Stuffph Goes into Things...

So I put 167 lbs of some stuffph into a couple things.  For a full list of stuffph see here.

Conshy Base Camp Receives a Surprise Visit

During my final preparations for the expedition late Tuesday night, I received an unexpected visit from the rare Alaskan Glacier Gorilla.  The existence of this rare breed of gorilla has been in question since first being reported in the wild in 1955.  Only a handful or sightings have been documented and I have no clue how it managed to stray so far away from it's natural habitat.  After providing the hungry guest with some Australian red licorice it expressed it's gratitude by noting a secret warp zone in one of the crevasses on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier.

Cheerios

4 Days and 162 Degrees to go...

Ah, here in Topanga, California, it is a sweat inducing 81 degrees, where Niki and I (Jason), are doing the final gear packing.  On the summit of Denali at the moment, it is a bit chillier, about 162 degrees chillier than it is here- that's right, NEGATIVE 81 degrees.  No big deal.  We've got seven flocks worth of goose down feathers we're bringing with us.

Here's me out on our deck, testing my maximum cold weather regalia:

"Who am I wearing?"   Here you go:

• Feet
•  Smartwool liner socks
•  Smartwool expedition weight socks
•  Scarpa altitude boot liners
•  Scarpa Inverno double plastic boots
•  Outdoor Research Expedition Crocodile gaiters
•  40 Below K2 Superlight neoprene overboots
• Bottom
•  Ex Officio undies 
•  Patagonia Capilene long underwear
•  Outdoor Research Saturn Suit fleece bibs
•  REI expedition weight fleece long underwear
•  Patagonia Guide pants, softshell
•  Arcteryx Alpha SV hardshell bibs
•  Marmot 8000m down pants
• Top
•  Icebreaker wool t-shirt
•  Patagonia Capilene featherweight long sleeve t-shirt
•  Smartwool long sleeve zip top
•  Patagonia down sweater
•  REI softshell jacket
•  Marmot 8000m down parka
•  Arcteryx Alpha SV hardshell jacket (not wearing)
• Head
•  Smith Optics Spherical goggles
•  Turtle Fur micro balaclava
•  Coolmax neoprene balaclava w/ face mask
•  Mountain Hardwear Gore Windstopper hat
•  Black Diamond Half Dome helmet
• Hands
•  Outdoor Research glove liners
•  Black Diamond fleece gloves
•  Outdoor Research Alti gloves with down insert (not wearing)
•  Outdoor Research Alti mitts with down insert

Yeah, about 25 pounds worth of clothes, but that's only for the worst conditions.

Here's all the rest of the stuff Niki and I are packing.  Somwhere around 140 pounds total- and this doesn't even include the food!!

We've got -25 degree sleeping bags with liners, closed cell and inflatable sleeping pads, giant backpacks (mine is 105 liter), water bottles, pee bottles, thermos, titanium cook wear, white gas stoves, fuel bottles, glacier travel and crevasse rescue climbing gear, crazy first aid supplies and hardcore medicines, down botties, toiletries, rags, duct tape, reading material, oodles of stuff sacks, polar tents and cook tent, snow shoes, crampons, ice axes, lots of cordelette for rigging the sleds, trek poles, snow shovels, cameras, solar charging equipment... all that plus around 50 pounds of food each that we'll be dragging up the frigid West Buttress of Denali starting next week.

Now back to packing...

Paradise

Blue Mountain has been my home away from home on Saturdays from late March through April.  It provides the highest altitude gain (~1000 ft) within a reasonable driving distance from Conshy base camp.  The big bonus is that there's no traffic, unlike I encounter on the hills of Gladwyne and Conshy.  Days at Blue were typically spent mixing it up on Paradise, Dreamweaver & Nightmare, Razor's Edge, Challenge, & Sidewinder.  I planned yesterday to be my last day and busted out the full package (pack weight, weighted sled, double plastics).

As soon as I stepped on the slopes it became quite apparent that my entire day would be spent on Paradise unless I compromised on my gear.  Sooooo, I decided to stay on Paradise and endure the absolute snail's pace zombie slog up the rocky dirt road.  The 80+ temps and high humidity were great simulation of the subzero temps encountered on Denali.  I knew today would be tough physically, but it turned mental rather quickly.  It's a good to get broken down every once in a while.

10 days till departure.

Looking back on the middle sector...

 Looking ahead on the middle sector.

 I have a pretty good argument against the message on this sign.

Turns out I wasn't the only one taking advantage of Blue Mountain's Vertical.  A group of Paragliders at the top of Razor's Edge.

You can see on paraglider that just took off in the distance...a much better way to the base.

Blue Mountain.  If all goes well, we'll cover approximately 13 of these in altitude gain from the Kahiltna Glacier to the summit.

One pink sled and three bicycle tires will be laid to rest after full dedication to the cause.