Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, whiles cares will drop like autumn leaves.
~John Muir
Today, Andrew and I are flying out of Talkeenta, AK, with guides from Alaska Mountaineering School to begin a twelve day mountaineering course. We do like adventure, but we like to feel safe and in control during the adventures. So, we are investing some time and money to be trained by professionals to gain the experience and knowledge to do so. We will be flying into a remote area of Denali National Park. This area will be picked by the instructors two days prior to take-off based on snow conditions. The course consists of nine students and three instructors. During the course we will be learning (by doing) glacial travel, self arrest with ice axe, crevasse rescue, rock and ice climbing, winter camping skills like selecting a campsite and learning how to build a snow cave and igloo, and most importantly learning and practicing safety and judgement with terrain, weather, and your personal skill levels.
We should be able to take our Spot tracking device with us, so you can keep up with our location that way.
Plus, AMS keeps a blog that they update when they receive updates. They go with the saying "no news is good news."
I will give a detailed update when we return.
There are old climbers and there are bold climbers, but there are no old, bold climbers.
~Paul Petzoldt