A father-daughter duo encounters surreal landscapes and quintessential Alaskan adventures on their mission to scale Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America. Text and photographs By Ajeet Bajaj
“Be safe on the mountain,” yelled our bush pilot, Paul, as my daughter Deeya and I were dropped off on the Kahiltna Glacier, the longest glacier of the Alaska Range at the base of Mount Denali. We watched with trepidation as the small De Havilland plane, which landed on the glacier on skis, took off, leaving us to fend for ourselves in the icy wilderness.
At 6,187 metres, Denali, or ‘the tall one’ as it means in Native American language, is, without doubt, the crowning glory of North America and one of the hardest among the Seven Summits. Formerly known as Mount McKinley, the mountain was rechristened Denali by President Obama in 2015.
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting Everest in Asia, Aconcagua in South America, Denali in North America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Vinson in Antarctica, and Kosciuszko in Australia or Carstenz Pyramid in New Guinea (Oceania) is considered an exceptional mountaineering challenge, first achieved in 1985 by Richard Bass, an American mountaineer.
Journey to Mount Denali
My daughter Deeya and I started our Alaskan adventure sojourn this summer with a sea kayaking trip in Resurrection Bay near Seward, to see harbour seals, bald eagles, and otters.
We were fortunate to spot a humpback whale and a pod of five orcas (killer whales) on a boat ride to the Gulf of Alaska. The highlight of the sojourn, though, was summiting Denali, the last in our Seven Summits!
What makes Denali one of the hardest climbs is the extreme cold conditions; temperatures plummet to -45°C since the mountain is close to the Arctic Circle at 63°N latitude. There is also wind chill, which can freeze a human in an instant! The weather gods, fortunately, were kind to us and we were able to get to the summit after a gruelling 15-day climb. It was a proud and emotional moment for us as a father-daughter team as we unfurled the tricolour on the mountain.
After the euphoria, we had to face the harsh reality of a tough and treacherous descent. We were in the Arctic Circle, with 24 hours of daylight. Conditions are most stable when the sun is not overhead; there are least chances of an avalanche or falling into a crevasse. So, we did the death march—a 12-hour descent in one long push, and hugged each other tight when we reached the base camp.
On the flight back to Talkeetna, we looked back with respect and reverence at Denali. May this mountain stand tall, proud, and pristine forever, and may the region continue to be a guiding light and shining example of nature and wildlife conservation.
Related: Chasing The Winds Of Argentinean Patagonia For A Glacier-Hopping Adventure
