Alaska to Argentina 2007

Team finishes 285 miles in three days and arrives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canda

Dear the whole world,

This is Duncan one of the riders with a quick little update from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, CA. We made it to Whitehorse with a pretty good pace. We pedaled through rain, wind, sunny and cloudy days. Sams been riding strong as hell. We chase him each day. He's had good luck and that may be due to the fact that he took a dead bunny's foot in Fairbanks and zip tied it to the back of his bike. It doesn't smell yet, and I don't really get too close to it either. The mosquitos are all time. They come over to our camp site every night for dinner and even stay the night. Bug suits are mandatory at dinner or else you'll lose all of your blood and you won't be able to continue on to Argentina. We had one of our craziest sleep spots so far in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory. We stayed in the entryway of the local curling rink. It was late,rainy, and we were too damn tired to put up tents. The entryway seemed to be oour best bet. Spoon couldn't deal halfway through the night and set up a tent. The mosquitos were all upp in his grill. I understand what he was going through since we've all been doing the same damn thing as the next guy and will until we reach Argentina. We still have not seen the sun officially set and we're now headed towards British Columbia.

Summit Day

On Wednesday May 16th, I stood on top of the highest place in North America. It was -30 degrees when we left our tent that morning and the 50 mile per hour winds chilled it to a scorching -70. Any bit of exposed skin stung and felt like it was being torn off in layers. Not knowing for sure I could only talk myself into believing that my toes and fingers were still there and were protected enough so that they would not succumb to frostbite. We had unroped as soon as we reached the top of Denali pass which had allowed me one of the only chances I would have to move at my at my own pace. When I arrived at the summit it would be two hours until any one else would join me but at that point time meant nothing to me. Wave after wave of different emotions hit me with more force than any gust of wind and some almost had me on my knees. I couldn't stop myself from screaming. After that I just started laughing I don't know why and can't recall even for how long but I just kept laughing. Then I looked out across the flat Alaskan tundra and became a little bummed. I thought about the tasks that I have laid out in front of me and how long it might be before I will feel like this again. I climb because of the emotions It brings, not the specific emotions, because some are good and other times they may be emotions of anger and frustration, but climbing makes me feel alive because it brings all of these emotions to me. And now I don't know when I might be able to climb again. The thought of this almost made me weep. At this point I started to realize where I was was. I was so far away from everything maybe even someplace I shouldn't be. Life couldn't sustain itself here and I started to feel very alone, and a little scared. Time had stopped for me here but as I was digesting everything that was going on around me I couldn't help but think about what memories were being worn away, eroded by time and pushed aside by new experiences. I wondered who I have forgotten already and who might be next. I felt like I needed someone there on the summit with me and in every direction I turned I saw nobody and that is what scared me. What if I need help, I thought. And finally I started thinking about all the people that helped me get to where I was. I thought of Mike, Ken and Maria, Warren and my parents, my brother and sister. I thought about Lindsay and others that I had met even more recently and I realized that even if all of these people were not around me now they had all helped me climb to the top of this mountain and in one from or an other they would all be with me on the way down too.
The wind started to calm down and I started to be able to feel my toes and noticed that my nose and cheeks no longer stung, and were feeling sensations of sun light warming them. As the winds stopped the clouds melted away allowing for some awesome views. I was no longer afraid knew that everything would be alright at that moment.

I waited at the summit for and hour and a half by myself before descending down to the summit ridge where I snapped some photo's of of Al coming across. I then followed him back to the summit so we could take some pictures of each other and properly congratulate each other. It has been a very bad year for climbers on Denali this year and we both feel very fortunate to have had such outstanding success. We descended together back to our camp at 17,000 ft and rested up for the long climb down.
The climb down was nice. The winds that plagued the crows nest at 17,200 ft were again tearing into camp as we packed up camp. The snow blowing off the ridges above was mesmerizing. We felt reluctant to leave.
We picked up some food we had left at 14,200 feet before continuing on towards the camp at 11,000. Immediately after descending the fixed ropes the wind was gone and the sun was bright. I thought it would be an easy day. Then, as we rounded windy corner and started down squirrel hill we descended right into a storm. Our visibility drop to about 50 ft while we tried to find our way from one snow wand to the next. Al was roped up in front up to this point but now feeling a bit disoriented asked if I would lead. It was a little scary out there. trying to follow a map and compass through a featureless enviorment. There was no telling were the snow stopped and the sky began. After passing one wand it would fade out of sight and for another 50ft. I would be completely going on feel until the next wand would come into sight. It was very nerve racking through these white out times. Every step I was anticipating stepping into a crevasse. Squirrel hill had turned into a slope of blue ice with 10 inches of new snow that was still accumulating fast. I hit the first patch and instantly started slipped into a slide. I stopped quickly and decided to put my crampons on for the rest of the day.
We lost the wands near the top of motorcycle hill and came dangerously close to the huge crevasse that stretches across the face of the headwall above 11,000 feet. We could hear voices coming up from the camps below and started to set up our tent around 11:30pm.
By the next morning camp would have another 6 ft. of new snow that had fallen over the last four days. It was still socked in and snowing lightly as we dug up our food cache, skis, and sleds. The first couple hundred feet or more were very awkward we descended down onto the Talhiltna glacier towing our heavy sleds behind us. It was sking with cross contry skis through a mine field of crevasses with a 80 lb. bowling ball chasing you down. Eventually the slopes eased up and the hauling got easier.
Before reaching ski hill someone had read our tag we had used for our cache and saw the Alaska to Argentina expedition name. He asked Al if he was from Tahoe and Al shook his head and pointed back at me. It was Dave from Tahoe, I had never met him before but he had talked to one of the other riders in a pub in squaw valley and knew all about the trip.
Ski hill became interesting as we again skied down with sleds in tow. We helped some climbers cross a particularly difficult crevasse and continued on. Finally around 8:00 we climbed back up the last 350 feet, known as heartbreak hill to base came. We checked in with the base camp manager and learned that no planes had landed in three days and we were behind a long list of people already trying to fly out.
The skies cleared the next day and planes stated bringing climbers in around 9:00 am.. First the otters, then the slower moving beavers. We packed up camp and waited near the runway for our turn. I begun talking to some Swiss climbers about there attempt on the Lowe-Kennedy route on Mt. Hunter. We would latter fly out and were even able to talk Paul, our pilot into taking us out for a scenic tour.
I was amazed to see how much more green the area around Talkeetna had become while we were on the mountain.

I have now hitched my way to Fairbanks and I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the team. I am staying at the University of Alaska in a dorm room, they offer short term housing during the summer months. It feels weird to be back on a campus, but I am liking it. Today I will meet George, the gentleman who will be driving us to Prudhoe Bay and was informed yesterday that our bikes have arrived. I heard about some hot springs up north that I'll probably go camping at for a few days now that my bike has arrived. I'm also finishing up a complete trip report and should have that posted shortly. I can't wait to hear from you again so please don't tease me too long.

A2A team finishes Dalton Highway

Hey BBW supporters!!! Alaska to Argentina has officially begun!!! After a ceremonial dive in the Arctic Ocean, the four of us have pedaled 530 miles in the last seven days, completing the famous Dalton highway from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks...The road was rough, muddy, mountainous, dusty, and filled with trucks hauling equipment along the pipeline---a true test for the team in the first week. Though dirty, covered with mosquito bites, worn out, and sore, we are happy to have our first day off with our gracious host, George Meyer, at his cozy house outside of town. We will feast on salmon, moose ribs, and caribou tonight before departing for our next five hundred mile leg into the Yukon Territory. We are excited to have gotten off to a successful start. Thank you all for your support, and keep an eye on this blog for updates...Cheers, all...the A2A team...