Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Move Into 14K Camp
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Chad Gaffigan, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,200'
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Friday, June 28, 2019 - 10:23 PM PT
The heat wave is on. The highest temperatures of the season -so far- are hitting the mountain. The freezing level was up at 13,000 feet today and that is the expectation for tomorrow as well. (It might "normally" be down at 8,000 feet this time of year). We were up at 4:30 to take advantage of the cooler morning shadows. It took until about 7:10 to get on the move though after a good breakfast and some packing and gear sorting. We rolled up the now familiar series of hills -Motorcycle, Squirrel, Polo Field- but this day had much less cloud about than our carry two days back. There are layers of forest fire smoke in the air though -a big fire (56,000 acres) is burning down on the Kenai Peninsula, among others. Even so, we could see all the way down to the Tordrillos at the southern end of the Alaska Range.
We moved quickly around Windy Corner and then lost any wind or breeze as we worked up into the giant reflector oven of Genet Basin. It was getting downright hot at 1PM as we pulled into camp at 14,200 ft.
It was a fine thing to be greeted by Mike Haugen’s team taking their rest day. They helped us out with some water to get started and showed us a nice set of pre-built tent platforms not far from their own. We built our new home and then crawled in to take shelter from the blazing sun. Each time any of our climbers or guides came out -there’d be a few “wow’s” and some jaw-dropping or head-shaking as they tried to take in the views out over the mountains and glaciers to the South. And usually bigger WOW’S as they turned to look at Denali’s South Peak standing a mile in the sky straight up over us.
We ate our dinner in a new snow dining room, told some stories and talked over plans for the next few days. First off, we plan to get a good night's sleep after a hard-working day.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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