Mount Logan expedition

Expedition notes (unedited, written on the mountain)

6/7-8: Reached Icefield airstrip at night. We were dropped off in the middle of nowhere, with just the two of us on the entire mountain for the foreseeable future. We snowshoed halfway to C1 (2,700m). The hike to C1 was nice, easy, and enjoyable.

6/8: Night between C1 and C2.

6/9: Hike to C2 (3,290m).

6/10: Rest day at C2. C2 had some surprises for us – a storm and a whiteout. Logan’s weather is notoriously unpredictable; you can get stuck for days in a tent waiting for a storm to pass. So we waited. My climbing partner had a chance to rest, as he was tired from just having summited Everest (twice in one season). On the upside, he was well-acclimatized and did not have to deal with headaches and sleepless nights like me.

6/11: The climb to C3 (4,085m) was the hardest and steepest part of the route. We were lucky with the weather. With 50 lbs of weight behind me and skyscraper-sized ice blocks above, ready to fall at any moment, it was just another day on the mountain. Ten hours of climbing today; we covered a lot of territory with crevasses everywhere. I haven’t prayed that much in a while.

6/12: Arrived at C4 today (4,660 m). It was a very hard day, and I got a heat stroke, so I started eating snow to cool myself.

6/13: It’s only Day 6, and we are already at C5 (5,150 m). Ah, I love when everything goes according to plan. The views are amazing, so serene. But I don’t feel serene inside. Super tired. My abs hurt. Terrible headache. Why am I doing this?))

6/14: Rest day. Whiteout. Horrible headache at the base of my head persists. I climbed too high too fast. Couldn’t sleep all night.

6/15: Day 8. Summit (5,959 m). We got super lucky with the weather. Out of 9 hours of summit bid climbing, we spent just 3 hours in a whiteout (We never thought of turning around; these are just conditions, you deal with them). And it was only -20°C instead of the usual -40°C. Next great idea – trying to descend from the 6,000m mountain in one go, without setting up camp. Crevasse fields await. I am feeling uneasy.

6/16: Day 9. Back to the Icefield. We did make it in one go, 16 hours of non-stop descending. We set our tent right on the airstrip, that’s a first)

One way or another, things always work out

The unknown is always present, and in the mountains, its danger is even greater.

We chose to descend a 6,000m mountain in one go, without setting up camp. Much of the route lay through crevasses that open when the sun softens the snow. Every step carried the risk of falling through, creating constant anxiety.

This crevasse walk lasted 16 hours. (Crazy thing: for a couple of days after we returned to town, I was nervous stepping on normal ground. It’s incredible how quickly our brains adjust to danger, living in fear comes naturally to us).

In a whiteout, you walk with no visibility, hoping to spot your next wand for direction, and praying the snow beneath your feet stays firm. Here’s the thing about the uncertainty: the next wand always appears; we have a drone that can spot crevasses for us; the whiteout eventually disappears and you can see better.