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| MOUNT
McKINLEY - July 2, 2001 |
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Denali
is the Native name for Mount McKinley, meaning
"the highest." At 6,194 metres, McKinley
is the highest peak in North America. It
is located in Alaska, 200 km north of Anchorage,
part of the Alaska mountain range, and is protected
by strict rules governing U.S. national parks.
It attracts hundreds of climbers every year. |
Mount
McKinley offers a true challenge. It
has the greatest change in elevation between
the base camp and summit, with the base camp
at 2,000m and the summit at 6,194m, for a difference
of 4,194 metres. Climbers reach the mountain
by ski plane, landing on a gentle slope with
few crevasses. This spot is considered the base
camp, although climbers don't stay here long. |
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This
high mountain is considered one of the world's
hardest, and with good reason. There are
many obstacles to overcome, including the task
of transporting all the equipment you need over
a long distance. You have to be entirely self-sufficient,
transporting heavy loads on a sled: a few weeks
of food, and high-mountain equipment, all pulled
for days over steep, crevasse-filled glaciers.
Up to 3,350m, you have to use snowshoes or cross-country
skis. |
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that point, crampons are essential to pull the
load up to 4,350m, because the glacier is so
steep. The rest of the route involves real climbing,
with a backpack, ice axe, crampons and ropes,
and halts to acclimatize to the altitude. |
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Some walls are very steep and have to be climbed
using fixed ropes. There are also a few rocky
ridges to be overcome. A "mixed" climb
means that you have to deal with both rock and
ice, calling for careful attention and great
precision in your movements. Mount
McKinley is also reputed for its particularly
capricious weather conditions, thanks
to the low-pressure systems generated in the
Gulf of Alaska. |
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This high mountain lies very far north (63
degrees North latitude), near the Arctic circle,
so winter here is the real thing! It once received
over 3 metres of snow in just a few hours. On
the other hand, the polar latitude offers a
valuable advantage: 24 hours of light in the
summer, so you can climb both night and day.
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The
team consisted of three climbers: Nathalie Tremblay,
Bernard Voyer and Dorjee Sherpa. After
reaching the summit of Everest
together on May 5, 1999, Dorjee and Bernard promised
that they would climb together again sometime,
so Dorjee was invited to experience his first
climb outside the Himalayas (he who has already
stood on the roof of the world no fewer than six
times). He was impressed by the beauty of Denali
Park and by the challenge of Mount McKinley. It
was a very experienced team. The
last steps up to the summit were along a dizzyingly
high ridge of snow. |
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On July 2, at 12:50 p.m.
local time, Nathalie, Bernard and Dorjee reached
the 6,194-metre summit. It was a great
triumph. The difference in barometric pressure,
because of the northern latitude, makes it feel
like 6,900m. In any case, the summit offers an
exceptional view of the whole mountain range,
and of course the "high" of success. |
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For Bernard, this was the
sixth summit in his campaign to climb the highest
mountain of every continent. Now the only
one left in his prestigious World Tour is Mount
Vinson, in Antarctica. Stay tuned… |
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