Saturday, January 13, 2018

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... retreat from the West Rib of Denali

What else can you say about our first trip to Alaska in 1979 except it was a debacle: Don (NPS mandated foursome) was a whimp and slow so the Cassin was out; we got a bad batch of blazo for our stoves in Talkeetna; the white gas leaked and tainted our four week supply of fruitcake; the stove blew up; never mix and match snowshoes and skis in the same expedition.

There was some good news though: three of us have remained friends; the green puffy parka that I lent Mike when his sleeping bag burned up still warms me on belays; it is clear that if you have enough single malt stashed on the kahiltna glacier you can trade for almost anything (except a stove).