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John Platt's 2009 Denali Page. The Home of the Tom Tom Club Expedition with lots of info and links.

TOM'S DENALI 2009 LOG

PAGE LINKS;

Pre-Trip Discussion.

Post Trip Reflections and Photos.

Training.

Equipment.

Pre-Trip Discussion.

Here I go again! Denali? Am I crazy? Well, I am 57 and I have not been on a major glacier climb since 2001 or climbed in Alaska since climbing in the Saint Elias Range in 1992. Yet, I have never stopped climbing or lost my desire to climb. But Denali? I attempted the peak in 1985 and 1987. Both trips were great adventures but ended short of the summit.

The weather knocked out the 85 climb. The entire approach was dogged by snow storms which kept the team pinned down for days on the lower glacier. After arriving at our 14,000 camp, the last staging area before the summit push, we were anxious to push on. We carried loads to 16,400 feet in good weather. The next day we moved up to the 17,200 foot camp in good weather. The next day a storm came in a pinned us down for four long days. The wind and ground blizzard the raged sucked our strength. When the storm subsided momentarily, our food and fuel was depleted and we abandoned the climb. It was a good decision as we only had a 12 hour break before the storm picked up. When we returned to our 11,000 foot cache, which was marked by an eight foot wand, only six inches of the wand were visible above the new snow level.

The 87 climb was doomed from the beginning. Food and inexperienced climbers were the elements that doomed the climb. The food planners mostly brought food directly off grocery store shelves, like a spaghetti box dinners. The food was difficult to prepare in cold snowy conditions and worst of all, there was not enough of it. In my climbing log I noted on the second day of trip that the food situation would likely keep us from making the summit. Snow storms and blizzard conditions slowed us down as we moved up the glacier but we pushed on. Several of the 11 person team had no business on the mountain as they had no experience and were not in good shape. After 10 days we made it to 14,000. We were pinned down by the weather for two days. On June 2^nd, we carried loads to 16,800 feet. The carry wiped out most of the team and we had to take the 3^rd as a rest day. I noted we only had six days of food left. On the 4^th we moved camp up to 17,200. It was the best day of the entire trip. It should have been our summit day. The next day, we woke up to deteriorating weather but started out for the summit with three rope teams. At Denali Pass the wind was exceeding 50 mph. Two rope teams turned around without consultation of the 3^rd team. It was a good decision as the wind was creating ground blizzard conditions and probably blowing a lot harder 2,000 feet above the pass. The next day, I took three sick climbers down to the 14,000 camp as the weather continued to deteriorate. The rest of the team came down the next day. Out of food–we were done.

So why at 57 go at it again? Mid-life Plus crisis? (At 57, I am probably past mid-life.) Crazy? One friend asked "Don’t ya think your 571 summits and 700 plus ascents enough? There are no answers to these questions. I climb because I enjoy it.

The idea of returning to Denali, first came to me in early 2008 when reading about a winter climbing trip on Dan Robbins’ Idaho Summits bulletin board. I raised the idea with Dan and with John Platt. Both are rabid peak baggers. Dan, while interested, could not consider it due to job and family commitments. John was all ears. John I skied together on a week day soon after and discussed the idea with some enthusiasm. However, shortly thereafter I started having medical symptoms which were eventually diagnosed as prostate cancer. Due to the symptoms and lack of time to prepare, I gave up on the idea for 2008.

The lure of Denali never left my mind. In August Laurie and I did a long hard backpack in the Sierra Nevada and I did well carrying a heavy pack which is a skill of absolute necessity for Denali. Still, I had to undergo radiation treatment before I could really think about Denali again. The treatment ran from mid August until late October. I was slowed by the side effects of the treatment but kept riding my bike and even did a little hiking–including a climb of a 10,000 peak on my birthday. The first of November, a week after the treatments ended I was on a climb with John, his brother Tom and Michael Pelton. The upper peak was covered with snow and moving across the steep slopes and climbing a short chimney, I knew in my heart that Denali was back on the table.

Soon after the climb John and I we e-mailing about a possible trip. I did my best to point out that the trip would involve three to four weeks of suffering with no guarantee of success. John and Tom came over at Christmas break to look at my Denali slides. I also showed them my South American climbing slides to show them you could climb big glacier covered peaks in good weather. The more I tried to dissuade them, the more committed they became. We set a date of January 15^th to make a commitment. However, I knew when they left my house I knew I was going to go and I suspected they had already decided to go.

John signed up his friend Tom Martin as our fourth climber and by the 15^th we were already well into planning the trip. Most of my expedition equipment has sat unused in the basement for the last 10 years, including my sled and boots. Gear technology has improved a great deal in the last 20 years. I immediately decided to take advantage of new boot technology and also to upgrade my down coat and gloves. There is nothing that gets me more excited about a major climb than buying more equipment.

As of April 28th, I have a clean prognosis from my Doctor and the Tom Tom Club is ready to go.

POST TRIP REFLECTIONS.

"Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die."

Its a long way from the landing strip on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to the summit.

The 2009 attempt is over. Unsuccessful. Disappointing. I am now 0 for 3 on this big peak. Was I crazy to go again? No, I learned from the trip that I can still endure and that I still have the tolerance for misery.

Climbing Denali is all about endurance and a tolerance for suffering.

All four of us were in good shape and did well. Our combined 204 years was not a factor in our defeat. We passed other rope teams of younger climbers on several occasions and I can only remember one rope team overtaking us. We all adjusted to the altitude. The planning effort was, if anything, too successful. We lacked for nothing and instead had too much food. I will take the blame for overemphasizing the need for food.

We arrived at 14,200 feet on the seventh day, which was three days faster than my best time on earlier trips. We had eight days of food and lots of fuel either at the 14,200 feet camp in Genet Basin or 30 minutes below camp near Windy Corner.

We climbed to 17,200 feet on our first summit attempt in 5.5 hours. I thought we climbed strong. Clearly, we were faster than many groups as we worked up the headwall and the fixed ropes. I do not think that any of us thought we could make the summit on the first try because we had only spent one day at 14,000 feet.

We did not do everything right. There was clearly disagreement over those who wanted to power up the mountain with single carries of all of our equipment and those (me) who wanted to carry high, sleep low, and take an extra day or two getting to Genet Basin. While I do not believe that the two single carry days (from the landing strip to 7,800 feet and up Ski Hill) adversely affected our conditioning, it clearly increased the suffering associated with the lower glacier slog.

We had great weather. In 13 days we received only a couple of inch of snow. In 1985 I experienced several feet of snow on several different days. We had some wind but it was all below 40 mph and we had a lot of windless time on the mountain. As some one commented "a mere breeze on Denali."

Talkeetna Air Taxi is a professional outfit with great equipment and employees.

My climbing partners were all strong climbers capable of pulling big loads and working as a team. Tom Martin is stronger than a mule and always pulled the biggest load. Tom Platt, all the though the smallest team member proved he could constantly pull huge loads and keep going. John Platt, our leader, not only got us onto the mountain well organized but also kept us on course--and he also proved to be strong and good natured.

TRAINING.

In 1985 training was my main training method. From January 1^st until we left I ran 402 miles. I also got in 20 miles crosscountry skiing and an 18 mile backpack in March. In mid-April the team made a successful training ascent of Mount Hood. In 1987 I ran over 534 miles from the first of January until leaving for Alaska. Many of the runs were in the Boise foothills. The longest run was 12 miles. I also added 40 miles crosscountry skiing and 20 miles of hiking. I was probably in the best shape of my life.

I know physically it is impossible to be as strong at 57 as I was at 36. Still, the goal is to get as close as possible. I no longer run and instead rely on bike riding as my main cardio vascular training. Since it is at least a 500 foot climb to get up the hill to my house, it is good training. I have supplemented my bike riding with hiking, XC skiing, weight lifting and yoga. I want to avoid burnout and so I envision my training to peak about two weeks before we leave.

I believe the weight training and yoga are as important as the cardio vascular training. Perhaps nothing is more important than having a positive mental attitude when approaching a peak like Denali. In respect to my PMA, I have much more climbing experience now than I did in the mid-80s but that is balanced by my age which naturally creates some concern.

END OF APRIL TRAINING SUMMARY.

As of April 30th I road my bike, hiked or backcountry skied 1002 miles, made 12 ascents of peak in the Boise area and totaled about 65,000 feet of elevation gain (a nearly even split between hiking and bike riding) . If you think this sounds impressive, keep in mind that Tom Platt rode a bike 500+ miles in one week this spring and John climbed more peaks than I did and carried a 70lb pack to the top on many of his climbs. Still I am satisfied with my effort which was designed to toughen me to mid-summer conditioning before departure. Due to weather conditions I did not do any climbing at elevations above 8,000 feet but I do not think that is an issue.

In my opinion, the mental side of the climb is the most important part of training. If you feel confident that you are in good shape, it is easier to feel confident that you will perform well on the mountain. I think I am there. Now, if we can have a few good days of weather once we reach the 14,000 camp.