That’s 5 of 7 summits completed!!!
It’s done!!! On 26 July 2013, I reached the summit of the Carstensz Pyramid, the highest point in Oceania at 4884m. That makes 5 of the 7 summits completed with only Mt Vinson (Antarctica) and Everest to go. After a grueling 8 day trek through dense and muddy jungle to reach base camp, we made a 15 hour summit attack that ended in success for all 7 climbers. With the combined trek out, it took a totally of 15 days of pure mental grit living in a muddy tent without showers, wa
Reached the Summit of Aconcagua!!!
On 30 Dec 2012 @ 2:31PM, I reached the summit of Aconcagua. Despite constant mind-numbing headaches, extreme exhaustion, and poor acclimatization, I pushed my body to its limits to reach the peak after 9 hours of what can only be described as pure heart. Few thought I could make it after spending 4 nights at base camp (4 days before the 4 day push to the summit) with virtually no improvement in my physical state and my confidence shattered. Standing at 6962m, Aconcagua is the
A Preview of Aconcagua: Taking on the Highest Peak in South America
With only 14 days to go before I begin my trek out to Argentina, I thought I’d give you a little insight into what I’m doing and what I’m up against. Aconcagua, standing at 6962m (22840 ft) is the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas. While, thankfully, its overall rating is easier than Denali (the highest peak in North America), its weather is notoriously severe, with extremely high winds and its also almost 800m taller. Don’t get me wrong though, this is still a very d
Climbing Denali Part 5 – The Summit
17 June (Day 13): The planned summit day for Scott and Bob was not meant to be. The forecasted good weather actually turned out to be the extended blizzard that Justin and I got caught in the day before. Things were not looking good so Scott and Bob decided to call it off and get off the mountain. There were too many instances of climbers getting stuck battling the weather at High Camp for over a week and they didn’t want to be another one of those victims. We tore down camp
Climbing Denali Part 2
Starting to move higher up the mountain, which means less air and more fatigue. 06 Jun 12 (Day 2): Today we moved from Ski Hill (7,800 ft) to Kahiltna pass (10,320 ft), a 750 m elevation gain. The slope up itself is described as a mild incline that would be boring at any ski resort but when you’re pulling 150 lbs of gear up, you start cursing the guy who said that. Disaster struck after we had been charging hard up the slope and made 800 ft of vertical progress. Bob’s sled ca
Climbing Denali Part 1
After a little bit of a blog hiatus and much needed body recovery time, I’m back and ready to start talking a little bit about the trip up Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Overall, it was long, tiring and cold but I’m definitely happy to have had the chance to climb such a challenging mountain with an experienced group of guys. Because jamming the entire expedition into 1 post would be way too much, I’ve decided to break it up over the next couple blog posts. I
Bagged another summit!
After a long and difficult expedition on 16 June 2012, I summitted Denali. The highest peak in North America at 6194m (20,320 ft) AMSL. This season has been particularly bad and I’m lucky to have had my summit window. Currently only 36% of climbers on the mountain have been successful and there have been 6 deaths. Blog posts outlining my experience to come. I’m taking the next couple of days to rest my tired and battered body. Thanks for all the support! #denali #expedition #
Denali: The Start of a Great Adventure
Tomorrow is the start of another milestone in my goal of conquering the 7 summits. Denali, located just south of the arctic circle, in Alaska is the highest mountain in North America at 6194m (20,320 ft) and truly a tough climb. Everything will be loaded onto my back and sled and I’m expecting to carry at least 130 lbs of gear and food. There are no porters, mules or oxygen to speak of, just pure drive, determination and guts. If everything goes as planned this will be summit
More Mountain Training: Crevasse Rescue Dry School
You’re crossing a glacier when your buddy falls through the snow into an invisible deep crack in the ice. Now he’s hanging there, with only the rope between you and him keeping him from falling even further into almost certain injury. What do you do? It’s time to put crevasse rescue skills to work. I spent an evening with the Vancouver section of the Alpine Club of Canada for more crevasse rescue training that will be essential to my Denali (highest peak in North America) att
