January 27th-Day 21- 10,200 descending to Base Camp

January 27th -Day 21- Descending to Base Camp
12:30 PM Alaska time

I just received this picture of Lonnie beginning his descent to 7200 Base Camp.  Lonnie is on his descent to Base Camp and if all goes well plans on arriving this evening.  If the weather cooperates we will schedule a air craft pickup with Talkeetna Air Taxi tomorrow or the next day.  Lonnie is in good spirits and is looking forward to be picked up off the Kahiltna Glacier soon.

Here are some of the links that you can check out that have followed Lonnie's progress on his attempt to be the first to solo Denali in January.  Just do a search for "dupre" on each site.

http://www.kstp.com/index.shtml

http://www.adn.com/
http://www.wtip.org/
http://ktna.org/
http://www.ktuu.com/
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/
http://www.grindtv.com/
http://www.wdio.com/
http://talktrav.tumblr.com/
http://www.explorersweb.com/
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/
http://www.cookcountynews-herald.com/

January 26th - Day 20 -10,200 Camp

January 26th - Day 20
6:32 PM Alaska Time

Lonnie made it past Windy Corner and is camped at 10,200 in his snow trench that he built on the ascent.  He had a relatively mild day for travel, with temperatures in the single digits with light wind. He did have some issues with his sled trying to kill him by pulling him downslope a couple times.   He is dug in for the night and plans of continuing down to Base Camp tomorrow.  He is in good spirits and says Hi to everyone.

January 26th - Day 20 14,200

January 26th - Day 20
10:09 AM Alaska Time

14,200 camp from Last Year's Expedition

Lonnie recent audio update was cut off,  what he said is the he has made the decision to continue down to base camp. After setting a record pace to 17,200, Lonnie was set for a summit attempt, but mother nature decided that it would "test" him for 7 days, with winds up to 100 mph, temperatures reaching -50 and a 5.4 magnitude earthquake.  After 7 days at 17,200 with dwindling supplies and being inactive for so long he lost considerable strength and conditioning.  Yesterday's small break in the weather gave him the opportunity to move down to 14,200.  There is an old saying that you don't "***k" with mother nature, and I think Lonnie knows and respects that power more than ever!    

Check our a recent article on Yahoo News. 
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/23870/climbers+history-making+denali+quest+turns+life-threatening/

January 25th - Day 19 14,200 Camp

January 25th - Day 19 14,200 Camp
5:44 PM Alaska Time


I just received a brief call from Lonnie, he has arrived at 14,200 camp tired and weak.  He made it down from 17,200 to 14,200 in 8 hours.  He is going to get something to eat and call it a day.  He will assess his options tomorrow after a good nights rest.

.  Picture of Lonnie's 14,200 snow Trench.

January 25th - Day 19 Moving Down to 14,200

January 25th- Day 19
10:56 AM Alaska Time

I just got off the Sat phone with Lonnie.  Lonnie is going to travel down the West Buttress Ridge and Head Wall to 14,200 today.  The decision  to move down to 14,200 was based on the short (one day) of relatively good weather he has to travel in and his diminishing resources (physical and mental) at 17,200.  Once down at 14,200 he will regroup and reassess his options.  UPWARD...

Janauary 24th - Day 18 - Day 6 at 17,200

January 24th - Day 18
12:02 PM Alaska Time

I spoke with Lonnie just after he made his audio update. This is his 6th day at 17,200 in his snow trench that is 3'x3'x6'.  He has only been out once since he arrived at 17,200 due to the extremely high winds.   Laying in his trench with little movement and the constant cold ( it is about -5 in the trench) he feels that his strength and stamina are beginning to deteriorate.  The sanitary conditions of the trench are also deteriorating due to the lack of space to relieve himself.  We are hoping for a break in the weather tomorrow or Wednesday so that Lonnie can make a move to 14,200 to regroup and build up his strength.  At 17,200 the barometric pressure is 407 mmhg, this means that there is 54% of oxygen available at sea level.  Staying at this altitude increases the chances of acute mountain sickness.  He is in good spirits and says hi to all.

Lonnie carries a copy of this poem on the back of his journal notebook. This is a picture of that poem that is taped to his journal notebook...

 "Invictus" is a short Victorian poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

January 23rd - Day 17 Pinned Down by High Winds

January 23rd - Day 17
12:51 PM Alaska Time

The weather is the story today. 
Here is the latest from Paul.  "The low to the south is moving north and will seriously effect the wx on the mountain over the next few days. Lonnie should know there could be over 100 mile per winds lashing the mountain starting tomorrow.  He will most likely have to stay where he is for a while and may need to secure his position."  It looks as if that this weather system will be with us for the next few days.

Lonnie is dug in and prepared to wait out the storm.  Patience is the key right now.  He cant move up or down in these conditions.   I Talked with him this morning and he is doing well.  As you heard on his audio update Lonnie indeed feel the effects of a 5.4 magnitude earthquake being only a few miles from its epicenter.  You can do a google search under "alsaka earthquake activity" to find out its exact location.


UPWARD-PATIENCE