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 announced that he was working on a critical business deal in New York and as a result his son Matt and Matt’s girlfriend Stephanie, who were committed to climb with him, were all pulling out.

Pulling out is totally fine, we are not always masters of our destiny. However, pulling out 2 weeks before an expedition, without warning the organising team a few months before that things are not looking good, is unfair to the other members. If we were a ‘public’ expedition, coordinated by our guide company (AMS), this would have a lesser impact but in our case we are a private, customised expedition, closed to other members so the whole project could be compromised.

A blessing? In the end we will have a group of 4. A small expedition means greater ‘comfort’ (not the right word for Denali), easier camps, faster moves, nimbler on the mountain, less people = less potential issues.

So for now the official team is:

Marc, Xavier, Benjamin, Josh, Kai (head guide) and one more guide.

Time to move on, focus on Denali, forget about this disappointment and look ahead to a fantastic expedition to come!