Justin Wood (Bellingham, Washington), Jeremy Ellison (Lake Tahoe, California), Johnny Davison (Lake Wanaka, New Zealand), and Aidan Loehr (Bellingham, Washington) summited 20,320-foot summit on July 1, carrying the flag of the “Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up” drive for fund raising and public awareness of infant and childhood AIDS in Africa. The alpinists flew onto the Kahiltna Glacier in the Denali National Park on June 15th. They gradually worked their way up glaciers on the mountain’s western flank until reaching Camp 3 at 14,000 feet where they were pinned down by heavy snows and high winds for a week. On July 30th they made it to a high camp at 17,200 where they spent two nights before making their summit bid on July 2nd.
Wood reported that it was a beautiful day to summit and that the conditions were especially appreciated after so many days and nights of storm. In a statement that he wrote out and then read over a satellite telephone from high on Denali, Wood said:
“This whole trip has seemed parallel to the fights against AIDS. We had some tough times, there were many days on which we had to revise our plans, and there were many days on which we thought it might not be possible to reach our goals despite our best efforts. But we kept our focus, and we were committed to lasting out our troubles with this storm high on the mountain rather than trying to head down to lower altitudes.
“We had all trained hard so we felt like we had the personal resources in fitness and gear to back up our mental commitment to hang in there. The storms and the bad days weren’t fun, but we kept focused on the goal, and while waiting for our chance for success, really watched out for each other. It was a huge team effort. Everyone doing a good job himself plus watching out for the well being of the other guy is what made weathering the miserable conditions possible.
“In the end we pushed a little further when it looked like there might be an opportunity to try for the summit. We moved to seventeen thousand not knowing for sure if we would have our window of opportunity, but we knew if we didn’t give it our all and put ourselves in that position at 17,200 feet, we definitely couldn’t succeed. So we moved up, took a rest day, and then found our window of opportunity.
“There was great joy and pride in our group when after a very long summit day, we moved to the top and set foot on the 20,320’ summit of North America. We were personally psyched, and we were all very excited to be using the moment to be drawing attention to the AIDS epidemic and to the fact that by working together and by staying committed, we will find a solution to this immense problem.
“We are convinced that ending the epidemic will eventually be possible, and that in the mean time, education of and resulting compassion from the general public will help those who have been stricken survive and live good lives. Like each member of this team doing their part, we are convinced that if each person sees themselves as part of a team to fight AIDS and plays their small part, we can have enormous effect.
“Like this team hanging in their day after day in the awful conditions, if each person who learns about this will just hang in there with a small donation month after month, the effect we can have is tremendous. We’re hoping to inspire people to see themselves as part of a team on a very long expedition. We hope each will make a commitment to giving long-term to reach our summit goal of helping these young people live fruitful lives. Instead of giving $100 one time, this team hopes the members of the bigger team to fight AIDS will give a set amount each month (whether its $10 or $50) and make their team membership in the fight against AIDS an ongoing part of their life. That’s the hope and commitment we want to pass on to you. If we can reach a goal like summiting Denali under difficult conditions in an arctic environment, we are convinced we can succeed in helping these kids live to see a tomorrow. Let’s do it!”
The team expects to return to the base of the mountain by July 3 and fly off the glacier on July 4th.
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