Alaska III

It's a go. May 8th we're leaving for Alaska and by the 10th we should have our feet firmly planted on the Kahiltna Glacier. A couple weeks later (or a few weeks, if the weather sucks), we'll be standing on the top of Mt. Foraker.

The super cool part is that even though we fly to the same location as all of the Denali climbers, after descending Heartbreak Hill, we turn left while everyone else turns right. The path less chosen.

According to the Denali National Park 2010 climber statistics, only nine people attempted Foraker last year, and only six of them climbed the (relatively mundane) Sultana Ridge route. Given a near three month climbing window, there's a very real chance we won't have to share the mountain with anyone.

Now I'm wondering:

1. Can I get away with a -15 (F) down sleeping bag instead of the -40's I've used in years past? Since I'm also toting a down parka and down puffy pants, it seems like I should be able to make up the difference.

2. I need to get a durable, high-gain antenna so that we can talk to base camp / 14k camp and receive the daily weather reports.

3. When is the Spot Connect going to come out, so that I can start testing satellite text messaging?

4. Once again, I need a book. I took "We the Living" (Ayn Rand) last time. It was awesome. And way too short. Something in the 500-page range would be ideal, I think.