Climb 7

Yesterday it was annouced that Matt has been named one of National Geographic’s Top Ten Adventurers of the Year for 2010. Wow! Being a part of this amazing group of adventurers is an extraordinary honor. You can read Matt’s reaction in this great news story from the Daily Camera.

Now, this is where YOU all come in! We need your help in encouraging our collective networks to VOTE for Matt as the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year on the National Geographic website. Please pass the link to friends and family, encourage posting to Facebook and forwarding the link everyone they know! You can vote once a day until Jan 15th.

So vote here and vote often! Thank you!

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Thank you to Denver’s Channel 2 for this great morning show interview!

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If you were having trouble loading the main Expeditions update on the Climb 7 site, we’ve cleaned it up so everything should load faster. If you are looking for your state or are new to the site, check out these links to catch up on the climb via geographic area.

The Big Three (plus one!): AK, NV, CA, and CO
Great Plains and the Southwest: NM, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, AZ and TX
The South: LA, AR, MO, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, KY and TN
East, Northeast and Midwest: WV, MD, PA, DE, NJ, CT, MA, NY, VT, NH, ME, RI, IL, WI, MI, MN, IA, IN and OH

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At about 1:40 pm ET, the team summited Mt. Marcy, the highest point in New York state. The climb was about 14 miles round trip on muddy, rocky trail. The team has been plagued by rain and storms throughout the northern states which has been affecting the speed and timing of the peaks. Mt. Marcy was a whopping 3,000 elevation gain leading to a summit of granite and a gorgeous view of the Adriondacks.

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Matt Moniz and Cam Dudiak

Under cool skies, Matt and the team made it up Mt. Elbert, the second highest point in the contigious US, in about seven hours. The elevation gain on the eight mile round trip was 4,700 vertical feet on the North Mt. Elbert Trail. The team was joined by Joel Gratz, team meteorologist and expert in mountain weather. Joel has been huge asset on all the peaks however this was his first opportunity to climb with the team. Weather is the single greatest element that can affect a climb and Joel’s accurate forecasting has been critical to the team’s success. In addition, the team has been receiving a crash course in meteorology! Also joining this climb were two of Matt’s best friends, Sam Kirk and Cam Dudiak.

So if you have been paying attention, you will have noted a pretty impressive feat just happened. Three of the US and North America’s top peaks in eight days: Denali, highest peak in US and North America at 23,230 ft; Mt. Whitney, highest peak in the lower 48 plus California at 14,505 ft and Mt. Elbert, second highest peak in the lower 48 and highest in Colorado at 14,443 ft. Nice work, team!

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Why Boundary Peak and Mt. Whitney, of course!

On June 7, the team took advantage of being on the west coast and bagged Boundary Peak in Nevada. Boundary Peak is Nevada’s highest peak at 13, 147 ft.

On June 8, the team hiked for 14.5 hours, logged 22 miles round trip (much of it through unseasonal thigh-high snow) and summited Mt. Whitney, (14,505 ft) the highest point in the contiguous United States. The total elevation gain was about 7,000 vertical feet. To put how fast they summited Whitney in perspective, most guided teams can take up to four days. But being acclimated to 20,000 feet only days before can definitely put a spring in your step at a mere 14,505 ft!

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I got a message about 1:30 MT today from the team saying that they had been holed up for the last 24 hours on the glacier waiting for the predicted Denali storm to abate. It appeared that the ceiling was lifting – there were about 50 people (climbers) stomping out a runaway for the planes to transport back to Anchorage. Temperatures were cold and I’m sure the team is pretty excited to be back in civilization again.From the sound of things, I’m wondering if Denali might just be beginning….

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Today was a long seven hour hike from 14,200 to the 17,000 camp. I’ve been chronicling this team’s climbs now for two years and I have rarely heard such gushing (as much as is possible at 17,000 ft) about the amazing views. Dazzling 1,000 ft drops and the Alaksa sun make for some gorgeous vistas. I am looking forward to seeing pictures.

The team sounded strong, healthy and enthusiastic. Joel Gratz, the team meterologist, has been on standby providing accurate forecasting about every twelve hours. This time his news was great. If the weather holds and the team is feeling strong, there will be a summit attempt made tomorrow (Weds) between about 830 and 1130 Alaska time. And if the team would like to rest up a bit and acclimate after today’s long hike, the good news is that the weather window should last until Thursday. So…buckle up everyone! It looks like summit will either be tomorrow or Thursday. Stay tuned!

Check out today’s three SPOT updates-  1, 2 and 3. Download the Google Earth plug-in (the “Earth” option in the left corner of the map) for some insanely cool views. It is the best way to track their progress. (Clicking on “Terrain” after you download the plug-in will help orient you to the location of the summit of McKinley.)

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