheduled call time is Saturday. Remember no news is good news in the mountains.

Tye Chapman

May 16, 2012

Mt. Logan

IMG Guide Mark Allen called in this afternoon to report that all is well on the US/Canada Border! The team flew in and were dropped off safely on the flanks of Mt. Logan, Canada’s tallest peak. It was a ‘bluebird’ day with views from the St. Elias to the Pacific Ocean.

Once ‘awe factor’ has worn off they plan to carry to Camp 1 (C1) this evening in one push. Then, they’ll head on up to C2 tomorrow, dropping a cache about half-way which they’ll double back and pick-up on their rest-day (Day 3).

That’s about it for now.

Tye Chapman

May 15, 2012

Mt. Logan

IMG Guide Mark Allen posted his last text message from the transportation van on its way to the airstrip in Chitina at 1:30 PDT on Monday. Chitina is about a 5 hour drive from Anchorage.

The team is all set and ready to go, gear all packed and loaded. The weather is doubtful, so the team may spend the night in tents at the Chitina airstrip waiting for improvement. If possible, they will fly to the Ultima Thule lodge, a 45 minute flight from Chitina. It is another hour’s flight from the lodge to the Mt. Logan landing site.

The good news is the small town of Chitina has both beer and pizza, so the team will likely do OK tonight.

We’ll keep updating as the team is able to fly in to the mountain.

George Dunn