What’s the first thought that comes to your head when you hear the name Alaska?
I think about snow, ice, glaciers, big peaks, and wild untamed landscape. On my most recent trip to Mt. Bona in the Wrangle St. Elias range I discovered Alaska is all of those things and more. I had the opportunity to work as an assistant to Sheldon Kerr on a twelve day climbing expedition of Mt. Bona with four clients. On May 21st, 2011 we all met in Anchorage to discuss our adventure. This is a special trip for many reasons; One being the remote nature of Mt. Bona. In order to even get to the base of the mountain we drive six hours south east of anchorage, hop on a bush plane and fly an hour into the mountains, land on glacier and then we have at least a week of climbing a headed of us. Why would anyone in his or her right mind want to go through such an endeavor? .
For the opportunity to experience something outside the norm, something life changing--for the unique opportunity to examine life through a completely different lens.
After landing on the Klutlan Glacier at over 10,000ft elevation we set basecamp and began our expedition. We watched as the plane flew away, our only communication with the outside world for the next two weeks was a satellite phone. Everyone pitched in and in no time base camp was set. Getting dropped off at 10,000 ft is an interesting feeling. Normally when you climb to that elevation your body has a chance to acclimate and make up for the reduced air pressure, thus making you feel much better than we did. Due to the fact that we simply were dropped off we needed a good night sleep to adjust to our new environment.
The next few days we had beautiful weather that allowed us to make large advances on our objective. In two days time we were at camp one—11,950 ft—and looking beautiful. The upper mountain had some cracks but nothing we couldn’t handle. The group was all feeling strong, and couldn’t wait for more climbing.
It took us four days to get everything to high camp at 14,300 ft. We were in perfect position to make an attempt on the summit. Its much more difficult working at high camp than the previous camps, so everyone had to be diligent about taking care of their bodies.
Day 5 we woke up to beautiful blue skies, no wind, and perfect climbing conditions for our summit attempt. We left high camp at 8:15 am and reached the summit of Mt. Bona at 2:45 pm. Being the tallest peak in the Wrangles we looked down on everything around us. Mt. Logan was standing proudly in the distance, we could nearly see to the ocean. Everyone was exhausted but well worth the work. Thank you gentlemen, for a once in a lifetime experience. I feel honored to have shared my first Alaskan summit with you all.
Back at base camp safe and sound two days later we all enjoyed some cold beverages that were strategically buried for safe keeping and optimal enjoyment upon our arrival. Kyle and myself each had birthdays the two nights we were in base camp waiting for our pick up. Sheldon, being the wonderful host she is made us each a birthday cake and gave us a very special celebration. Thanks Sheldon, I had a wonderful time working with you.
At 8am on day 8 Paul Clause of Ultima Thule came and picked us up. Oh what a sight to see that big beautiful plane flying down the glacier to take us back to civilization. We all loved the climb but were ready for a hot shower and some cold beers. Before we knew it we were back in Anchorage celebrating our success and planning the next trip
Until next time……
