Lonnie Dupre is attempting to become the first person to climb Denali in January unassisted. Dupre is two-thirds of his way up the mountain, and despite running into extreme cold and high winds, is in good spirits.
Lonnie Dupre’s quest to become the first person to solo climb Mount Denali in January is going well but is not without some peril.
On January 14, Dupre’s base camp manager Tom Surprenant reported that Lonnie had had a good day of climbing the day before, “despite getting blown off his feet a couple times early in the day. The winds were quite gusty in the morning and the wind caught him and the ladder and knocked him down. As the day progressed and the winds subsided he had good travel in the afternoon.”
Days on Denali at this time of the year contain no more than six hours of sunlight, and even that is more the variety of light found at dusk or dawn.
On Jan 15, Surprenant wrote, “Just got off the phone with Lonnie. After a very long day of wind and crevasses Lonnie is around 14,200 feet. He made it around Windy Corner today. Many times during his crossing of Windy Corner he had to double ice axe in and wait out the wind.”
Winds can and do exceed 100 mph on Windy Corner.
Once around the formidable corner, Dupre experienced a number of large crevasses, with some being 40 feet across. Temps at night have been dipping below -50.
On Sunday, January 16 Dupre told Surprenant the weather on Denali was “raw bone cold,” but he was doing fine and despite a mild headache, in good spirits. He took the day off to rest and recuperate.
Surprenant reported on Monday, January 17, “Lonnie made a carry up to the Head Wall to 15,500. The route up the Head Wall proved to be challenging as we predicted. The lower third had some snow cover which covered the fixed lines that are placed there by the Park Service. The slope is quite steep here at 50-plus degrees. As he continued his climb up he came to a large Bergschrund (a Bergschrund is a crevasse that forms at the upper end of a mountain glacier where the moving glacier ice separates from the stagnant ice above).”
Dupre took the 18th off to catch up on some sleep and write in his journal. The following day he was scheduled to “ascend the Head Wall and retrieve his cache of food and fuel that he stashed at 15,500 feet,” wrote Surprenant.
Once Dupre climbs to the top of the Head Wall he will make his way along the West Buttress ridge to 17,200 where he will make camp.
Surprenant reports that Dupre is doing well and in good spirits.
Denali’s summit is 20,320, but the closer Dupre gets, the harder it will be for him to make snow caves to sleep in, and the climb becomes more treacherous and colder at the higher elevations. A large part of the reason Dupre is making this trek is to educate the public about the effects global warming are having on the glaciers that rest on Denali.
Dupre has spent more than 25 years traveling through the high arctic and Polar Regions by dog team, ski and kayak. Once he is atop the mountain he plans to do “something big.” For that, we will have to wait and see. You can follow Dupre’s adventure at www.lonniedupre.com.
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