Denali Weather - Part I: High Winds

Mount Denali is located in a region that scientists refer to as a subpolar low. In this space, arctic air moving from the north converges with warmer air moving from the south at a latitude of 60 degrees (Denali is located at 63 degrees). This convergence creates a belt of unstable weather at this latitude.

Associated with the subpolar low is a semi-permanent area of low pressure known as the Aleutian Low, located in the vicinity of the Aleutian Islands. Weather systems generated or passing through the Aleutian Low often take a straight path for the Alaska Ranges and hit Mt. Denali with little warning. Mt. Denali also has a reputation for streaky weather with long periods of continuous bad weather or more rarely, long periods of good weather. This explains why inexperienced, clueless climbers may reach the summit while veteran climbers die on its slopes. As a result of its proximity to the Aleutian Low, the weather on Denali is unlike the weather on any other major mountain in the world. Extreme cold is another hallmark of Denali’s weather and temperatures routinely fall to -40 F (-40 C). Unfamiliarity with Denali's weather is an underlying cause of many accidents. Weather patterns generally fall under the following categories: High Winds; Low Pressure Systems from the Gulf of Alaska; Low Level Moisture; and Good Weather. In this section, we will focus on "HIGH WINDS."

HIGH WINDS. Mt. Denali undergoes long periods of clear skies and high winds, and these conditions are most often seen during early part of the climbing season (which is the time period for my expedition, May 5th through may 26th). During these periods, many of the mountain slopes are swept clean of snow leaving behind solid blue ice and testing the cramponing skills of even the most experienced climbers. Denali Pass and the upper part of the West Rib are especially notorious sites for accidents when these conditions occur. During such weather, many climbers are lulled by the clear skies into going for the summit. However, these winds routinely exceed 100 mph and have been known to pick climbers up and throw them down the slopes. Windstorms often come with little if any warning and are thus amongst the most feared weather patterns on the mountain. The first signs of increasing high winds are the appearance of lenticular cloud caps over the summit (see picture to left). Many of the accidents in 1992, Denali’s deadliest year, occurred during such a weather pattern.

Mammoth Mountain

The name says it all. With lodging at 9,000 ft and a top peak of 12,000+ ft, Mammoth is a great place to get exposure to high altitude. I did a quick trip up there (only 5 hours from Orange County) to get in some high-altitude runs.

One note of caution: keep in mind the altitude when consuming alcohol! This is a video of me discussing the mountain.

Training Diet

I often get asked about my training diet. It's a multi-prong approach. Let's start with dinner, the most important meal because you'll sleep on it all night at a low metabolism. I really paired back on this. First of all some ground rules: no cheese, one slice of bread max, low in fruits, a vegtable dish, and protein. Tonight I had a solid, efficient dinner consisting of one vegtable dish - 8 ounces with 180 calories; protein - basic turket cuts, heated in microwave -120 Cal, 6 g of carbs, and 10 g of protein; one orange - 37 calories; one slice of bread - 120 calories and 22 g of carbs. So, the total caloric intake is 457, which is not bad for one meal. One cautionary note: the protein dish carries 1,200 g of sodium, which reminds me to look for lower sodium meats (wow, that's why this lunch meat was on sale). By the way, I'm not adverse to having some red wine as well.

Son't forget to drinks lots of water.

Training Recap 3/13 - 3/18

Well, big progress this past week. Today was, in fact, my biggest workout to date in terms of pack weight. I first did a one-hour trail hike through Laguna Hills with my new backpack - a Bora 95. At 6,000 cu. in., it's expedition size. I weighted it down with 20# to give me some light resistance as I hiked. You can see my new "Sunrunner" hat from Outdoor Research; when it comes to sun exposure, I don't mess around. I'm taking the best solar protection available. Although you can't see my altitude watch, it's on and working. Not bad given that I've have not used it in three years. And finally, I wore my new hiking shoes, Merrell, which seem to be just fine. These will be my primary hiking shoes for the Inca Trail in early April.

Later, I walked over the the gym, loaded the pack up with 60# of weight (2 x 30# hand weights) and hiked for 25 minutes. This is the heaviest weight I've carried to date. From the profile picture, you can get a sense of the pack's size. It was a tough carry.


Yesterday, I did a longer hike at a lower weight. In the gym, where I test changes in any variables - weight, speed, incline, neww gear - I carried 40# for 55 minutes. After a short 5 minute rest, I continued with a 35 minute walk with the same weight. This was much easier than when I first tried 40#.


On Sunday, I did a one-hour hike with 20# of weight.


From Wednesday through Saturday of this past week, I did long 1 - 2 hour hikes without weights or a pack. For some of these walks, I wore my new Merrell hiking shoes to help break then in.

AMS mountaineering course, May 4th – 13th, 2002

This mountaineering course was my first serious experience with mountaineering. Before this, I had done some moderate technical routes – Mt. Shasta’s Avalanche Gulch, Green Butte, and Sargents Ridge routes; and a high-altitude climb – Mt. Kilimanjaro’s Arrow Glacier route. But, these routes could not compare to the intensity of this course.

In my journal from this time, I compared this course to Navy boot camp and submarine duty at sea. A particularly telling phrase was this entry on May 7th: “This is advanced stuff. I’m cold, tired, worn out and wondering how I’ll make it the whole trip. My tent is totally disorganized.” Still, I progressively adjusted to the challenge. On May 11th, I wrote, “Overall, I had an awesome day. Sitting here, writing this, I feel totally calm and at peace. I’ve become comfortable here.”

The picture at right is a younger me updating my journal at the "high camp" of 8,200'. My journal has been a valuable reference in my preparation for this expedition.

The Guides

I hope you did not expect me to go about this business by myself!

Please meet Alaska Mountaineering School. AMS is the most prestigious guiding company for all climbs in the Alaska Range, Talkeetna Mountains, and Chugach Mountains. To understand AMS is to understand the history of guiding on Mt. Denali. The names of Colby Coombs (pictured to the right), Caitlin Palmer, Brian Okonek, and Diane Calamar Okonek are synonymous with this history. Each has played a major role in shaping the company’s approach to and philosophy of guiding. A single blog post would not do their roles justice, so please accept a brief introduction. I promise to lay out this history in part sequence throughout this blog.

My personal introduction to AMS, or AMS/ADG as it was known at the time, came through my participation in a six-day AMS mountaineering course in May of 2002. I signed up for the course as a way to prove to myself as well as to AMS that I could cut it on a Denali expedition. It was a thrilling experience. I learned more about mountaineering in that week than in any period of time before or since. AMS Director, Colby Coombs, told me that my acceptance into the 2008 Denali West Buttress Expedition was based upon my performance in this course.

Training Recap 3/3 - 3/10

Good progress this week. Monday, March 3rd was a solid start. It was a strength workout with a good warm-up. Started with 20 min cycle and 10 min treadmill walk at 2.8 mph, followed by the mandarory stretching - hamstring, gluts, oblique, and quads. Then, it was onto the strength section, where I followed by standard sets and reps. Bench was 3 sets with hand held 30 lbs weights for 30 reps, with biceps of 3 x 20 reps x 30lbs in between each bench rep. hen I moved to full triceps, 3 sets x 40 lbs x 30 reps, and half tri-ceps with the same. Military press was 3 sets x 2, 20lbs weights x 15 reps. Incline bench at 3 sets of 25# hand weights for 20 reps finished off the workout.

Tuesday was too good of a surfing day to pass up. I met friends at the Huntington Beach Power Plant for two hours of 2 - 3 ft low rollers. Usually my surf days are rest days, but I managed to fit in a nice backpack workout in the evening. I carried a 40 lbs back pack 20 minutes on the treadmill at a 2.8 mph pace. This was the heaviest carry to date and with the pace, I averaged a 130 bpm heartrate during the exercise. The strain on my shoulders was the limiting factor. I load my pack with two 20# weights, which concentrates the load on the shoulders.

Wednesday found me sore from tuesday's carry. So, I lowered the intensity and only did a 20 min cycle and 20 min treadmill walk at 2.8 mph, no load.

Friday: After a rest day, which, coincided with the UCLA-Stanford game (UCLA won in overtime), I did a mix strength/aerobic workout. On the aerobic side, I cycled for 15 min and walked, unloaded, for 30 min at a 2.8 mph pace. For strength, I did the usual routine: bench, bicep, tri-cep, and military. I upped bench and bicep weights to 32.5 #, completing the sets without problem.

Saturday's workout represented some good progress when I successfully carried a 40# pack for 65 minutes at a 1.8 mph pace with an average heart rate of 100 bpm. I was pleased to see my heart rate under control.

Sunday & Monday: I'm combining these days because I surfed both days in the mornings. Sunday's surf was at Middle Tressles in San Clemente; Monday's was at Huntington Beach Powe plant. Unfortunately, Monday's surf session allowed this cold/flu thing to overtake me. Until now, I had successfully avoided all Winter illnessess. So, anticipate some rest days here.

The Gear is Here

Of course, no expedition would be fun if it did not involve the buying of all kinds of cool gear, some of which is absolutely necessary!

The necessary stuff keeps you alive. The most important piece of gear to arrive recently is the North Face Himalayan Parka with 800 fill down. There is no better parka on the market for high-altitude mountaineering. I also received my Julbo Micropore AltiArc glacier glasses this week. This pair carries a Category 4 rating, meaning that the lenses block 92% - 97% of all available light (and, of course, 100% of UVA/UVB). To the Julbo glassess, I added a Beko noseguard. Surprisingly, noseguards are tough to find. The $6.00 noseguard from AAI carried a $21 shipping charge! It's definitely a crucial buy. The noseguard cuts down on the amount of zinc oxide you need to carry. Plus, I experienced serious sunburn while wearing the zinc sunscreen because I kept wiping my nose.

Now, on to the fun stuff. The coolest thing I've seen in a while is this hand-held wind turbine that I might be able to use on the expedition for charging electronics. The LA Times ran an article about it and I placed an order the same day. For $70, the kit has the mini-wind turbine, arm-strap and a small solar panel. It looks cheaply made, but I'll soon put it to the test. It's called the HYmini and is made by this Taiwanese company called MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Dev. Ltd. Well, stay tuned for more fun stuff on the way.

Training Recap 2/26 - 3/2

This is a quick recap of this last week's training, which I focused on leg strength and aerobic fitness. Tuesday's exercise was a 40 minute walk at 2.8 mph with a 30 pound backpack, my largest carry to date. On Thursday, I finally felt ready to begin outdoor hiking with inclines. I carried 15 pounds for a total of 1.5 hours. Friday was a long slow walk day wihout a pack. Saturday brought a return of strength training with Bench, Bicep, Military and Tricep sets along with a 20 min treadmill walk at 2.8 mph. Also, I added an exercise designed to mimic the motion of standing with a 60 pound pack. Holding one 30 pound weight in each hand, I rose from a crouching position to full standing position for six reps. Although I had some soreness on Sunday, I felt ready to repeat this exercise on Monday. Sunday was a repeat of Monday with long slow walking.