Denali Training

It’s hard to believe this, but Justin’s Denali Climb (Take 2) is less than 2 months away!! The team is arriving in Anchorage May 10, then hoping to fly onto the mountain May 13 (obviously weather-dependent).

I’ve always joked Justin’s training regimen for anything is less than stellar (he trained for a triathlon in 2010 by running once, swimming once and biking a bunch). But he has been taking the Denali Bid 2019 quite serious! Not only has he taken refresher courses, he practices his knot-tying skills every chance he gets and of course is dialing in his gear systems.

This month, he met up with his team members for a jaunt in Montana’s mountains. These fellow mountaineers connected via Facebook and there’s a total of 5 on the team.

They snowshoed up toward Hearst Lake outside of Anaconda, Montana, and camped for 2 nights. Winter camping is really not my thing. I keep trying, but I just can’t get on board with the endless cold. Not to mention all the work! You have to dig out a platform in the snow and sometimes get up in the middle of the night to knock snow off your tent when it gets too much. I shiver just thinking about it. But they practiced important strategies as a team and bonded over hot drinks.

Can’t wait to cheer everyone on come May!! We hope you’ll follow along too.

And for those who may be new to these parts, Justin climbed Denali in 2016 with RMI Expeditions, making it about 300 feet below the summit. He spent 23 days on the mountain, 11 of those stuck at 14,000-foot camp because of foul weather. Here are a few past posts about Denali for those who want to know a little more about mountaineering: Denali Bid 2016, Denali Top Ten List, Denali Mountaineering Gear Review, and Justin’s Reflection on Denali.