Team Evans/Stevens Climb Denali

object width=”560″ height=”340″>

Well, we are finally back safe and sound from our adventure up Denali. It’s unfortunate that we did not make the summit but it doesn’t look like anyone will be making it to the top any time soon. We are just grateful that we still have all out fingers and toes. After witnessing the death of a fellow climber and then weathering one of the worst storms on the mountain with very little food or fuel we finally turned around. The forecast is for the winds to remain high for at least a week longer.

Thanks for all the support we received. The text messages were great. We really appreciated all the jokes and riddles. Thank you everyone and we wish the best in all the adventures you will undertake as life continues.

Ryan and Matt

Day 9 -

I received a very brief update from Ryan and Matt before the phone battery ran out. They are safe and at camp 1 (7,800 ft) for the night. There plan is to send a dispatch tomorrow morning. Thank you for keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.

5 straight days with a constant beating by the wind has taken its toll. Matt and Ryan have decided to pack up camp and move back down to 11,200 ft. Their bodies and minds need a break. On the way down they will pick up their cache to replenish their food and fuel supplies. They are expecting the winds to be less powerful at camp 3 which will allow them to stretch out and rest up for when there is a window to move back up to 14,200 ft. They will send a dispatch when they are settled into camp later today. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!!!!

Day 7 –

Well . . . it’s Monday and Matt and I are still pinned down by the 50 – 70 mph winds at 14,200 ft. Thus far our tent is holding up but the neighboring tent already broke a pole. Some people have dug some emergency snow caves in case anyone needs them. The wind never quits and blows all night and all day long. You pretty much get out every once in a while to shovel out your tent and get right back in, so we are pinned down and stuck in our cozy little home. The Satellite phone charger is buried at our cache site by windy corner, so we may not be able to make another dispatch until the weather clears. This is to continue on for a couple more days we hear. We will hunker down in the hurricane and survive the winds. Wish us luck!

Day 7 –

Saturday night update - Well we finally made it to 14,200 feet. After leaving 11,200 feet we battled high winds all day, extreme cold temperatures, and gusts of wind 50 mph. We pushed through and finally made it. We had to spend the first 2 hours building 5 foot walls around our tent to make sure we don’t blow off the mountain. Then we set the tent up very carefully making sure not to let go. We finally boiled some water and are prepared to take a needed rest break tomorrow. The forecast predicts the winds to be over 70-80 mph over the next 3 days, so I think we have a new home for a while. We’ll keep you up-to-date and send us some text messages. We will try to give an update some time tomorrow.

Saturday morning update – It has been snowing on us all night long and there are high winds up top. There has been a small break in the weather and we are hoping we can make it to 14,000 feet. Matt and I are going to push through up and around windy corner, past the cache site, and into 14,000 ft this afternoon. Wish us luck and we’ll try to send an update from camp 4, 14,200 ft.

Day 6 –
Stormed in at camp 3 today. There are extremely high winds and lenticular clouds above. We will be staying here for the rest of the day and looking for good weather tomorrow to hopefully make our move to 14,000 ft. Keep sending the jokes and text messages since we are stuck in a tent.

Day 5 –

Unfortunately tragedy struck the mountain today (Climber’s heart gave out on his climb above windy corner. The Rangers did all they could but just couldn’t revive him). Matt and I are safe and healthy. We started our day with cold wind. We packed all our carry load into our packs and hit the trail. It was a tough start; the snow was wind drifted and extremely hard. There was no boot pack to follow so our crampons and legs got a great workout. After a few hours the sun broke, the wind vanished, and it was beautiful. We carried around windy corner and buried our cache. We spent over an hour at our cache site acclimatizing. It was a quick trip back to camp after that. We had a great dinner and are now going to crash out for our big move to camp for at 14,000 ft tomorrow. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Day 4 –

This was a much needed rest day with beautiful sunny weather. We spent the day eating, drinking lots of water, and organizing our gear for the carry to windy corner tomorrow. We are on crampons and ice axes from here on out. We will bury our skies here at 11,200 ft along with weather food and fuel. We would like to give a shout out to Mark Phillips for coming through with some last minute gear. Also want to thank Backpackers Pantry for hands down the best freeze dried food available. Keep the messages coming, thanks for the support, and keep praying that this good weather holds out.

Day 3 –

We started the move to 11,200 ft in snow and a slight breeze. It felt like climbing through a cloud and we welcomed the change from the previous two days of scorching heat. It was a long day of hauling all our gear but we finally made it to 11,200 ft. We set up camp, cooked dinner, and the sun broke out. It is a beautiful day now and we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a sip of tequila. We are looking forward to a well deserved rest day tomorrow. We will spend the day acclimatizing, building the camp up, and sorting our gear for the next’s days carry to 14,000 ft and come back down. Keep sending the messages and jokes. They are great and we are having an amazing time and holding up well.

Day 2 –

We made it to camp 2 at 9,800 ft. It was another scorcher on the glacier but we made it through. We found some walls already established and moved right in. The winds picked up late afternoon with increasing lenticular clouds forming on the summit. We are praying for good weather tomorrow so we can move to 11,200 ft camp for a much deserved break. Hauling 110 lbs a piece up the glacier will take its toll on anyone. We look forward to the half carry loads after 11,200 ft. Food is holding up great! Our energy level is excellent and our muscles are not too sore. Thanks for sending all the messages, keep ‘em coming.

To view the West Buttress route that Ryan & Matt are climping go to www.mountainzone.com

Day 1 -

It is Sunday evening and we made it into camp 1. Matt and I got an early start by beginning the trek on Sunday instead of Monday. We had all our gear ready earlier than planned so we went ahead and flew in this morning. We buried our cache at base camp and headed out. It took 8 hours to get to 7,800 ft. camp. We just arrived, set up camp, and started cooking food. It was a very long and hot day on the glacier. We were just about the only people on the glacier today and the only two to fly into base camp. They (Rangers) are expecting 50 climbers in base camp tomorrow, so we are glad to be ahead of the group. We will keep the updates coming.

Matt and I would love to receive a message from you. Click on ‘Satellite Phone Info’ to the right for more details.