Alaska Seminar: Davis & Team Back in Talkeetna
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Jessie Poquerusse
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 348'
May 15, 2017
Now that we have a second to breathe, there is time to recap our last day on the glacier. The team woke at 0400 to the hard whiteout conditions and the forecasted 6 inches of new snow turned out to be a few feet. We slowly packed up camp and headed downhill at 0700 as things were not getting better. We were walking in full instrument conditions and even walked in a circle trying to find wands that mark the old track. Hard to tell up from down, left from right that morning. A strong wind followed us down Ski Hill where we emerged from the soup and kept up all the way to Heartbreak Hill. By 1300 we were at the airstrip hoping the Otters would be able to handle the crosswinds for landing on the SE Fork of the Kahiltna. Sure enough, by 1600 our team was loaded up on two K2 planes and back to the green smells of town. Grand experience for us all and we appreciated the tenacious nature of our climbers.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
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