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Well I am finally back in the Real World! It’s always such a shock to come back to civilization after being on an expedition. The taste of coffee, the indulgence of sleeping in a warm bed, fresh fruit and vegetables, large amounts of people!
Late afternoon on Tuesday I flew out of Base Camp on the 10 seated Otter plane. Brian from Alp I and I joined an unsuspecting family of 7 on their scenic tour of the mountain ranges. They were probably wondering who in the heck were these 2 really smelly people joining our flight! As they were happily snapping pictures of every glacier, we just couldn’t wait to get on dry land. The first thing you notice when you step off the plane is the smell- the smell of green! You could seriously smell the pollen, leaves, dirt, flowers- it was amazing.
Alp I was kind enough to let me hang out with them for monster burgers at the West Rib in Talkeetna as well as dinner back at our "home" the Fireweed. They were such a fun group and I was able to hear tons of stories of their harrowing time stuck up at High Camp in the high winds. It was a bit hard to listen to them talk about their summit day but deep down I know I made the right decision for me at the time. A few of them came back with some superficial frostbite but they should all be ok!
I wanted to send a big thanks to Joey and Bob from AMS as well for letting me join their rope down the mountain. Bob- I may see you next year! J
I have had a little time to reflect on things and I am sure I will continue to do so but I wanted to give a big note of warning to anyone thinking of using Ambien when they climb. I started taking it as soon as we got moved to three people to a tent. I am a notoriously bad tent sleeper to start with and with three people I knew it would be worse. I was feeling really great on the trip so far and remember waking the next day with a total change of attitude and energy- this remained with me through the rest of the trip. They key things I should have picked up on but didn’t because I knew nothing of Ambien were: numbness in my right arm and hand (which I can't still get rid of), drowsiness during the day (I wanted to lie down and sleep while walking), depression- I became weepy at the drop of a hat. I would want to cry when I was packing my backpack, walking uphill, when anyone spoke to me. And for anyone that knows me both personally and as a climber, I am not weepy. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR601839#E64F907E-E7FF-0DBD-154AA583AEDC88E0 I am not at all saying this is why I turned around but I definitely think it did not help me either physically or mentally.
We saw a lot of frostbite cases coming down from High Camp while we were stuck at 14,000. The most talked about and the one that probably made me cautious the most was the Spanish woman. We watched as she was helicoptered out and sadly it looks like she may lose all of her toes: http://www.adn.com/outdoors/story/414807.html
Today the weather forecast looks as though Greg and Mathij, the remaining two from my group, might have a shot at the summit. I hope they make it! http://pafg.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=SXAK49PAFG&type=public
I will post a gear list shortly as there are many things I would do differently if I were to do it again. I will also post our top ten list of reasons why our family and friends would think we are crazy for even trying to climb Denali!
Thanks again to everyone that sent emails of support while I was away. They were a joy to receive. Just sorry I couldn’t take you all the way to the top with me!
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