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.

Conshohocken Base Camp Update

Less than 3 weeks until departure and final preparations from Conshohocken Base Camp are proceeding according to plans.  The major task remaining is locking down the food and menu.  Lots of calories to pack for a 6'4" Pollock on a 3 week expedition.

It took a couple tries, but finally nailed down some MSR XGKakes.

Food and gear have taken over Conshohocken Base Camp.

Food stockpile underway.

Gear sorting started...sorta.

Nemo Moki, home away from home for three weeks.

  

Skillz on San Jacinto

This past weekend the team busted out a lil training trip in Cali.  With our crazy schedules, this was the last opportunity to get everyone together, hang from trees, run through the crevasse rescue scenarios, and play in the snow.  We were all a smidge worried when we saw 100+ deg temps in Palm Springs, but San Jacinto Peak provided us with just enough white stuff to have some meet our objectives.  Traffic was totally LA and it took over four hours to get from to Palm Springs.  Ben was also able to make it up from San Diego late Friday night. We missed the last tram on Friday night and ended up crashing just off the road outside the gate for the first tram in the morning.  Below are some highlights from one blast of a weekend.

Just enough room for one Niki in the back seat of the Wrangler.

Seriously?

Slept under the stars in 80 deg weather...perfect training for Denali.

Picture of the trip.

Tram ride on San Jacinto.

Niki's personal touch on wands.

Niki logging some sled hauling time.

Snow kitchen table and benches!

Nemo Moki fortification.

Park Ranger:  "Awesome tent, strong snow walls, cool music.  Did you guys read the permit?"
What goes up must come down.

Ben on our self-rescue setup.

Canadian Drop Loop System.

...and the California Grey Squirrel.

Blog is up...

The official Sifl Denali Expedition Blog is now up.  Stay tuned for blog updates, real time twitter feeds from the satellite phone while on the mountain, live GPS tracking, and weather update links.  Also check out the other pages for background info on the team and the route.

wyrd