Guy Manning’s Seven Summits Challenge.

Seven Summits Challenge Stage 7: Denali, May/June 2015

Over the last decade I have climbed the highest mountain on six of the seven continents. In 2015 I will be attempting to complete the challenge, and raise funds for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, by climbing Denali (aka Mount McKinley) in Alaska, the highest mountain in North America.

The “Seven Summits” are the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, namely:

Everest, Nepal / Tibet, Asia (8,848 m / 29,029 ft)
Aconcagua, Argentina, South America (6,962 m / 22,841 ft)
Denali (also known as Mount McKinley), USA, North America (6,194 m / 20,322 ft)
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa (5,895 m / 19,340 ft)
Elbrus, Russia, Europe (5,642 m / 18,510 ft)
Vinson, Antarctica (4,897 m / 16,067 ft)
Carstensz Pyramid, Indonesia, Australasia (4,884 m / 16,024 ft) or Kosciuszko, Australia (2,228 m /7,310 ft)

You can read more about the Seven Summits at: http://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/exp/7summits.html

Hello and welcome to www.sevensummits.ky

My name is Guy Manning. I was born and raised in London and the English Lake District but have lived and worked in Cayman for the last decade. Shortly before moving here I was looking for a long term project which would combine my love of wild places and physical challenges. Climbing the ‘Seven Summits’, the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, seemed to fit the bill.

Ten years on, in between various other climbs and adventures, I have now reached the top of Africa (Kilimanjaro, 5,895 m / 19,340 ft), Antarctica (Vinson, 4,897 m / 16,067 ft), Asia (Everest, 8,848 m / 29,029 ft), Australasia (Carstensz Pyramid, 4,884m / 16,023ft), Europe (Mount Elbrus, 5,642 m / 18,510 ft) and South America (Aconcagua, 6,959m / 22,830ft). It’s been a fantastic experience so far, and in May 2015 I will be heading to Alaska to try to complete the project by reaching North America’s high point, the formidable Denali (6,194 m / 20,322 ft).

I am hoping that through your support the climb can raise desperately needed funds for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society. As a result of the community’s generous sponsorship of my Everest climb in 2013, we raised over US$100,000 for the 56 cancer patients then receiving financial support from the CICS. Two years on, the Society now has more than 100 patients requiring assistance. The problem is getting worse, and the need for funds is greater than ever.

Please therefore dig as deeply as you can to support the Society’s vital work in our community. As with Everest, my Denali expedition is entirely self-funded, so every dollar donated will go to the charity. You can find details of how to donate here http://www.sevensummits.ky/donate-now.

The debate over whether Carstensz Pyramid or Kosciuszko should be included in the list depends on whether one defines the “seventh” continent as comprising Australia (the highest point of which is the summit of Kosciuszko) or the region known as Australasia or Oceania encompassing Australia and the islands of New Zealand and New Guinea (the apex of which is the summit of Carstensz Pyramid in West Papua, Indonesia).

This issue has led to uncertainty over who was the first climber to complete the Seven Summits and how many have completed the challenge. In 1985, Dick Bass, a wealthy American businessman, reached the summit of Everest to become the first person to complete the “Kosciuszko” version of the Seven Summits, but he had not climbed Carstensz. In 1986, a Canadian climber, Pat Morrow, completed the “Carstensz Pyramid” version of the list, and proclaimed that he was the first person to climb the Seven Summits. The debate was kindled, although most climbers now take the view that Carstensz (a remote and more technically difficult rock climb), rather than Kosciuszko (a gentle stroll), is the true continental high point. Reinhold Messner, probably the greatest mountaineer the world has ever seen, had completed six of the seven summits (including both Carstensz and Kosciuszko) by 1985, all by hard new routes. Messner completed the Seven Summits four months after Morrow and would probably have been the first to do so had he not been busy becoming the first climber to scale all 14 of the world’s 8,000 metre peaks!

It is unclear precisely how many people have now completed the Seven Summits, but it is generally estimated to be between 250 and 350, depending on which definition of the challenge is used.

So far I have reached the summits of Kilimanjaro (2004), Aconcagua (2008), Vinson (2010), Elbrus (2011), Everest (2013) and Carstensz (2014). I have also made two unsuccessful attempts on Denali. In 2009 I was hit by a storm on summit day and forced to turn back by high winds and frostbite. I returned in 2012, but our team was pinned down by a storm for 10 days in our camp at 14,200 ft. When our food and fuel ran out we had no choice but to descend. Tragically, four climbers from another team descending ahead of us lost their lives in an avalanche.

Three years on I am returning for round three with Denali and its notoriously bad weather. If I’m successful that will (I think) complete my Seven Summits Challenge, although at some point I’ll probably wander up Kosciuszko just to be sure!

Your generosity during my Everest expedition in 2013 raised over US$100,000 for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society. My goal in climbing Denali is to raise further desperately needed funds for the CICS. As with Everest, my expedition will be entirely self-funded, so every dollar you donate will go to the Cancer Society. If you would like to make a donation you can do so here http://www.sevensummits.ky/donate-now. Thanks for your generosity.
Denali 2015

At 6,194 m / 20,322 ft, Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain in North America. It is also the third highest of the seven summits. Although Denali is lower than Everest (8,848 m / 29,029 ft) and Aconcagua (6,962 m / 22,841 ft), the elevation gain of approximately 5,500 m / 18,000 ft from the base to the summit is the largest of any mountain in the world above sea level. The combination of elevation gain, the absence of porters to help with load carrying, and Alaska’s extreme cold and frequent storms make Denali a formidable challenge, second only to Everest among the seven summits.

There are numerous routes on the mountain, some of which, like the Cassin Ridge, are classic test pieces for the world’s best alpinists. Not being one of the world’s best alpinists, I’ll be steering well clear of the Cassin! I thought long and hard about routes for this trip, and was very tempted by an attempt on the West Rib, but in the end I decided to return to the West Buttress to maximize my chances of getting to the top.

The West Buttress is the easiest and therefore most popular route on the hill, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! It is not a technical route, but it’s long, frequently subject to fierce and prolonged storms, and generally bloody hard work! I know this because I’ve already spent six weeks on the West Buttress over the course of two expeditions in 2009 and 2012. On my first attempt in 2009 I was forced to turn around on summit day, just above a feature called Denali Pass (5,550 m / 18,200 ft), with a frostbitten cheek caused by very high winds. On my second attempt in 2012 we became stuck at the penultimate camp at 4,330 m / 14,200 ft in a 10 day storm. We spent the time playing cards, digging out the tents and listening to avalanches until our food and fuel ran out, forcing us to retreat to Base Camp. Although we made it down safely, four climbers from another team who descended ahead of us were tragically killed in an avalanche.

The three week expedition starts with a spectacular ski plane flight from the outpost of Talkeetna to Base Camp, on the Kahiltna glacier, at 2,225 m/ 7,300 ft. From there climbers set off towards the summit, 18 miles away and 4,000m / 13,000 ft above. The length of the route, cold temperatures and the need to be able to wait out the frequent storms mean that a lot of food, fuel and gear is required. Setting out from Base Camp it is typical to be carrying a 75 lb pack and dragging an 80 lb sled.

The number and sites of the camps vary a little from expedition to expedition, but it is typical to set up four camps above Base Camp. Every camp has to be established on arrival, and usually involves several hours of work digging out sites, cutting blocks to build snow walls and a toilet, putting up the tents and then melting snow and cooking.

After reaching Camp 1 it is typical to take two to three days to move between each of the higher camps. A standard strategy is to spend the first day caching part of the gear in a snow hole half way to the next camp, and then return to sleep at the lower camp. On the second day you climb all the way to the next camp with the rest of the gear, and on the third you down climb to collect the cache and bring it up to the new camp. This helps with acclimatisation and reduces the loads to a more manageable 50 lb pack and 50 lb sled.

The sleds are taken as far as the penultimate camp at 4,330 m / 14,200 ft, known as Fourteen Camp. From here the terrain up to the final camp at 5,250 m / 17,200 ft, known as Seventeen Camp, is too steep to drag a sled, which means a tough carry up fixed lines and then along an exposed ridge with a pack of 80 lbs or so.

Weather permitting, teams go for the top from Seventeen Camp. Summit day is a long, hard slog, typically lasting about 14 hours, I am told! After the summit it usually takes a long two days to make it back from Seventeen Camp to Base Camp with very heavy loads and the pleasure of sleds constantly knocking you off balance. Back at Base Camp there is usually a final wait for a weather window to fly out to Talkeetna, which can take several days if you are unlucky.

Hopefully the Denali weather will be kinder on my third attempt and allow me up to the top to complete my seven summits. If not I’m sure I’ll be back again next year!

For more on this story go to: http://www.sevensummits.ky/index.php

See also story today in iNews Briefs “Cayman Islands climber to tackle another mountain for cancer”