Alaska - Peak 11,300

Alaska is the goal of virtually all alpinists. Where else can you fly to the base of a Himalayan sized peak and set up a comfortable basecamp and fly back out after climbing thirty to forty pitches of technical terrain? Of course life is not always quite that simple. Alaskan weather is legendary for it's ferocity with large amounts of snow and tent-confining storms that can last for days. But by carefully selecting the peak you can mitigate many of these problems and climb below the worst of the weather. Selection of a safe route is also important and the ridges generally offer safe travel away from the vast avalanche prone slopes. Peak 11,3000 fits all of our requirements for an outstanding Alaskan expedition. Rising from the west fork of the Ruth Glacier this route has become more popular over the last few years after decades of obscurity since it's first ascent in 1968 by Heinz Alleman and Nichlaus Lotscher. The views extend across the west fork to the jumbled ice cliffs of the east face of Huntington and down valley to the granite spike of the Mooses Tooth. As we gain elevation the views expand and from the summit we look directly at the gigantic south face of Denali. The route is some thirty-five pitches with a crux rock step of 5.8 with a number of smaller steps at an easier grade.

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Itinerary
Alaskan mountains are big and subject to the extremes of changeable weather. So we need to be flexible and prepared to adapt plans accordingly. So do not consider this following schedule as set in stone! We will set up a basecamp after flying to the glacier via ski plane. Camp will be a few yards from where the plane drops us so we can bring in a few luxuries to make basecamp life comfortable and pleasant. Although the route is very safe by Alaskan standards we need to have reasonable snow conditions since large quantities of fresh snow will mean significant avalanche danger and we will have no intention of putting ourselves in harms way from these. The start of the actual climbing is barely an hour from camp and we will start climbing as soon as the weather looks good. We will climb self-contained with enough food and equipment for five days on the route. We will be climbing alpine style with no fixed ropes, but starting at the bottom and going to the top in one push. We will be carrying lightweight tents for camps and everything else needed for existing on the route for the five days so packs may well be heavy and it will be necessary to pare things down to the minimum.
We will be in the snow camping for the entire time and since Alaskan storms are legendary there is the chance of being tent bound for a day or more. So mentally be prepared for this and accept it as a part of the mountain experience.

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Notes
The best map is Bradford Washburn’s “Mt. McKinley” 1:50,000 scale.
The best guide is Alaska Climbing by Joe Puryear and published by Supertopo.