Before heading to Alaska, Lonnie Dupre spent a couple of weeks getting acclimated to altitude in Colorado. Here, just above Loveland Pass, Lonnie stands at 13,000 feet. He said he had a “thin air headache” and suffered lots of wheezing. Lonnnie will soon attempt to climb to the top of North America, Mount Denali’s 20,320-foot peak, where the air is even more rare.
New Year’s Day came and went and Lonnie Dupre checked over his gear one more time as he anxiously waited on the weather to clear so he could fly to his base camp on Mount McKinley (Denali) and began his third attempt to summit North America’s highest mountain peak.
Dupre is hoping to become the first person to climb to the top of North America’s highest mountain peak in January. As of press time he was already four days behind schedule, but as always, when it comes to tackling Denali’s summit, the weather is the boss.
Still, Dupre was excited to get going, and as he waited to climb to Denali’s 20,320- foot peak, he admitted he had learned valuable lessons from his previous two attempts and has made changes that should help him reach the summit this time around.
“As far as my gear goes I have pared everything down to travel as light as possible. One item that I have included in building snow caves is that I will use a custom tarp as a roof instead of snow blocks and that should save me considerable time. It takes me two hours after a long hard day of climbing to build a snow cave, so saving time and energy are important,” Dupre said.
“My gear will weigh 200 pounds. About 150 pounds is on a sled and 50 or so pounds are in my backpack.
“Most of the locations for the main camps will be the same. I have them at 7,800 feet, 14,200 feet, and 17,200 feet,” Dupre said.
Most of Dupre’s climbing will be in the dark. Right now sunrise is at 10:26 a.m. and moonset is 11:17 a.m. Temperatures currently are warmer then normal in Denali National Park, about 30 Fahrenheit, with lots of cloud cover and good chance of snow in the near forecast.
“But as we know, the weather forecasts don’t mean much,” Dupre told the Cook County News-Herald by e-mail.
As he climbs the temperatures will rapidly drop and the wind will pick up. Dupre has faced gale force winds of over 100 mph and temperatures as cold as 60 below zero.
For luck and comfort Dupre will carry an amulet made of a deer antler that his good friend Jeff Larsen made for him and he will also carry a picture of his nephew Colby.
To get ready Dupre left Grand Marais at the end of October and traveled to Colorado to get acclimated for the rigors presented by a high altitude climb.
“My training went well in Colorado with lots of hiking and a climb to 14,000 feet at the end of the trip. At age 51 I am as healthy as an ox…an old ox,” Dupre said with a laugh.
To help pay for the expedition, Dupre has an assortment of national sponsors, but he also has some local backers.
“In Grand Marais my sponsors are Buck’s Hardware Hank and Radio Shack, Stone Harbor Wilderness Supplies, and the Gunflint Tavern,” Dupre said.
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