Letter from a 2004 Denali Climber

Kristine from Alpine Ascents wrote and asked if I would share my Denali and Alpine Ascents experiences with you. Let me start by telling you what a great decision you would be making by choosing to train and climb Denali with Alpine Ascents. I have nothing but good things to say about the people and their "first class" operation.

I have done a number of climbs unguided, a few with other guiding services, and a majority of climbs and courses with Alpine Ascents. I will never, unless they don't offer it, do another guided mountaineering trip with another company. The experiences I have had with Alpine Ascents have all been positive. Their approach to their courses and climbs combines reaching goals with safety and an enjoyment of the mountains. For me there are two things can make a trip miserable fast; conflict among the members of the group and/or being guided by people who are more concerned with pushing to the top than being "in tune" with the pace of the group and/or the safety of the group. I have never been put in that position nor have I ever questioned the decisions of an Alpine Ascents guide mainly because of their vast knowledge and the fact that their decisions involve input from the entire group. Conflict among climbers is a tough thing to control and it definitely happens, however good guides will be able to mitigate and resolve conflict quickly. I have made some great friends (guides and other clients) over the years climbing with Alpine Ascents. Both a testament to some great people and the type of person that Alpine Ascents employs to guide for them.

Directly regarding the Denali Prep course and the Denali climb, they are both well organized and complement each other nicely. Not sure of your mountaineering experience. For me, the Denali Prep course was more of a review. However, for me living in the Midwest, it was a perfect opportunity to test some new equipment, review and become more efficient with crevasse rescue and sled pulling. If you have never had the opportunity to pull gear in a sled, your lucky, however on Denali it is a necessary evil and a great skill to possess before getting to base camp. I assume the course is still an 8 day trip. Also good because Denali can be close to 20 days. The physical aspects of mountaineering are easy to train for, you know what it will take and if you honestly put in the time, physically you will be ready. The mental aspect is something altogether different. Going on some longer trips before hand is the only thing that can prepare you for the length of a trip like Denali. Long story short.... The course, I thought, was worth the time and money.

Going to Denali with Alpine Ascents. Everything is very well organized. One factor in my decision to do a guided trip is the amount of logistics that go into climbing a particular peak. The Alpine Ascents guides are all experienced and have been to Denali before, certainly a major advantage because there are a lot of details to iron out before getting to base camp. With Alpine Ascents I didn't worry or concern myself with all the details. Because of past experience with them I trusted everything would be in order and I was able to concentrate on enjoying the climb from start to finish. Denali is a great learning experience, a great life experience, and a fun mountain to climb whether you make the summit or not. If you can do it with Alpine Ascents as I said before you are making a very good choice.

I will be completely honest in telling you that I consider Kristine and others at Alpine Ascents to be friends. These are friendships that were formed not prior to but because of my continued success with and confidence in the services Alpine Ascents provides. I was happy to take the time to write this e-mail as a favor to her because of all that they have done for me over the years. Again, they are a great group of people focused on fulfilling the mountaineering goals of their clients and I am confident they can help you reach yours.

Good Luck,

David Wiley