Mark W & Collin H going for Denali Diamond

[Jedi]

I KNEW Mark's mittens were too big to allow you guys to send the route. It might have meant hiring a sherpa to haul them up and that would have slowed you guys down. I'm glad you guys got the window and were able to take a shot.

Great job in outstanding style!

So you guys never finished off that 50 pounds of food that was left in your vestibule? Or maybe the polish food is what allowed you guys to fire the route so fast?

 

Jedi

 

[Jedi]

Collin, how did the double bag work. I know you guys ony used it for 2 nights and the weather was nice but care to share your thoughts?

Jedi

[Colin]

The double bag was awesome! We actually used it for 3 nights - a night at 14k on the way down. It was a bit tight with Mark's MOGness, since I was originally planning the dimensions to use with Jed, but it was still plenty roomy to sleep. And like I thought, it was really warm - definitely way warmer than we needed it to be, but that is good security for when the down gets frozen on longer routes. The specialty-cut foam pads in the bottom worked really well. Using a double bag requires you to tweak your normal bivy operations a bit, but overall it worked really well. Combined with the firstlight, our whole bivy system was really light and quite comfortable. Feathered Friends will hopefully do a full production run of the bag (the "Spoonbill," although I prefer the simpler name of "homo-huddler") if they get enough interest.

[Marko]

So cool man. Another stellar looking climb amigos!

 

TW

[syudla]

Jedi, did we meet you up there? We were the old guys trying to do Cassin and never got the weather in our admittedly short window. Ended up trying the one day push over the upper rib. I think we just dont have the patience anymore.

 

Mark and Colin, great job!

[plexus]

I can't wait to read the whole blow-by-blow. Between boxing-glove mittens and the homo-hudler, how can't it be a great read?

 

Congratulations on the climb Colin. And people were beginning to think Alaska was climbed out! Psssh!

[pms]

Freak Power!

[Jedi]

Maybe we camped right next to you at 14K?

Old guys? I'll be 40 this year. That's getting old for this game unless your last name is Bridwell or Donini. hehehehe

Hey, if a 39 year old southern boy can go up there and climb the Cassin, anyone can.

We went up there with the idea that were had 29 days to get it done and that there would be plenty of waiting. So as the forcast kept coming for high winds, storms, lows and/or chance of snow 6" or less, we just shrugged it off knowing a solid high would come eventually.

Then again, we headed out with a forcast that could have been better. Our thought was, "as long as they do not call for anymore 55 to 75 mph summit winds, we would make it happen."

 

Of course 14K camp is easy to past the time. There is so much entertainment there. Hearts until wee hours of the night with nearby teams.

Sleeping in until the sun hits the ten at 10am.

Laps up the fixed lines. I found I can be at the bottom of the fixed lines in 42 minutes. My fastest time up (not using the rope on the way up) and down the lines was 19 minutes.

Evan climbed the 2,200'++ ice face out of camp in 1:40 minutes, solo. Hiked the ridge to the fixed lines and was back in camp in 2:30 hours (I think).

Hanging out in the "ski camp" tent with 17 other people.

Shitting on the throne in front of a line of 10 people.

Cooking and eatting good food.

Begging for food when you run out.

Trying to eat all the good food before you head down so you do not have to carry it.

Then all the people you meet.

 

Have you ever seen Mark put on his balaclava, stick his head of the tent and pretend he is a turtle (the tent being his shell)? My kids ask me "daddy, I want to see the turtle video." It still cracks me up.

 

I'm thinking about going up next year for the summer to charge I pods, phones, sell sat phone time, beer, liquior, pancakes and chips & salsa. That should add to the madness.

 

 

Jedi

 

[ScaredSilly]

Jedi, you are going to have to get in line for old farts on the Cassin - in 2000 when we did it I was the pup at 36 my other two partners were 43 and 51. Our group was called - Old and in the Way. The other groups that year sure loved our steps and the bivy sites we cut out. Well except some young punks who said our tracks detracted from their experience.

 

The old fart that went up the Cassin with us just went up with another old fart and did Liberty for the first time this spring. Their average age was just near 60.

 

 

[syudla]

Yup, that was us. Congrats on the route!