It’s probably too soon to be talking about Lonnie Dupre’s epic/insane attempt to be the first person to climb the highest peak in North America…in the winter…by himself. He’s still in the early stages of the ascent, at 12,300 feet, so it’s like talking about a no-hitter in the seventh inning. But we can’t keep mum after listening to his snow-cave call-in report from a couple days ago, when he mentioned that the temperature felt like it was colder than the night before, when it was -40 F. He laughed and added, “ You can tell it’s cold when the front of your socks stick to the toes of your boots.”
It wasn’t so much the image as the image combined with the mad laugh that made us want to make his expedition journal our home page for the next few weeks.
The 50-year-old Minnesotan is a long-time polar explorer, author of a couple of books, and much more. This is his second solo winter attempt to reach Denali’s 20,320-foot peak; on his last try, he had to turn back at 17,200 feet. Only a handful of teams have made the summit in winter. Only one team did it in January. During that month, the winds can hit 100 miles-per-hour and temperatures fall below -50 F. And everything is made even more complex and dangerous by the short ration of daylight, an average of only six hours a day.
Over the next few days, Dupre will be hauling gear to higher elevation, then coming back down to his snow cave, then hauling more gear up the next day. Working in stages lets him pace his ascent and acclimate to the altitude. You would think that dragging a sled full of food and equipment would ensure a good night’s rest, but in his latest update Dupre told his team that he hadn’t slept the night before. Not surprising: huddled in his snow cave, surrounded by howling winds, contemplating a route riddled with crevasses, we figure he has a lot on his mind.
Lonnie Dupre’s self-portrait via MTA phone.
