Planning to climb Denali... But i'm only 16.

“I'm planning on climbing Denali before I graduate. I'm 16, and I'm a very strong hiker and mountaineer. Now, i've posted threads like this before, and all i've gotten is, your too young, wait until your 20's. Well that tends to make me want to do it a lot more. Now, I'm not really looking for safety factors here on how I should wait, i'm looking for the best way to get up the mountain. I would like to find out which is the BEST guide company to go with, ideas of coming up with that amount of money, how much it will generally cost including the guide fees, and anything else that you think will be usefull to me.”

“Good for you! There's no such thing as "only". Sorry I can't give you any practical advice except to say, go for your dream! You can do it!”

“have you looked for employment of have a job? if you do have a job open a savings and put everything you can spare into it. I dont know how much a trip like that would cost but it would be fairly expensive with all the travel costs and guide costs. Do internet searches for guides and danali. Your going to have to do a lot of homework.”

“have you looked for employment of have a job? if you do have a job open a savings and put everything you can spare into it. I dont know how much a trip like that would cost but it would be fairly expensive with all the travel costs and guide costs. Do internet searches for guides and danali. Your going to have to do a lot of homework.”

“do a test/training climb on rainier first, if you can

and dont eat the yellow snow

thats all i have”

“Go for it, but understand it wont be easy. You should train before you let a guide take you up. You should definitely train on mountains like Rainier and Shasta to get your skills up and to be sure this is what you want to do.

Check this page out, it will give you much of the information you need...
Preparing for Denali

Do your parents support you in this?
last edited: 6/28/05 11:22:53 PM”

“mtnsteve gives good advice - listen to him.

Good Luck”

“http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/14

taking a look at that page over on summitpost.org, and you might try posting your question over there on the Alaska forum too, theres a bunch of climbers/mountaineers over there.”

“check out Alaska Mountaineering School.”

“Hi Jayne,

You would not be the youngest to summit.

The youngest was 12, I believe.

The best training you can do, Jayne, is to ride a bicycle uphill out of the saddle along with finetuning your mountaineering skills. The bicycle training will strengthen your legs and most closely mimics the uphill step in mountaineering.

You should also be SUPER organized. Know where everything is in your pack and pack different ways until you find the "best way" then stick with it.

Train with a sled with RIGID, QUICK RELEASE connections to your waist belt.

If you are close to Rainier or Gran Tetons, it would behoove to climb with a guide on them.

FYI, In GOOD weather, Shasta is just a long walk up the STANDARD route.

See if you can find a mentor in your area who has done some big mountains.

Friends of mine did Denali as a two some last year. They did it in 13 days including 2-3 snow days where they were tent bound.
However, four is the minimum recommended team size per Denali NP Rangers.

Plan for 25 days on the mountain and hope for a few days less.

Read "Minus 148" about a winter climb of Denali. Good lessons in this book.
ASSUME YOU WILL EXPERIENCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 100 MPH AND EXTREME COLD AND PREPARE ACCORDINGLY.

DO NOT LET "SUMMIT FEVER" OVERCOME YOUR JUDGMENT. MANY MORE FOLKS DIE ON DESCENTS AFTER SUMMITING THAN THOSE WHO DIE ENROUTE.

Overprepare, anticipate the challenges and have a plan to meet them and you should be fine.

However, also draw up a will, medical power of attorney docs before you go.”

“Finally, people tell me what I need to hear. I've definitely been thinking about doin a preparation climb, but it's tough because i live in the whites of NH. But hey, let's not forget Mt. Washington gets some of the worst weather in the world, and i only live a half an hour away, so that will be my main prepartaion mountain. I've looked at over 8 guide companies, and i think that's all they allow to legally guide up this mountain. Alpine Ascents seem's to be the best, and they have a preperation course for Denali too. I've already opened up a savings bank and im in the process of hosting "Adventure Races" to pay for it. My parents are also in complete support because they know that i'm going to do it no matter what, so they'd rather spport me and make sure I do it right than completely resent it. They're also gonna pitch in a few thousand dollars. Guide Services will end up costing 4,000 with Alpine Ascents, and that includes every think you can think of right when you land in Talkeetna I think it is, or Anchorage. So basically the guide fees and a round trip flight to Alaska will sum up most of it, but god knows theyre will be a few hidden fees here and there. Thanks, and please keep the info coming.”

“don't overestimate your fitness though. climbing at 15k+ feet is nothing like the lower elevations we live in the east. it was a shock to me when i did mt whitney how fatigued you can actually become. just make sure you are prepared. also because of your age, im not sure many guide companies will let you join or not unless you have someone over 18 or 21 with you. check into it. oh and don't forget gear. i know some provide it but make sure.”

“You'll definitely need training somewhere higher than Mt. Washington. Nothing in the Appalachians is going to give you the kind of oxygen deprivation experience you NEED to have when summiting a big mountain.”

“Make sure you wear a good pair of wool blend socks. And take a bag of Jolly Ranchers, they are the BOMB on the trail.”

“yep, you'll HAVE to get some experience above 10,000 feet before you go up there. So part of your plan needs to include a couple of trips to at least Colorado, if not Washington, to do some hiking/climbing at higher elevation.”

“Every young man should have a goal. When you get older you can have goals.”

“A great place to train for high altitude is Mexico. I took Amy there when she said she wanted to climb in the Himalayas.

Orizaba 18,700' and Popocatepetl 17,887 are great places to get some altitude under your belt.

Perhaps I should have asked you this first...Do you want to climb Denali or do you want to become a mountaineer?

I realize how this may sound, going off to Mexico to train and all, but that's what it takes sometimes. You can get around 14,000' on Rainier, Shasta and many other peaks, that should be a minimum. The only way you will know how you will handle 16,000' and up is to go there.

I'm not trying to scare you off, just letting you know what you will be up against. You can certainly get a guide to drag you up as high as possible, but if you want to become a mountaineer, that will take years.

By the way, here is a picture of Amy when she started. She was about 22 or 23.
last edited: 6/29/05 8:13:45 PM”

“You're not too young at all! Start planning now, get a job that pays pretty good so you can aford to do it. I'd say two years is how long it'll take to gather kind of money. Find local climbers in your area and start hanging out with them and elarning.

Good luck. You can do it!”

“Jaynewallll...I hope my last post didn't come off as too harsh...I had a really bad day at work.

You can definitely achieve your goal, you will have to work your butt off, but it seems you do have the drive.

Many times, proper attitude and drive can be your best tools. Good luck to you.”

“I'm not taking offense to anything. And don't worry, most of the things everyone is suggesting, i've aleady done. I've been training with my teacher (one of the most experienced mountaineers i've evr met) for over 4 years. I've learned a lot of the technical aspects of mountaineering and climbing. I've also been studying glacier travel and crevasse rescue for over two years. Unfortunatly studying isn't the same thing as doing, but within next year i'm going to plan on taking the Denali Prep Class with Alpine Ascents, which is a 10 day long class out in Washington. And anyways, my father who is also an accomplished mountaineer has got me on the right path. He's even agreed to pay for up to half the trip itself, and the Denali Prep class.

By the way MtnSteve, about Amy. Has she tackled Everest or K2 yet? And are you still in touch with her?
last edited: 6/29/05 11:14:10 PM”

“By the way, what I do take offense to is someone saying that i'm not a mountaineer. I may be 16, but i'm confident enough to say that i'm practiacally capable of anything an adult is capable of. So yes, I do want to climbg Denali, and yes I am a mountaineer, and i've proved that by the undergoing circumstances i've been put under while i've been out in the White Mountains during the winter. They may be small but they can prove to be a challenge to anybody, and they're one of the best spots to train to become a mountaineer.”

“How far in the future do you plan to go to Alaska?

I'd keep an eye on airfares....and make sure you know about the weather.... Their "summer season" is very short compared to down here in the lower 48... Best weather is mid/late June through late Juiy/Early August. Any later than that, you'll encounter rain or snow.... Last year when Thinkbubelz & I went, the day after we left Denali Nat'l Park (not the mountain, but the park) It snowed many inches! That was probably around August 30th or so... Obviously, on the mountain top it might not make as much of a difference, but from below, it might make your travels a bit easier... :-)

I believe you are right--Talkeetna is the "home base" for many of the Denali climbs....However, your cheapest flights to Alaska will probably be to Anchorage and then driving to Talkeetna... (Although it is a very small town-- If you've ever seen "Northern Exposure", they apparently based "Cicely, Alaska" on Talkeetna....) Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska and closest to Talkeetna.

You might want to check into flying from different cities to Alaska. We found that by going to Chicago and flying from there, we saved about $150-$200 per person on the flight vs. coming from Detroit...

Alaska Air flies from Chicago and there are direct flights, so I'd recommend that you look into flying from Chicago to help keep costs lower for you... (Fly from a larger city and you may save a lot of money on your flights!)

Definitely, look into finding people/businesses to help sponsor you--you can probably do a lot of fundraising that way....

Good luck to you! :-) That is quite an ambitious adventure you are seeking!”

“I certainly don't mean to demean you in any way, I don't know what experiences you may have had, you have told us little about that.

Perhaps it's our definition of mountaineer. Believe me, I know it has nothing to do with age, size or gender. Amy is 5'2" and weights 115lb. Many of the folks I taught were in their early teens. I'm very old school when it comes to climbing.

When Amy came to me and asked me to teach her mountaineering she asked me how long it would take, I told her 5 or 10 years. She looked a bit shocked at that.

I told her she needed to learn to be a good rock climber, ice climber as well and to be able to do it at 12,000', with a pack on... She needed to be able to lead on ice and rock and know her rope skills forward and backward, she needed to learn winter survival skills. She needed to learn to use her ice ax to the point where she could self arrest spinning upside down and backwards down the mountain (and not kill her self doing it), she needed to be comfortable with French technique and front pointing, she needed to be able to hold me in a crevasse fall and set up a system to get me out by herself, she needed to be able to get herself out of a crevasse if I was injured and couldn't do it for her. She needed avalanche rescue skills and to be able to use her Pieps in the dark. She needed to be able to navigate in a blizzard and push herself beyond anything she had ever done before. I said I will make you cry and by the time your 40 you will be beat up and have injuries that will be with you the rest of your life, do you still want me to teach you?

When she got back from Ama Dablam a couple years ago we had a party for her, her girlfriend had a t-shirt made up for her, it said simply...
I'm a mountaineer.

If I havent pissed you off too much, LOL, send me an email and I will give you a link to a private album I think you would love to see. I didn't take the pictures, so I cant open it to the public.”

“Amy moved to Montana two years ago, we talk often. She is debating K2. It takes so much commitment to do a big climb that it can stress a relationship rather badly. She has to weight that against her desire to climb.

It sounds like you are indeed a mountaineer and have most of skills you will need for Denali...you also appear to have the drive.

I wish you the best, keep us informed if you will as to your progress.
last edited: 6/30/05 12:55:39 AM”

“I'll be sure to keep in touch about this climb. Please leave your emails, it's always interesting to spark up chats about mountaineering. :-)”

“Click on my name and it will show you my email.”

“"Make sure you wear a good pair of wool blend socks. And take a bag of Jolly Ranchers, they are the BOMB on the trail.”
Buck

LOL! That "advice" made me snort/laugh!

Good luck Jayne.”