Clip: 1Lonnie – 1:07”

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Dupre recounted the dangers he faced while exiting the 14,000-foot camp towards lower altitudes in the dark, under extreme winds that almost swept him off the mountain.

CLIP: 2Lonnie – 2:37”

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On Monday night Dupre presented a slide show to a full audience at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, where he showed images and video that recounted some of the highlights from his 25 years of arctic exploration. Among other adventures, Dupre has walked to the North Pole twice, circumnavigated Greenland by dog team and Kayak, and followed 3,000 miles of coast on the arctic ocean, from Barrow Alaska to Churchill, Canada.

Dupre didn’t give any hints as to what his next adventure might be, but he said he’s going to take whatever comes down the road. In the meantime, he’ll be promoting his new book: “Life on Ice: 25 years of Arctic Exploration” that recounts his many expeditions.

One climber is still out in Denali National Park, steadily making his approach to the third-tallest peak in the Alaska Range. Japanese mountaineer Masatoshi Kuriaki has been steadily making his approach on Mount Hunter since December 14^th. It is his 6^th attempt to summit Mt. Hunter alone in Winter, a feat never before achieved. Lonnie Dupre reportedly spent a morning with him at base camp as Dupre awaited his flight off the mountain.

The two climbers have different objectives and used different approaches to undertake their challenges.

Dupre came at McKinley with a fast and light Alpine style, carrying only enough supplies and gear to last the month. His ambition was to get up and down McKinley with lightning speed, and be home by the end of January.

Masatoshi’s approach is a more methodical expedition-style approach, where the climber plans on making several trips between each successive camp as he works his way up the mountain. From base camp to camp 1, Masatoshi planned on making 5 trips, one trip per day, where the walking is fairly flat and he will be able to pull his gear on a sled and ski. Between Camp 1 and camp 2, Masatoshi planned on 10 trips, because the pitch is much steeper, and he expects he won’t be able to use a sled.Dupre says that Masatoshi has a good shot at reaching his objective.

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In 2010, Masatoshi spent 83 days on the mountain, including 53 days hunkered down in snow caves waiting out bad weather. This year the Japanese climber says he’s prepared to pursue his goal for 100 days. Masatoshi’s equipment and supplies weighed 570 pounds. Dupre’s supplies weighed in at under 100 pounds.

For both climbers, the decision to abandon their goal and turn back is never easy. Dupre spent seven days in a snow cave, and after evaluating the likelihood of the storms persisting, decided he didn’t have enough supplies to wait out the storm and still make a push for the summit.

Masatoshi says, the hardest part about doing what has never been done before is not the climbing.

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1:36”   Outcue “… decision to give up”

Although Hunter is only 14-thousand, five-hundred 73 feet, it has never been ascended in winter by a solo climber.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says after reviewing public comments, the park service has decided to eliminate a $20-a-vehicle entrance fee and instead charge a flat $10-a-person entrance fee for visitors age 16 and older. That means a vehicle with four adults in it will have to pay $40 instead of $20. The Park Service says the vehicle fee was eliminated because the park does not collect the fee at an entrance station like the majority of national parks around the U.S. The change took place on Sunday.

National parks in Alaska also reported a 2 percent increase in visitors in 2011, according to preliminary figures. The National Park Service says there were about 2.32 million visits to Alaska parks in 2011, an increase of about 50-thousand from 2010. Final numbers should be released next spring. Five parks — Denali, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Klondike Gold Rush and Sitka — account for about 90 percent of those visits. Kenai Fjords National Park is on the Kenai Peninsula. Glacier Bay National Park and Klondike Gold Rush and Sitka national historic parks are in southeast Alaska and are popular stops for cruise ship passengers.

Download audio file (1Dupre343.mp3)

Dupre had planned to start his conquest of Mt. McKinley on the shortest day of the year. With just 38 days to complete his quest, he will be using the same alpine-style approach as last year to allow for fast travel, should the weather be cooperative. He’ll carry all of his gear and supplies with him as he ascends, rather than make multiple trips up and down the mountain as is common in expedition-style climbing. Given that he’s carrying everything he needs, he says he’s lightened his cargo from last year.

Custom made gear, including skis custom made out of single-piece birch by the founder of North House Folk School, Mark Hanson

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Also made a custom snow saw to lighten up. Since Dupre shovels out trenches and stacks blocks for a shelter, rather than lying on his belly to tunnel a snow cave, he relies on good saws and shovels.

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His clothes and boots and ropes are lighter, and he says he was really able to save weight on food, cutting from 2.2 pounds of food a day to one and a third pounds of food a day.

He’s taking the same amount of fuel as last year, but says he has a more efficient stove. One of the hardest things to judge, he says, is how much fuel to bring.

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Once the weather window opens, Dupre will begin his journey up the mountain, alone. You can see regular updates about his progress on his website, lonniedupre dot com.

The Environmental Assessment, or EA, is an attempt by the Park Service to address an item in the 2006 Backcountry Management Plan that limits guided permits to 25 percent of all permitted climbs on the mountain, or 375 guided permits out of the total 1500 permits available each season. This limit has guide companies worried about their ability to sustain their businesses, and see the Park as imposing a choke on commercial activity.

Mountain Ranger John Leonard says the backcountry plan as it stands now doesn’t guarantee any commercial use. He says the intent of the EA is to guarantee some commercial use and allow it to grow at a reasonable rate, so long as independent climbers aren’t being arbitrarily displaced.

Both the Park Service and guide companies recognize that climbing Mount McKinley is a venture that, for many people, is ideally suited for a guided experience. The EA states that “current public interest may not be met by limiting the number of guided trips per season.” The document also says the most favored of the three options outlined in its pages would allow for more guided climbing permits and by Park Service calculations, the option would increase the number of guided permits issued each year based on recent user trends.

Colby Coombs, co-owner of Alaska Mountaineering School, says any of the options presented in the EA would make it much more difficult for his company to offer their guided programs. He says if they don’t know how many permits remain in a season, they couldn’t book trips for clients in advance with full confidence they would be able to make it onto the mountain.

Public comment is being accepted on three options, and the park service has extended the comment period until October 31^st. The Environmental Assessment can be read on the Park website, parkplanning dot nps dot gov and look under climbing allocation for Mount McKinley.

KTNA will have more on this story in the coming weeks.

There is a limit of 1500 climbers permitted on Mount McKinley each season. For the past 15 years approximately 1200 climbers have attempted the mountain. There has been an upswing in the number guided clients to almost 40%. NPS is concerned with displacing independent, non-guided climbers if the number of climbers nears the cap of 1500. They want to balance the various options of the park visitors who are climbers. The cap was determined in the 2006 Backcountry Management Plan along with the 25 percent allotment of permits to all commercial guide companies.

The NPS Environmental Assessment recognizes that the 2006 backcountry management plan of 25% commercial activity is in conflict with the 2004 mountaineering contracts.

Caitlin Palmer, owner of Alaska Mountaineering School says that according to the 2004 contracts, concessions are allotted 18 permits every 14 days without any language about percentages. If park planners of the 2006 Backcountry Management plan had applied the math they used to determine the 25% figure to guiding on Denali, the contract would allow for approximately 50% permit allocation, Palmer says..

And this is what rankles the owners of the six concession holders for Denali guiding. Basically they feel there was an oversight from the 2006 Plan that is now coming back to haunt them.

Palmer says, “Denali is our bread and butter. We guided 94 people on Denali in the 2011 season and employed over 45 guides. A change in the allocation would cut our business in half. Our Denali expeditions help support the additional educational programs that we offer and our local scholarship program. A decrease like this would also affect many other local businesses.”

Four of the other six concessioners would be in a similar situation with a 50% reduction in business.

Not only would the change affect climbers who choose to be guided but also the number of guides that depend on Denali to earn a living. This year, Alaska Mountaineering School employed 47 guides. The 25% allotment would allow only 15 guide jobs on Denali for the season. An estimated total of 90 guide positions could be lost between all the mountaineering concessioners.

Palmer says that mountain guides provide a multitude of positive contributions to Denali National Park including increased safety and hazard awareness and assistance to park rangers in search and rescue operations.

Todd Burleson, owner of Alpine Ascents International, says that the allocation is too small for a business to survive and points out that he still has the administrative, liability insurance and guide training costs, but potentially half the business. He says the only way to make a profit is to charge a lot more money for a guided climb, and that will put a burden on the public.

Burleson is not happy with any of the three alternatives proposed by NPS. He feels the allotment should be changed to a minimum baseline of 40%.

Comments on the EA may be submitted through this Saturday October 15, 2011, preferably via the website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. and look under climbing allocation for Mount McKinley.

Story by Laura Wright

engagement process regarding a proposed increase to the Special Use Fee

that directly supports management of climbing activities on Mt. McKinley

and Mt. Foraker. After a lengthy examination of current program costs,

analysis of public comment, and collaboration with national climbing

organizations, Denali National Park and Preserve will increase its

Mountaineering Use Fee from $200 to $250 for youth ages 24 and under, and

$350 for all other Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker climbers. The fee increase

will go into effect for the 2012 mountaineering season. In future years,

fees will be adjusted periodically based on actual costs, not to exceed

changes in the cumulative consumer price index.

Denali National Park’s mountaineering special use fee was established in

1995 when the National Park Service (NPS) was charged with developing a

program to reduce the accident rate and loss of human life on Mt. McKinley

and Mt. Foraker. At that time, an NPS regulatory notice announced that a

$150 fee per climber would be used to “help offset mountaineering

administrative costs associated with prepositioning and maintaining the

high-altitude ranger camp at 14,200-feet on the West Buttress route,

mountaineering patrol salaries, education materials aimed at reducing the

number of accidents, transportation of supplies.” Over the years, the fee

has also enabled the park to start and sustain effective human waste and

garbage management programs on Mt. McKinley.

Despite a 2005 increase in the fee from $150 to $200, fee revenue covered

only 17% of the cost of this specialized program in 2010, whereas the fee

initially covered approximately 30% of the cost. Climber numbers over the

past decade have remained essentially flat, as has NPS staffing. Excluding

costs of the high altitude helicopter portion of the program, operational

expenses have gone up significantly, due mainly to inflation.

In an effort to find a more sustainable funding model, park management

began informal discussions in 2006 with leadership from the American Alpine

Club, the Access Fund, and the American Mountain Guides Association, as

well as park concessioners and other stakeholders in the climbing

community. In October 2010, the park formally initiated a proposal to

increase the fee.

The public was invited to comment on the proposal last year during a formal

public comment period. During that period, five public open houses were

held in Alaska, Washington, and Colorado as a forum for park staff to

present information on the program and answer questions. Almost 500 public

comments were submitted, the majority of which indicated they would support

some aspect of a climbing fee increase, as long as the increase was

reasonable and equitable. Other comments submitted called for the

elimination of the use fee altogether, while at the opposite end of the

spectrum, several comments suggested full cost recovery including a fee

increase up to $1,500 per climber.

According to Park Superintendent Paul Anderson, “Mountain climbing

represents a longstanding tradition at Denali National Park dating back to

the first ascent of Mt. McKinley in 1913. Climbing fulfills one of our

park’s fundamental purposes. As such, we are committed to sharing in the

cost of the program and continuing to allocate appropriate levels of the

park’s base funding to the climbing program.”

Based on input collected during the public process, the National Park

Service has determined to implement a basic fee increase from $200 to $350,

as well as a discounted fee of $250 for all climbers age 24 and younger.

This recommendation supports both NPS and Department of the Interior youth

initiatives and responds to public concerns about the potential impact of

fee increases on young and less affluent climbers, students, and families.

In a statement by Phil Powers, Executive Director of the American Alpine

Club said, “This is an example of the kind of considered process that

results in policy we can support. I want to applaud Paul Anderson and the

National Park Service for opening up their process and listening to the

concerns of the climbing community.”

Superintendent Anderson indicated the park’s mountaineering program will

strive to institute many of the suggestions for operational efficiencies

gathered during the public process. “We are grateful to the various

climbing organizations for investing significant time and resources into

learning more about Denali’s climbing program, and for helping to inform

the general public.”

For additional information on the mountaineering program or cost recovery

special use fee visit the park website at www.nps.gov/dena/. Contact South

District Ranger John Leonard for questions about the fee at (907) 733-9105

or john_leonard [at] nps [dot] gov.

____________________________________________

Kris Fister

Public Affairs Officer

Denali National Park and Preserve

P.O. Box 9

Denali Park, AK 99755

(907) 683-9583

Kris_Fister [at] nps [dot] gov

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Download audio file (20110607DenaliRescue.mp3)

The four person team that fell from Denali Pass were led by Alpine Ascents International.  Their lead guide, 34 year old Suzanne Allen and client Peter Bullard, age 45, of China (an English national), died in the fall.

No one witnessed the fall, but members of a National Park Service ranger patrol at the seventeen-thousand-two hundred foot High Camp spotted the four person roped team below the trail from Denali Pass a little after 11 pm.  They heard a shout for help and quickly organized a rescue team.

They confirmed the deaths of two climbers.  The two injured climbers, James Mohr of California and Gary Burke of Texas were placed in rescue litters and lowered to the high camp for emergency medical treatment. Medics worked through the night to help Mohr stay alive.

Shortly after 4 AM on Thursday, the rescue helicopter was able to fly in and evacuate both patients to the Kahiltna basecamp where two LifeMed air ambulances were waiting.  Both were flown to area hospitals.  Burke has a broken leg and suffered a head injury but is in stable condition.  According to Alpine Ascents, there is improvement in Mohr’s condition.

Alpine Ascents employees are meeting with family members and assisting with hospital and other needs.  Other guides say Suzanne Allen was a highly respected guide and loved doing what she did.  She was a guide on Aconcagua and Everest basecamp as well as Denali.

These are the second and third deaths at Denali Pass this season.

Download audio file (20110526Denali2Dead.mp3)

Download audio file (20110524ClimbWall.mp3)

Denali National Park mountaineering rangers located the remains of 33 year old Jiro Kurihara  of Canada and Junya Shiraishi, age 28, of Japan in avalanche debris on Mt. Frances, a technical peak just north of the Kahiltna basecamp on Denali.

The two men were last seen at basecamp on May 21^st and were attempting a new route on the technical peak when the avalanche hit.

NPS rangers started a search after the two men did not return to their campsite on May 23^rd.  An aerial search of the area provided a glimpse of the aftermath of the avalanche.

Rangers were able to locate and recover the bodies of both men using the rescue helicopter via shorthaul technique this morning  and bring them back to basecamp.

The 2 climbers flew into Denali’s basecamp on April 27^th with intentions of climbing the Cassin Ridge , another technically challenging route.  They climbed the West Buttress route to acclimatize and then headed to Mt. Frances.

Acccording to records, it is the first two fatalities on Mount Frances.

Download audio file (AMNews-20110520.mp3)

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Climbing rangers responded to the fallen climber and confirmed that 67 year old Luciano Colombo of Italy died of traumatic injuries sustained in the one thousand foot fall.  Columbo was un-roped, traveling ahead of his two teammates at the time of the fall.

Weather at the time of the accident was clear with relatively calm winds.  Colombo was traversing a 45 degree slope of hard, windblown snowpack when he fell.

His body has been transported back to the high camp where it will be transported back to Talkeetna.

On Thursday May 12^th, a Swiss climber was found dead at eighteen thousand feet.  The cause of his death remains unknown, but it does not appear to be trauma-related.

Over one thousand people are currently registered to climb Denali this season.

Two remaining injured climbers were evacuated from Denali’s  high camp the afternoon of Friday, May 13.  Mountain Trip guide Dave Staeheli, age 56, of Wasilla and his client Lawrence Cutler, age 45, of New York, suffered from frostbite to the hands and feet after a night spent at high elevation in cold temperatures and gusty winds.  Staeheli also sustained a broken rib.  On Friday afternoon it was determined that the two men could not safely descend the mountain on foot, so a helicopter evacuation was initiated.  Both men were individually shorthauled from high camp to the 14,200-foot camp by climbing ranger John Loomis and helicopter pilot Andy Hermansky.  From there, the helicopter flew them down to the Kahiltna Basecamp for a fixed wing flight back to Talkeetna.

On the previous night, fellow teammate Jeremiah O’Sullivan, age 40, of Ireland, was rescued from 19,500-feet with a broken leg and severe frostbite to the legs, hands, and face.

Niederer died of unknown causes near 18,000 ft.  His body was recovered late Thursday.

Download audio file (AMNews-20110516.mp3)

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Two remaining injured climbers were evacuated from the 17,200-foot high camp on Mt. McKinley in the afternoon of Friday, May 13. Both climbers, one a guide and the other a client, suffered from frostbite to the hands and feet after a night spent at high elevation in cold temperatures and gusty winds. The guide also reportedly sustained a broken rib.
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On Friday afternoon it was determined that the two men could not safely descend the mountain on foot, so a helicopter evacuation was initiated. Both men were individually shorthauled from the 17,200-foot camp to the 14,200-foot camp by NPS ranger John Loomis and B3 helicopter pilot Andy Hermansky. From there, the helicopter flew them down to the Kahiltna Basecamp for a fixed wing flight back to Talkeetna.
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On the previous night, a fellow teammate with a broken leg and severe frostbite to the legs, hands, and face was rescued from 19,500-feet on Mt. McKinley on Thursday night. The fourth member of their rope team died from unknown causes near 18,000 feet, and his body was recovered late Thursday night via helicopter shorthaul.
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Names of the involved parties will be released as soon as next of kin are informed of the events.
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-NPS-

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Maureen McLaughlin
Mountaineering Administration and Public Information
Talkeetna Ranger Station
Denali National Park & Preserve
PO Box 588
Talkeetna, Alaska 99676
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(907) 733-9103 (phone)
(907) 733-1465 (fax)

expedition. A four-person rope team, including one guide and three clients, fell while descending from the summit ridge of Mt. McKinley very

late on Wednesday or early today Thursday, according to NPS spokesperson Maureen McLaughlin.

Although many details are unavailable at this time, what is known is that

one of the clients suffered a broken leg in the fall. The guide sent the

two uninjured climbers down to the 17,200-foot camp while attending to the

injured client. The guide was able to move the injured client down to a

flat expanse at 19,500-feet known as the Football Field and secure the

individual in a bivy sack, or light sleeping bag. The guide then continued

down alone, arriving at the 17,200-foot camp, or ‘high camp’, at approximately 3:45 am. Another team at the 17,200-foot camp used a satellite phone to call 911 for assistance. They then tended to the guide who had frostbitten hands and feet, as well as a suspected broken rib incurred during another fall near 18,000 feet.

At the time the guide arrived in camp, the two uninjured clients had not

yet returned from their descent. One of these two clients was spotted

several hours later descending to high camp on the lower portion of the

slope known as the Autobahn. Members of the team at the 17,200-foot camp

went out and assisted the client, who also had frostbitten hands and feet,

back to camp. The remaining uninjured client was last seen near Zebra

Rocks at 18,300 feet, just above Denali Pass.

At 8:00 am, at the request of the National Park Service, the Alaska Air National Guard launched a HC-130 aircraft from the 211th Rescue Squadron in an effort to spot the injured and missing climbers. By mid-morning, rescue personnel on board the HC-130 spotted the client with the broken leg at 19,500-feet.

The individual was observed waving to the aircraft.

Skies were clear up high on Denali today Thursday, although wind was gusting

to 70 mph and temperatures were hovering at 25 to 35 below zero Celsius at

17,200 feet. Denali National Park’s high altitude A-Star B3 helicopter departed Talkeetna at 10:45 am for the Kahiltna Basecamp to stage for a rescue once winds subsided. While waiting for the high elevation winds to calm, the helicopter with NPS rangers on board evacuated a different guided client who had been treated for frostbite at the 14,200-foot medical tent.

Plans are currently being formulated for an evening rescue mission involving NPS and military aircraft, weather conditions permitting. The National Weather Service forecasts winds to subside this Thursday evening. As of today, there were 275 climbers on Mt. McKinley, the majority of which are climbing the West Buttress route.