29 Apr ,
2019

Denali expedition countdown: 4 days to Alaska

This is it, the week that we have been waiting for almost 2 years has come. The project has grown while our team of climbers has dwindled. We were 9, then 8, then 5, then 4 and now 3 after Josh pulled out last week. A bit of panic at first wondering if AMS (Alaska […]

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19 Apr ,
2019

Quitting expedition members: curse or blessing?

We were 9 expedition members in December, then 8 in January when Mike’s vineyard took priority over climbing, fair enough. Then 7 a week ago when Patrick announced that his personal situation forced him to stay (we knew it was likely so it was sad but not a surprise). Then 4 members remaining when David […]

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16 Apr ,
2019

2019 Denali expedition rundown, 3 weeks to go

It has been over a year in the making, hundreds of emails, whatsapps, phone calls between all potential team members, guiding company, family, friends. We used to think of it as a project in the distant future. It is finally here and now, 3 weeks before our meeting with the Denali park rangers in Talkeetna, […]

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10 Apr ,
2019

Training for Denali – what’s it all about?

Climbing Denali, like any high mountain, is a long journey not only a summit climb. It requires preparation, dedication, commitment. Training is at the center of the journey. Training, for me, started officially in January. Before that, I was lightly training while recovering from my trail running race ankle sprain. Mike Tse, who coached me […]

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2 Apr ,
2019

Coping with extreme cold

Listening to the Rich Roll podcast last December I stumbled upon a fascinating episode. It was about the ‘iceman’, Dutch modern era primal breathing guru, Wim Hof. Wim Hof is famous for taking on extraordinary challenges in the extreme cold such as swimming under arctic ice, running a marathon distance from the Everest base camp […]

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