A little snow fell down to sea level last night and today was a cold, bright day. Thankfully the wind dropped away quickly after the storm yesterday and it was quite calm. Some crags on Ben Nevis were rimed up and Kenny and Guy climbed Sorcerer, a great looking route on Creag Coire na Ciste with a crack pitch much like the Magic Crack in Coire an t'Sneachda. Ice has been forming quickly in the cold snap with plenty of water in the ground to seep out of the cracks and down drainage lines. Stob Coire nan Lochan was not so well frozen or rimed up but after tomorrow nothing will be as warm and wet weather moves in.

Press Release - NPS Comment Period Extended

Here is a quick update - keep reading older posts for more information.
~Blogger Julia

Denali National Park and Preserve News Release



December 6, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kris Fister (907) 683-9583

Comment Period Extended for Initial Scoping of Climbing Allocation for
Mount McKinley

The National Park Service is extending the public scoping period for the
Environmental Assessment regarding the allocation of climbing permits
between commercial guided climbing operators and independent climbers on
Mount McKinley through Monday,
December 13, 2010. The park planning website was undergoing server
maintenance and relocation which left the site inaccessible for several
days. The extension will ensure that the public has adequate time to
comment on the project.

Comments may be submitted online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/dena, faxed
to (907) 683-9612, or mailed to the address below.

Superintendent
Denali National Park and Preserve
ATTN: Climbing EA
P.O. Box 9
Denali Park, AK 99755

The NPS encourages public participation through the National Environmental
Policy Act (commonly known as NEPA) process during which the public has two
opportunities to formally comment on the project – once during initial
project scoping and again following release of the environmental assessment
which is expected in spring 2011.

If you have questions about the project please contact Paula Homan, Project
Planning Lead, at (907) 683-6223 or Martha Armington, Project Lead, at
(907) 683-9529.

- NPS -


Experience Your America
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American
people so that all may experience our heritage.

____________________________________________

Kris Fister
Public Affairs Officer
Denali National Park and Preserve
P.O. Box 9
Denali Park, AK 99755
(907) 683-9583
Kris_Fister@nps.gov

New Course and Expedition for 2013!

We will be offering a 4-person Denali Expedition in early May and due to increased interest we have decided to add our Mountain Guides Course in late April.

 Denali West Buttress Expedition

May 6 - 26, 21 days - $7900.00

4 climbers: 2 guides

If you like a smaller group experience and want to be ahead of the crowd, the this might be the expedition for you. Glacier conditions should be excellent and you could have the summit to yourselves.

Mountain Guides Course

April 17 - 28 2013 12 days - $3500.00

6 students: 2 instructors

The Mountain Guide course is designed for individuals who wish to pursue a career in guiding or teaching at AMS or for another mountain guiding organization committed to high standards.  This 12-day course provides an excellent opportunity to learn how to guide clients on Alaskan expeditions and how to teach a mountaineering progression to students.  The course accomplishes this goal in a challenging and remote glaciated environment.  Alaska’s mountains are uncompromising and they present unique demands to the mountaineer. This course provides a platform to launch a career in big mountain guiding.

The advanced nature of this course requires that students have a minimum of 3 years roped climbing experience, know how to belay, build anchors, rappel and be comfortable in exposed locations.  Participants are required to have some experience winter camping.  Participants should be familiar with avalanche mechanics and rescue procedures.  Downhill skiing experience is also recommended.  Though not required, anyone seriously interested in pursuing a career in guiding or outdoor education should also be certified in Wilderness First Responder.

Contact our office for more information. Our winter hours are 9:00 to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday.

Deadline for NPS comments extended

NPS has extended the comment period to 12/13 midnight. Please write and show your support for mountain guiding on Denali, one of the toughest and most rewarding climbs in the mountain guiding world.

Letters can be sent to:

Paul Anderson,

Superintendent, Denali National Park and Preserve

P.O. Box 9

Denali Park, Alaska

Senator Lisa Murkowski

709 Hart Senate Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Mark Udall

Chairman, National Parks Subcommittee

Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources

Hart Office Building Suite SH-317

Washington, D.C. 20510

Mr. John Jarvis

Director , National Park Service

1849 C Street, NW.

Washington, DC 20240

Ms. Sue Masica

Regional Director

Alaska Regional Office, National Park Service

240 W. 5th Avenue

Anchorage, AK 99501

Ms. Jo Pendry

Chief, Commercial Services Program

National Park Service

1849 C Street, NW.

Washington, DC 20240

Crevasse rescue- the good, bad, and the ugly!

The Good:
Learning crevasse rescue techniques is a critical skill on our mountaineering courses. We like for these skills to be hands on and often groups go to the lip of a real crevasse and practice hauling gear and each other out. The process is very controlled and fun.

We love this explanation by Dave Weber at 11,000 feet on Denali on mechanical advantage:

Rope Pulley System 1:1 --> 9:1 from Menno Boermans on Vimeo.

The Bad and the Ugly:
Sharpen your ice axes and check out this sketchy crevasse rescue video! You won't find this teaching technique used many places...

Wilderness First Responder Courses

Due to the flooding in Talkeetna this past September our classroom spaces were severely damaged. We will be unable to have the space up and running for the spring Wilderness Medical courses and are sorry we must cancel our sponsorship of the courses. 

However, the courses will still continue to be offered!

We are aware how important these courses are and now there are two excellent instructors offering WFR courses in March and April of 2013. We highly suggest that you contact one of the following instructors for more information and to enroll in their WFR program. In the past the courses have always filled so it is great to have more spaces available.

WFR: March 8-17, $695
WFR Recert: March 22 - 24, $295
Course Location: Talkeetna, AK

http://alaskawildmed.blogspot.com

Taught by Melis Coady, Instructor/Sponsor - Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS (WMI)
meliscoady@gmail.com
phone: 907-733-3313
P.O. Box 1123
Talkeetna AK 99676

      ****************************************************************



WFR: March 23 -31, $625
WFR Recert: April 5 - 7, $275
WFR Recert: April 8 - 10. $275
Course Location: Contact Instructor

Taught by Deb Ajango, Instructor/Sponsor - Wilderness Medical Association (WMA)
 debajango@att.net
phone: 907-696-3490
32789 Cumulus Road
Eagle River AK 99577

At long last it looks like the snow has started to arrive for the winter. It has kept us waiting quite late this autumn, we just had a brief flurry a few weeks ago but even that was enough for a few routes and a new route to be climbed. We now have a big high pressure system sat in the Atlantic which is keeping low pressure systems further north. As these track over the North of Scotland they bring a fairly continuous stream of polar maritime air to the west coast of Scotland. In other words, we'll have cold and wet weather for a week or so with snow on the hills. This graphic from WetterZentrale.de shows what's happening quite well.

In fact the rest of December and into early January look much the same ( http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast ). We're likely to have the usual mix of stormy weather and snow on the hills with occasional thaws and frosts on clear nights.  So the message is, get your ice axes and crampons out, dust them off and get ready to battle those mountain giants!