Denali

Images by: MONOVITA

I've spent the last three month working with Lonnie Dupre  on his Polar Climb 1 expedition on Denali. It's been a roller coaster ride as I've never done anything even close to something like this.

We started out driving from Minnesota to Vail, Colorado where Lonnie and I spent time training and acclimatizing for his climb. 

We then headed off to Alaska where Lonnie spent 19 days attempting to solo summit Denali/ Mount McKinley in the month of January.

During the expedition, Dupre conducted research and gathered microbe samples for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation. The data will give a better understanding of how climate change will affect the production of living matter in extreme environments. "This is a way to bring attention to the world's receding glaciers and climate change." -Dupre

Lonnie spent 7 days and 6 nights in a 4x4 snow trench in up to 97mph winds, but still remained mentally strong and physically healthy with every intention on continuing upward. After analyzing the weather for the following week Lonnie was forced to make the decision to descend.

We've now made our way back to Minnesota and are now working on making the little cabin in Grand Marais home.