Outdoors/Adventure

Minnesota climber on McKinley, aiming for historic winter ascent

A little behind schedule but blessed with a glorious January day, Minnesota adventurer Lonnie Dupre flew onto the lower slopes of Mount McKinley on Tuesday yet again, hoping that the third time is a charm. Dupre would like to become the first solo mountaineer to reach the summit of North America's tallest peak in January -- Alaska's coldest, darkest month.

To date, a trio of tough and seasoned Russians are the only ones to stand atop the 20,320-foot top of North American in January. Dupre, so far, has gotten a lesson in the four reasons it is so difficult: short days, extreme winds, vicious cold and snow.

He made it to high camp at 17,200 feet in 2011 only to spend a week pinned down in a snow-trench listening to the winds roaring overhead at nearly 100 mph. Winds of that force can blow a man right off the mountain. He got just enough of a break to retreat, and did.

Last year, Dupre spent a little over two weeks on the mountain and never made it much higher than the 14,200-foot camp. He had to fight his way through deep snows going up the Kahiltna Glacier and endure temperatures down to 40 degrees below zero -- only to arrive at the base of the Headwall in time for the winds to start blowing again.

Dupre is hoping for better luck this year. A veteran of two treks to the North Pole, he has more than a month's supply of food and said in a press release that he believes his past failures provided the groundwork for success.

"The experience you gain from each expedition and climb significantly reduces the risk because you understand the route more intimately and can ?ne-tune your equipment accordingly,'' he said. "So, this year I'm more con?dent because I'm traveling lighter and more ef?ciently. Now it?s up to the weather."

The weather forecast for the next week looks promising, but beyond that it is hard to say what can happen. Alaska has already witnessed a strange winter and the 49th state's longest season has a long way to go. December started off unusually cold and dry, but since the start of the New Year the weather has been unusually mild and wet with the weatherman talking about more of the same just ahead.

Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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