Denali Climb and Ski Expedition 2022

This expedition was a big dream of mine and it was not easy to arrange everything to finally go to Alaska. However, on May 10, I did get off a small plane of about 10 seats with the whole group and a bunch of luggage at Kahiltna Glacier.

Each of us packed about 40 kg on a pulling sledge, the rest in a back pack and we set off for acclimatization by the normal route, i.e. the West Buttress route to the summit of Denali 6190m. On May 20, we climbed the summit of Denali for the first time with Mato Heuger and Matej Duda.

For the first few days I asked myself if I really wanted this. Extraordinary discomfort in absolutely everything. At night the temperature dropped to almost -30°C and everything was freezing to the bone, including the contents of the pee bottle. I was properly feeling the altitude, having spent the month prior to the expedition guiding a skialp in Norway at sea level. We were going from the boat to peaks around 1200m. Denali is considerably closer to the North Pole than peaks in other mountains in the world and so the barometric pressure is lower than the pressure at the same height in mountains elsewhere in the world. Therefore the actual sensation of altitude is as if you were realistically much higher. Pulling the sledge was a terrible job and any time estimate of arriving at a place had to be multiplied by two.

The thought of climbing up and down again after 10 days on the hill, but this time up the south face of Denali to the Cassin ridge route, was extremely remote. Several climbers who had worked here warned us: “Guys if you put a normal on Denali, you definitely won’t get on Cassin. You’ll want to get the hell away from that ice as soon as possible”.

It didn’t happen and with Matej Duda in a pair after two days of rest down in the base camp at 2400m we ascend the Death Valley (as they call it) Northeast fork to the wall on Cassin ridge. Despite information from the French about a 4 hour ascent we arrive at the base of the wall after 8 hours of mad scrambling through terrifying crevasses under hanging seracs.

The French forgot to say that they didn’t reach below the Japanese kuloar which is the onset of the journey. They turned around in the middle of the Northeast fork. We’re going alpine style and thus carrying everything on our backs. Tent, sleeping bag, cooker, water food for 4 days, clothes for the big cold and climbing gear. I estimate the packs to be 10kg each. In C3 on the descent from the summit we left a deposit of food and gas. However, in the end we don’t take gas but a gasoline stove, because in these temperatures you can’t rely on gas. Later we found out that neither on gasoline, but that was our mistake. Petrol consumption is higher in these temperatures. We took a quantity that should have lasted us 4.5 days. Unfortunately it was not enough.

We arrive below the Japanese Couloir at about 3800m at 4am. We sleep a couple of hours in the tent and climb into the coolar. It’s 8 lengths of climbing in ice mostly around 50-60 degrees. Two of the lengths are steeper and one of them is 80 degrees. Matej doesn’t feel the same in the ice so I pull the kuloar. At the end of the couloir we pass the legendary Cassin ledge and climb a short rock length to the steep snow ridge of Cowboy arête.

He brings us to a super bivouac spot, where we just boil water and roll on. Except for climbing in the Japanese couloir, we go all at the same time on a rope with a continuous belay. We climb about a 90-degree pitch on Hanging Glacier and descend to a rim crack below the First Rock Band. In the crack we dig a tent site at 4600m.

We also carry a walkie-talkie to communicate with the base camp and every day at 8 pm the American rangers broadcast the weather forecast for the individual camps and the summit on the normal. After the forecast we cook and after dinner we go to sleep. No need for a headlamp in Alaska at this time as it is still visible. At night it is only slightly grey but the temperature drops down insanely to about -30.

In the morning we get up and boil water in bottles. We climb the First Rock Band and the snow ridge leading below the Second Rock Band. There, after a short break connected with drying our sleeping bags and cooking, we climb the Second Rock Band. The climbing is of a mix character up to a difficulty of 5.8 on the American scale. In the rock passages Matej is in front. Rock blocks and spilled ice in between. Each rock band has about 7-8 lengths. We’re still climbing at the same time.

Above the Second Rock Band, the road veers right into the backstage area. It bypasses the Third Rock Band and the roundabout mouths onto a snow ridge. We’ve had enough, but have to pick our way through the steep couloir and on along the ridge until we find a shelf suitable for a tent at about 5300m. It’s endless. We can’t catch our breath. Late in the afternoon we are on the shelf. Matej is cooking and I am digging a better place for the tent. In such steep terrain I have to anchor the tent with a rope for the ice picks just to be safe. I look down the wall to see Riš and Miš climbing Slovak Direkt. Above the Second Rock Band their route connects with ours and theoretically they could reach our bivouac tonight.

Suddenly, however, the cooker stops burning and we discover that we have just run out of petrol. It’s quite a big screw-up, which at first I don’t know how we’re going to solve. From this ridge, the only way down is over the top. Descending Cassin and returning through Death Valley is impossible and would take longer than going over the top. We have thawed three litres of water and it is eight o’clock in the evening. We listen to the forecast over the radio and inform base camp of our situation. There is nothing to do but fight. So we go to sleep without dinner. We both have one liter for the night and the morning. The next day we each have another liter of water. No breakfast, of course. Just some candy bars, which we’re really sick of. The nearest water is possible in C4 at 5200m on the normal after descending from the summit. Even then only if we can siphon petrol from someone who will be there. In the morning we get up early. It is bitterly cold and the wind has picked up. For now, though, the weather is fine and the sun is shining. But we are still in the shade. We climb the last almost 1000 vertical metres to the summit. I find a new dimension of infinity.

I’m blazing a trail in about 50-60 degree slopes and ridges with no end in sight. Here and there crawling through the rocks. Matej is dragging with me. We keep climbing at the same time on a short rope. Often we are standing and Matej has to rest. For the night he took Stilnox. First half and at midnight the other half. It looks like it worked for him in the morning, because he didn’t sleep all night. It made his fatigue worse. He’s getting dehydrated and can’t feel his toes. I take off my La Sportiva G2 several times, but even massage doesn’t help. I’m a little worried how this will turn out. We reach a small headland named Kahiltna horn around lunchtime. We’ve had enough. It’s actually the end of the Cassin ridge route. From there we continue on the normal easy ridge without a pack to the summit. Matej gives a short rest lying on his backpack and after my persuasion we head for the summit. At about two o’clock in the afternoon we are happy and tired at the top. We are excited and can’t believe that after 7 days we are on the summit of Denali again and this time by way of Cassin ridge.

Compared to the first peak 7 days ago, it is bitterly cold and windy. Back then we took pictures from the waist up stripped. Now we have down jackets, ski goggles, mask and down gloves. I only took my glove off for a second for the photo and my hand almost froze. Like holding dry ice for too long. We take a picture and head down to the backpacks we left on Kahiltna horn. From there we continue on the normal route down through Football field to Denali pass and C4. There are about 30 tents there and we have no trouble getting gas. We pitch the tent and cook endlessly. In the night around one Rišo and Mišo arrive. They climbed nonstop without a bivouac and also had a problem with the cooker. Slovak direkt gave nonstop and first ever free OS climb! They don’t have a tent and so they just climb in sleeping bags on the carcasses.

In the morning we descend to C3, where we dig our deposit. Of course the gas from the deposit is useless to us, because we have gasoline. We eat something in the tent of our American buddies, who have been attacking the summit for more than two weeks now without success, and go down to C2. There Mato H. and Sisa came to meet us. They brought us skis, for which we owe them a big thanks. Next comes the long skiing down to C1. C1 is our base camp.

Finally, I would like to thank Sisa and Mata Heuger for their support during our climb. Mato was the leader of this expedition and we owe him a big thanks for all the preparation, arranging important things and materials, for all the support during the expedition and the leadership.

We met here an incredibly good group under excellent leadership, when absolutely everything went well with a star. Our Slovak expedition takes home valuable climbs and beautiful experiences.

Thank you for the support of Salewa, Dynafit and Rab. If any of you are going to Denali, I would be happy to provide all the necessary information. Getting the formalities sorted out is not easy, and operating in cold temperatures on Alaskan glaciers for long periods of time requires really good preparedness.