Lonnie Dupre has begun attempt to summit Denali solo this month

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Update: "Journey Begins20 hours ago 2013.01.09 5:34pm AKST

Having gotten a good ten hours of sleep Lonnie pressed on for six hours until 4:30pm. He reported deep snow, calm wind and temperature of -5F. Current location is at 7400ft, half a mile shy of 7800ft camp where Lonnie is planning on breaking for lunch tomorrow and pushing on until dark.

Today’s menu consisted of granola and coffee for breakfast, protein bar and chocolate for lunch, followed by mac & cheese with a side of chocolate for dinner.

Due to deep snow today was a tough day but Lonnie is in good spirit and is looking forward to tomorrow!"
 
Update from 7 hours ago, 8' of new snow!!!

"Lonnie made it to 9,700ft today.

Eight feet of new snow on Denali had fallen in the last couple days and was burring Lonnie’s snow cave. He had to break down and build a new one about ten feet away at about 10pm last night.

Tired and spent from the night before, he awoke to a clear day on the mountain. Rejuvenated by the sight of the sun he made his way through the deep snow ending at 9,700ft where he ended the evening with lasagna and some much deserved rest.

Yesterday during the storm, a raven flew right by Lonnie. This raven he believes to be the same one he saw during last year’s climb at 12,000ft, on his solo climb in 2011 at 16,000ft on Denali and during his 3,200 mile navigation of Greenland. The raven made it’s way to Lonnie once again, renewing his strength and reminding him of his purpose. Once again Lonnie is ready to take on his challenge and not give up hope. Read below about the raven and its significance to Lonnie from his book Life on Ice: 25 Years of Arctic Exploration

“As often happens, my inspiration came in the form of nature. John and I were making camp one day when I heard a squawk from a nearby hill. I was scheduled for a radio call to Kelly, so I tramped up the hill to get better reception. The squawking grew louder. As I came over the crest, I saw a raven perched on a large rock. Ravens are revered and thought to possess mystical powers in many native cultures. In some, a raven is considered a sacred reincarnation of a great hunter or shaman. The raven appeared to be carrying something in its right claw as it made repeated short flights from one rock to another. As I approached, the raven made no effort to escape. Instead it flew closer, finally landing on the large rock I was leaning against. Now I could see that the bird’s right leg was bound to a thin, foot-long piece of driftwood by a wooly ball of musk-ox fur. It was obviously in pain. I approached slowly and spoke in low, soothing tones. Its neck feathers were all puffed out, black and shiny, as it stood awkwardly on its constricted leg and cawed at me. I kept talking, asking the raven’s permission to remove the musk ox wool and driftwood. I asked if, in return, the raven would give me the strength to find safe passage and complete my journey. The raven’s dark beady eyes met mine. It dipped its broad, wedged beak and picked up a pea-sized stone. I took it as an offering, a trade.

I picked up the raven and set it in my lap. With the scissors in my Swiss Army knife, I cut the wool and stick from its leg. The bird pecked at me as I worked. It took 20 minutes of careful effort to free the leg without injuring the bird. Then, with an upswing of my arms, I set the raven free. It made a tight circle and settled on a rock a few yards away. It stared at me, squawked again, took flight and disappeared over the hill. A feeling of renewal washed over me. Gone were my doubts and negative thoughts. My interaction with the raven linked me even more intimately to Greenland, to nature and to our purpose. I was ready to take up our challenge once again.”
 
Wow. Very Interesting


"Lonnie made it to 9,700ft today.

Eight feet of new snow on Denali had fallen in the last couple days and was burring Lonnie’s snow cave. He had to break down and build a new one about ten feet away at about 10pm last night.

Tired and spent from the night before, he awoke to a clear day on the mountain. Rejuvenated by the sight of the sun he made his way through the deep snow ending at 9,700ft where he ended the evening with lasagna and some much deserved rest.

Yesterday during the storm, a raven flew right by Lonnie. This raven he believes to be the same one he saw during last year’s climb at 12,000ft, on his solo climb in 2011 at 16,000ft on Denali and during his 3,200 mile navigation of Greenland. The raven made it’s way to Lonnie once again, renewing his strength and reminding him of his purpose. Once again Lonnie is ready to take on his challenge and not give up hope. Read below about the raven and its significance to Lonnie from his book Life on Ice: 25 Years of Arctic Exploration

“As often happens, my inspiration came in the form of nature. John and I were making camp one day when I heard a squawk from a nearby hill. I was scheduled for a radio call to Kelly, so I tramped up the hill to get better reception. The squawking grew louder. As I came over the crest, I saw a raven perched on a large rock. Ravens are revered and thought to possess mystical powers in many native cultures. In some, a raven is considered a sacred reincarnation of a great hunter or shaman. The raven appeared to be carrying something in its right claw as it made repeated short flights from one rock to another. As I approached, the raven made no effort to escape. Instead it flew closer, finally landing on the large rock I was leaning against. Now I could see that the bird’s right leg was bound to a thin, foot-long piece of driftwood by a wooly ball of musk-ox fur. It was obviously in pain. I approached slowly and spoke in low, soothing tones. Its neck feathers were all puffed out, black and shiny, as it stood awkwardly on its constricted leg and cawed at me. I kept talking, asking the raven’s permission to remove the musk ox wool and driftwood. I asked if, in return, the raven would give me the strength to find safe passage and complete my journey. The raven’s dark beady eyes met mine. It dipped its broad, wedged beak and picked up a pea-sized stone. I took it as an offering, a trade.

I picked up the raven and set it in my lap. With the scissors in my Swiss Army knife, I cut the wool and stick from its leg. The bird pecked at me as I worked. It took 20 minutes of careful effort to free the leg without injuring the bird. Then, with an upswing of my arms, I set the raven free. It made a tight circle and settled on a rock a few yards away. It stared at me, squawked again, took flight and disappeared over the hill. A feeling of renewal washed over me. Gone were my doubts and negative thoughts. My interaction with the raven linked me even more intimately to Greenland, to nature and to our purpose. I was ready to take up our challenge once again.”
 
Update:

"Windy Corner 8 hours ago; Lonnie received 18 hours of sleep that was only briefly interrupted by 2ft of snow that accumulated over night and had to be cleared off.

We spoke around 11 in the morning and due to hazy conditions on the mountain and unfavorable weather report Lonnie wasn’t originally going to travel today. By noon, having looked over the situation he decided go ahead and climb from 11.2K to 12K where he had previously left his sled and brought up majority of his gear to 13K, just west of Windy Corner.

Having ascended about 2000ft and return to 11.2K within 4.5 hours, it was a tough slog and a long day since Lonnie didn’t get started until late in the day.

Tomorrow, weather permitting Lonnie aims to be at 14K camp by evening."
 
Update:

"Headwall 6 hours ago.

Despite whiteout conditions Lonnie was able to reach 15.2K from 14.2K. There he left backpack with everything he will need for 17.2K camp and beyond. Because of whiteout he marked his path with wands on ascent, because he had to return to 14.2K camp before making the final push to 17.2K.

As of right now forecast tomorrow is still 50/50 for traveling tomorrow, temperature with windchill is projected to be -45F.

Lonnie is in good spirits and very excited for this stage of the climb."
 
I may have told this story on a prior Lonnie thread... A good friend of mine was a Denali guide and we both knew and trained with Tejas and Stahli (who had the first successful winter ascents on the west butt and west rib on Denali). Todd, my friend, was very comfortable on Denali and was pushing some harder routes. He was a solid winter (Alaskan winter) mountaineer, and an exceptional ski mountaineer. He went up to do the first winter ski descent of Denali one winter and came back unsuccessful, but said something that really stuck with me; he said it is just SO big and SO remote and SO cold and SO all alone up there in winter that it just crushed his psyche. He didn't get above 14 camp and had no desire to go back.

I've got a LOT of respect for Lonnie.
 
I may have told this story on a prior Lonnie thread... A good friend of mine was a Denali guide and we both knew and trained with Tejas and Stahli (who had the first successful winter ascents on the west butt and west rib on Denali). Todd, my friend, was very comfortable on Denali and was pushing some harder routes. He was a solid winter (Alaskan winter) mountaineer, and an exceptional ski mountaineer. He went up to do the first winter ski descent of Denali one winter and came back unsuccessful, but said something that really stuck with me; he said it is just SO big and SO remote and SO cold and SO all alone up there in winter that it just crushed his psyche. He didn't get above 14 camp and had no desire to go back.

I've got a LOT of respect for Lonnie.
Perfectly said! I have been outside[in southern nh]a good amount the last week during the day enjoying my favorite month of the year and its been cold.Lonnie has to be a machine to do what he does.Even with a very warm fire and three sleeping bags[a -20/30/40]for resting,the lure of a warm house close by and human contact[my girlfirend]steals that will to keep it up.Lonnie's fortitude is just mind boggling to say the least.As many on this site know,once you stop moving your body gets cold,for him to push ahead in extreme cold is incredible.Go lonnie Go:)
 
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Here's hoping he catches some good weather!!! Update:

"Good Evening 17.2K 6 hours ago

Beautiful, long and hard day on the mountain. Having left 14.2K camp shortly after 8:30am, Lonnie didn’t reach his goal and destination for today until 12 hours later at approximately 8:30pm.

Upon reaching Headwall, Lonnie spent numerous hours breaking the frozen fixed lines out of the ice putting him at the top of the headwall/West Buttress Ridge at 4pm. He traveled the entire West Buttress in the dark, all while reporting -35F temperature with 40mph wind. The support team did not hear from Lonnie until almost 11pm, after the construction of his snow cave had been finished. Lonnie called while beginning to warm the snow cave for a well-deserved good nights rest.

Needless to say a very difficult day, but a very successful one. Tomorrow is a mandatory rest and acclimation day, after that, next stop is the elusive summit. We are carefully monitoring weather for Sunday, but it is too early to tell."
 
He traveled the entire West Buttress in the dark, all while reporting -35F temperature with 40mph wind.

This doesn't sound like very much fun. :eek:

I wonder if the NPS made him carry a clean mountain can. :D
 
Summit today??? Update:

"Summit in Sight 8 hours ago

We’ve been monitoring weather from 18K to 20K (summit) through out the day. Overall tomorrow, Sunday, looks like an excellent day for summit. Our primary concern through out the day has been the projected high winds.

When we spoke with Lonnie towards late afternoon today he reported gusts of up to 30mph. Aside from that it’s been clear skies with high pressure system firmly holding.

Final call for tomorrow of whether Lonnie proceeds to summit will be made very early in the morning and we will keep you posted here."
 
"Difficult Choice 8 hours ago

After 19 days on North America’s tallest mountain, Arctic explorer and climber Lonnie Dupre has abandoned his third attempt to become the first person to summit Mount McKinley (also known as Denali) alone in the month of January. Several factors forced Minnesota-native Dupre to make the decision to begin descending the Alaska mountain on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.

As he did during his first attempt to successfully summit Denali in 2011, Dupre reached high camp at 17,200. He had hoped that after a 12-hour climb from the 14,200 camp, he could make the final push to the summit today. However, extremely hard snow made it impossible to build a safe snow cave at 17,200, and instead of getting much needed rest, he spent the entire night trying to keep the cave — and himself — warm. When he called his base camp at 4 a.m. on January 27, it was -35 degrees F in the snow cave.

It was virtually a life-or-death decision for Dupre. Even if he had made the summit today, which would have meant a 12-hour or more travel day between 17,200 and the summit and back, he knew he would not have had the energy or means to survive back at the 17,200 camp. Monday’s predicted 50 mph winds and cold temperatures would translate into a windchill of -50 degrees F. Combined with an unfavorable long-term forecast and dwindling food and fuel supplies, Dupre knew his chance of survival would be minimal. “These storms on Denali can last a long time,” said Dupre, “and a climber should never be caught with less then three days of food and eight days of fuel at any point.”

Today, Dupre is making his way down the mountain, and will continue his descent back to the 7,200 base camp as weather permits. Although disappointed that his third consecutive try at a solo summit in January was not successful, Dupre does not consider his expedition a failure. During the expedition, he conducted research and gathered microbe samples for the Biosphere 2 project run by Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation.The data will give a better understanding of how climate change affects the production of living matter in extreme environments."
 
One brave and humble Indvidual. Here's to his safe return.
 
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