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Show t jr ' mr If (Jry res f st jt f J 'S , July 19, 2001 Two Air Force brothers find climbing Alaska's Moumt McKimley a physical, mental and psychological challenge r" -- - te&T i T"" In a sport where nature calls the plays, and only 50 percent succeed, the feeling of victory is indescribable. Second Lt Michael L Anderson, Logistics Management Directorate, knows the feeling. He successfully embodied the courage, strength, stamina and thrill to reach North America's highest peak, Mount McKinley, Alaska. "It really doesn't set in at the time," Anderson said. "You're thinking of immediate things like getting down and getting warm. But, this is a climb we've been dreaming of doing for probably three years so we felt real fortunate to have good weather and were able . ; i i X 9 Hilltop Times staff .... ft I 7 M by Sue Berk to do 1 J if ' ii 6 v 1 ..' . - ' - Photo by 2nd Second Lt Mike Anderson takes help the acclimation process. In 1 . . U. Mike i - - . and Mark Anderton and Mark Springer the West Buttress view at the 9,500 foot camp. The expedition ascends and descends the West Buttress to it" The idea to climb the mountain sometimes called Denali, a Native American word for The High One," was his twin brother's, 2nd Lt Mark Anderson, who is stationed at Kirtland AFB, N.M. "He dragged me along," Anderson said. "It was his idea of a big challenge." To prepare for the 20,320 foot steep, icy climb, Anderson trained sbc months by hiking, y skiing, and skiing up in which "you put these things on, like an animal skin where the fur runs in one direction, it glides up hill, but you don't fall back," Anderson said. On May 14, the Anderson brothers, along with Marc Springer, a climbing partner from Layton, and 420 pounds of equipment, left Salt Lake City for Anchorage on a three-wee- k journey to test their physical and mental endurance. Arriving at the glacier's base camp by way of a Cessna 185 equipped with skis, the expedition began the process of acclimating to McKin-ley'- s high altitude. Base camp is at 14,000 feet, which is about 500 feet higher than Utah's highest peak, King's Peak in the back-countr- started about noon We because it was so cold. You Uin-tah- s. wait for the "Our plan was to climb up West Buttress, which is the easiest route, to acclimatize and get our bodies ready," Anderson said. Then climb a more difficult route, Cassin Ridge, to reach the sun to hit you summit "You kind of have to be a climber to understand," Anderson said. "You're often looking for the purest line the steepest (Cassin) is a straight ridge that goes up the mountain. Other people take West Buttress, which just winds around avoiding difficult sections. It's not as steep." They spent days ascending and descending the West Buttress. "The key to acclimation is climb high and sleep low," Anderson said. "During the day you want to get as high as you can and then get down. The lower you are, the faster your body will recover (from the altitude) ," Anderson said. Just when they felt acclimatized and were physically and mentally ready to go, nature threw a curve in the plan. The weather turned bad and the three were stuck in a tent for five days. "It was frustrating and boring," Anderson said. "It was about 20 degrees and that's one of a lot of sustained cold weather the hardest things mentally. That was probably when we had the most doubts (about not reaching the summit) . It was really tempting just to go home because we didn't know how long the bad weather would last and We only had so much time. The threesome received a weather report every night from the National Park Service rangers. "I think it's more entertainment than anything else," Anderson said. "They try their best at predicting the weather, but it's so unpredictable up there. The mountain creates its own weather. It was never what they said it would be so we went on our own intuition." Eventually, the weather changed and the three headed to Cassin packs and hauling a sled that carried Ridge carrying two stoves and fuel to melt snow for water, four days of freeze dried food, a tent sleeping bags and extreme gear. "We started about noon because it was so cold," Anderson said. "You wait for the sun to hit you and warm things up. You can climb till basically 10 p.m. The sun goes behind the mountain for about sbc to eight hours, but it's always light" snow and descended to They ascended 16,000 feet in knee-hig- h 13,000 to pickup the Cassin Ridge route at 11,000 feet Descending they experienced firsthand one of the dangers of Mark fell through a crevasse. climbing a glacier "He took a pretty big fall," Anderson said. "That was pretty excitI walked right across it And ing. It looked solid and held me fell and then Mark went across right through. We were all roped him I out" able to so was pull up They ascended to 13,000 feet on the Cassin Ridge the second day and set up camp. "Right when we got there the sun went behind the mountain and it got cold pretty quickly," Anderson said. "I would guess it was 15 below. But, there's still a lot of work setting up camp and melting water." According to Anderson, staying hydrated is the best way to avoid altitude sickness, so melting water was a top priority. They tried to drink two quarts of water every four hours, and every time they ran out they had to stop, bring out the stoves and fuel and melt and warm Second Lt. Mike Anderson, above, melts snow for water. Melting four quarts per person, per day Is a must to acclimate and avoid dehydration. their goal, the Reaching Anderson brothers, right, stand at Mount McKinley's 20,320 feet summit the highest peak In North America. Second Lt. Mark Anderson, below, descends the mountain's West Buttress. tilings up. You can climb till basically 10 p.m. The sun goes behind the mountain for about six to eight hours, but, its always light. 30-pou- light-weig- ht & cold-weath- er 2nd Lt. Michael Anderson -- w1 you're in a hurry to get down. A lot of people think that once they get to the top the climb is over, but if s not You have to stay Whoever was motivated did the cooking. They ate a variety of focused, concentrate and not make stupid mistakes. It's a psy- - snow. chicken and rice dishes that they added water to and heated. Continuing to fight the cold, dangers of icefalls, avalanches and mental fatigue, they reached the summit at the end of the third day. The weather was gorgeous even though it was 30 degrees below zero, according to Anderson. "I was relieved (to reach the summit)," Anderson said. "But still, it was 8:30 p.m. and we knew it would get cold real soon sb chological thing. The hardest part is just staying motivated," he added. "You're really exhausted, the altitude is getting to you, you're thirsty, you're hungry, you're sleepy and you try not to screw up. You have to be careful." More accidents happen on the descend route at a point called Denali Pass than anywhere else on the mountain, according to A f Anderson. "There's a pretty good trail, but if you slip you are going to fall probably 1,000 feet down this ice slope into some crevasses. So that was one place we knew we needed to be really cautious. They descended to 17,000 feet camped, and made it back to base camp the next day. The first thing Anderson did when he got back was take a shower and eat lots of food. "I lost 15 pounds," Anderson said. "I ate for like a week See Climbers, page t 'i 14 |
