Lonnie Dupre, the AARP-eligible adventurer who has focused on solo-climbing Denali in January, is currently taking his third run at the mountain.Two years ago, he made it to 17,200 feet–“just hours from the summit”–before bad weather intervened. Last year, even nastier weather pinned him down at a lower altitude.
This time, he’s making the ascent with a five-foot sled (pulled by 14-foot poles to help him bridge any crevasse that might block his route) and a backpack, much of which will be packed with the food he needs to maintain a daily diet of 5000 calories. He won’t be carrying a tent; he likes snow caves “because they are more reliable against Denaliʼs extreme 100 mph wind and -60F cold than any tent could be.”
As of yesterday (Jan 22), he was making good progress. His evening report had him in his cave at 14,200 feet, looking ahead to a day of rest and recuperation before he begins shuttling his gear up to 16,000 feet.
If you visit his web site this morning, you’ll notice that we’re in the final hours of his Kickstarter campaign to fund Cold Love, a documentary on the world’s frozen places. Looks like he’s met his funding goals, but we can only assume that additional support would certainly be put to good use.
Map of Lonnie Dupre’s progress up Denali, via lonniedupre.com
