Get InvolvedREGISTER NEWS UPDATE: 2008 Mount McKinley Breast Cancer Climb July 7, 2008—Having arrived at base camp on June 26th, our team waited three days for the weather to clear before starting our snowshoe traverse across the Kahiltna Glacier toward the summit of Mt. McKinley. Over the following week we moved through three camps at 7,800 ft., 9,000 ft., and 11,000 ft. carrying 60-pound packs and pulling another 50-60 pounds of group gear loaded in plastic sleds. After a full day of climbing, which typically started at 4:00 am, we entered each camp and selected a site erecting or reinforcing existing platforms for tents and below surface latrines and mess halls shielded from the wind. At every turn, McKinley’s cold, dry air and progressively steep slopes tested our team’s strength and resolve. Her weather and high walls effectively limited any attempt to provide satellite updates to the New Haven Register’s Cancer Climb Website. Eight days into the climb at a place called ‘Windy Corner’ (13,300 ft.), the mountain exacted its due. My inability to maintain pressure-regulated breathing and balance were noticeably compromised. My tent mate and rope team partner, who ascended to within 720 feet of the summit at 19,600 ft. the year prior before a storm forced him to abandon his bid, had developed a potentially life-threatening respiratory condition that required immediate evacuation from the mountain by helicopter to a hospital in Anchorage. Another team member aggravated his hip flexor. When we descended back to camp at 11,000 ft., it was painfully clear that my ability to improve while ascending toward the summit over the next few days was highly unlikely. My presence on the rope line could jeopardize the safety of other team members and deprive them of their rightful shot at a summit. After a consult with the guides, my role in the expedition was over in a surreal instant. There were no words, only tears. I had never experienced problems at this altitude before but this is McKinley (Denali), ‘the high one,’ with centrifugal force and air pressure that makes 11,000 feet seem much higher. This was also my first lost summit. On my walk down to base camp with another team on July 4th, I fought through the ensuing disappointment and anger only to recognize the purpose of this climb—to honor survivors who battle each day to regain the lost summits in their lives. For this reason, I will return to Mt. McKinley next June in one more attempt to touch the top of North America “on behalf of all and for all.” - Lew Nescott, Jr. |