Monday, May 31, 2010

Denali Ranger Rescue Team

I am writing from the NPS warehouse. The time is now, 10 00am, and we are ready to fly. The enormous green truck is loaded with tons of food, points (skis) and gear. It will take it's diesel butt to the airport and if we are lucky dump us at the Kahiltna Airport (The glacier). I can't say I am not stoked. I am 32 and by far the youngest on the best climbing team I have ever been on. Ah being young is nice.
The NPS is where it is at. The gov has a wild amount of resources, we get our own truck for example. And the facilities are humble but complete. The chopper, a Eurocopter Astar 2 000 000$, then you add the pilot and mechanic. This piece of equipment is utilized daily between regular standby time due to constant weather. In other words the bird is part of the process, and lives on the logo which incidentally is on our issued jacket.
Because we are sweet clients our plan is to acclimate for 6 days as we head up to 14 000 camp, possibly hitting up the Kahiltna (BuilDE) Dome and crizzleing the lower Buttress and doing tons of crevasse rescue technique. Then we hit what the Euro's call Med camp, 14', where we will train, mission around and attempt to summit via different routes. In the past a whole team has been flown to different parts of the range and every thing has seemed to have happened up here.

Photos are no problems, and Aaron the physician and I stated our shooting agenda clearly. We will share pics and try to get published. Next year I am bringing the big dog. And I am glad to discreetly have the minimalist set up this year to scope and establish connections.

Our job is about to become real with extreme consequences both physically and mentally but we have all earned our position on Denali. We sit at the cutting edge of Expedition Medicine, with ongoing, on-site research and together can get people out of some of the most demanding location on earth.

I am super grateful for this opportunity and thank the Gods for the path and am staged as a sponge ready to learn and adsorb everything. Thing like this make everything make sense. Merci!!!

Let there be a weather window so that we can be dropped in. It's show time Party People.

1 comment:

  1. Ohhh, life is striking at full force for you! Good. Sounds a bit like you're going full circle, huh? ---- Cannot wait for pics.

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