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Recent AdventuresLaurie guided Peak Lennon in Kyrgyzstan July 25th-August 19th, 2009. Laurie said, "This peak is 23,000 feet and not super well known which I find appealing." Laurie will be returning to Mt. Everest in April for a trek to Everest base camp on the south side in Nepal. She'll leave April 3rd, 2009 and return the 22nd. You can read about Laurie's journey at Explore Your Planet. Laurie's returned from her adventure to Africa with a couple of photos. Below you can read her trip updates as they came in. August 9th, 2008: Safari! Our group went on an amazing 5 day safari seeing everything from elephants to lions (in a large tree no less) giraffe, cheetah/cub, hippos and giraffe. It was amazing to see all these animals up close and personal. We are all returning today and tomorrow. Tanzania is an amazing country!!! August 3rd, 2008: Community giving On August 3d the group distributed school supplies provided by Theresa Daus Webber's mother, Thelma, at the Tukuhaki orphanage as well as gum and chap stick provided by Martin and his staff (Prince Williams County, Va.). The 26 children were amazing - so polite and grateful to have things to draw and color with!!! August 1st, 2008: Reached the summit! A successful climb by all with 5 summits and 2 personal goals accomplished. Weather was good, a little windy and cold but clear. What a beautiful mountain. We all made it down to the lowest camp later on the 1st. Next, the group will be moving on for an African safari. July 31st, 2008: headed to high camp. The group is moving well and headed to high camp. Everyone appears to be healthy. Our summit bid will be tonight around 12:30. Wish us well. Everyone is doing fine, tired but fine. July 27th, 2008: Heading for Mount Kilimanjaro. - Laurie Bagley, a Melika sponsored athlete, is guiding a group of climbers on Mount Kilimanjaro. Laurie reported that she has met with her group of climbers, and gone through pre-trip preparations. On July 27th they left for the approach to the mountain, Africa's highest, and also the highest free standing mountain in the world. Kili is one of the seven summits. The trip to the summit and back to base camp will take about 8 days. Afterward the group will enjoy an African safari, viewing animals from Landrovers at three different game parks. Laurie guided a trip up Alaska's Denali (Mt. McKinley) in 2007. Below you can read her trip updates as they came in: Laurie called on June 28th from 11,000 feet on Alaska's Mt. McKinely, also known as Denali. She and her team of fellow guides and clients left base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier at 8pm three days earlier when there was a break in the weather. Weather and winds had trapped many groups, both those intent on climbing and those waiting for a flight out, for five days. Laurie's group climbed through the night until 4 am, negotiating some of the worst crevasses the mountain has seen in 15 years. She said that they passed through the obstacles safely, although a team in front of them had a climber fall into a crevasse. There have been many crevasse falls this year, Laurie said, making the success rate this year around 47 percent. On day two the group did a double carry to camp 2 at Kahiltna Pass (10,000') as they worked to acclimatize. Teams climbing Denali, which is the tallest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet, depart from Talkeetna, which is near sea level. This makes acclimatizing to the elevation a challenge, as the flight in to base camp takes climbers to 7,200 feet. Day three required a single carry, meaning one climb with heavier packs, to camp 3 at 11,000 feet. Laurie will call again from 14,000, which can be accomplished in a single day, so we should hear from her soon. 3 July update: Laurie called on Tuesday, July 3rd from 14,000 feet after a day of bad weather on Sunday that forced climbers to hunker down and wait. The team shuttled gear to a camp at 16,000 feet on Monday and are hoping to push to high camp on Wednesday so they can make the summit attempt on the 5th of July. Laurie has been in good spirits when she's called in, and aside from being cold, it sounds like things are going well. 5 July update: Laurie and crew have been pinned at their camp at 14,000 feet by a heavy storm since her call on July 3rd. She said yesterday the temperature hit -5 degrees. They don't know how long they'll be forced to stay in camp due to the storm, and presently the avalance danger is high. Laurie said they can hear the avalanches up above them at the rate of about one per hour, though none have come into camp yet. Laurie will call next when they are able to climb again. To get a sense for the climb, check out this trip report from an Alpine Ascents 1998 expedition. |