We’re back in Houston. We made it to 10,400 feet after significant struggle with sometimes deep, almost always unstable, snow. There were a number of issues and challenges but also a lot of lessons learned. We’re mostly happy with our effort – we definitely gave it everything we had and we learned much from Alan Arnette.
I’ll post a full trip report Monday. Many thanks to all of you who followed along and offered advice and support. The adventure will continue.
“Getting to the top is optional, but getting down is mandatory. A lot of people get focused on the summit and forget that.”
- Ed Viesturs quote
We leave for Colorado in just a few hours. We’ll have a couple of days in Leadville before meeting up with Alan Arnette, Jim Davidson, Patrick Vall, and Robert LeClair.
Rough Timeline
Leave Houston – Tuesday – 04/21/09 – 6:00 PM
Arrive Leadville, Colorado – Wednesday 04/22/09 PM
John, Jermaine, Alan establish camp – Friday 04/24/09 – AM
Jim arrives at camp – Friday 04/24/09 – PM
John, Jermaine, Alan & Jim attempt Belford, then Oxford – Saturday 04/25/09
Robert and Patrick arrive at camp – Saturday 04/25/09 – PM
Jim may have to leave after Belford & Oxford – Saturday 04/25/09 PM
Group attempts Missouri – Sunday 04/26/09 AM
Group hikes out – Monday 04/27/09 AM
Satellite Tracking
SPOT Messenger Updates (?)
Twitter
TeamNSC – We’ll be sending periodic “OK” status updates to this Twitter account from our SPOT satellite messenger in addition to any other updates we can get out.
Johnwlittle (John Little)
Jgonzales (Jermaine Gonzales)
Alanarnette (Alan Arnettte)
We may not be able to respond to messages during the climb but we might be able to read them so feel free to send them on. We’ll reply when we can.
Photos
Photo set from our arrival in Leadville
Some shots taken at sunrise on day 2.
Weather
National Weather Service
Avalanche Watches and Warnings
Colorado Avalanche Information Center
Archive
Pre-Climb Preparation Updates
Climb Announcement
We leave in two days so final preparations are underway. I spent part of the afternoon test packing my backpack to make sure that it would hold everything we’ll need to establish our camp in Missouri Gulch. So far, so good. Here’s what’s in (or on) the pack in this photo:
Sleeping bag
Foam sleeping pad
Inflatable sleeping pad
Jetboil stove
2 heavy base layers – tops and bottoms
1 Fleece pullover
2 expedition weight wool socks
2 pairs of liner socks
Black Diamond Mercury Mitts
REI Switchback gloves
Lightweight gloves
Glacier glasses
Goggles
First aid kit
Assorted personal hygiene gear
2 Nalgene bottles – 1 insulated
1 10L MSR Dromedary bag
Crampons
Balaclava
Buff head wrap
Ice Axe
Knife, lighter, firesteel, compass, other basic survival gear
Map
Down jacket
DSLR camera
Headlamp
Small flashlight
6 freeze dried meals
4 packets of tuna
5 packets of oatmeal
7 packets of energy chews
6 packets of cytomax powder
2 packets of instant potatoes
10 tea bags
5 instant coffee packets
12 Clif bars
6 powdered soup packets
1 thermos
You can see more detailed information on my gear here. Thankfully, most of this will only be on my back day one. Once we establish camp I’ll be packing a much lighter load.
