Get 'er Done - Day 15 - Friday, July 3rd - Coming Home.

Spoke w/ Todd via cell phone from Talkeetna, Alaska at 1PM – Denver.

Day 15 – Friday, July 3rd – After retrieving their cache and a short rest the team left 11,000 ft. about 2AM - Denali time.  With the lower temperatures on the higher mountain Dave said it was 'HOT' at 11,000.  Traveling in the early hours this morning  snow conditions on the lower Kahiltna Glacier were firm.  The recent volcanic activity from the Redoubt Volcano on the Alaskan, Cook Inlet has deposited a layer of ash on the lower Kahiltna Glacier resulting in an unlevel undulating surface which made pulling the sleds a bit more difficult.  As the team climbed the final Heart Break Hill into Base Camp at 7,200 ft they were filmed by an NBC affiliate from Anchorage and Todd was then interviewed – very cool.  Shortly after arriving at Base Camp the entire team and gear were able to load onto a TAT plane and fly back to Talkeetna. 

After retrieving their bags from storage at TAT, a shower [which has got to feel pretty good after 15 days] they will likely have a huge meal, organize gear and arrange for transportation back to Anchorage and..... hopefully catch the midnight Alaska Airlines flight back to Denver. 

**On any expedition the most important thing is to come home safe.  It’s also a goal of every expedition for all to come home friends.  “We entered the mountains as strangers, but we left as brothers………..”

“When men climb on a great mountain together, the rope between them is more than a mere physical aid to the ascent; it is a symbol of the spirit of the enterprise. It is a symbol of men banded together in a common effort of will and strength – not against this or that imagined foeman of the instant, but against their only true enemies:  inertia, cowardice, greed, ignorance, and all weaknesses of the spirit.”  - The Savage Mountain - k2 by Charles Houston & Robert Bates

That’s it folks – thanks for your interest, comments and support - what an adventure!  The timing, the weather and climb to the summit by Todd, Dave & Fred – Team Get ‘er Done is just about as good as it gets on Denali!!  Vern Bass [As for me 'Wait until next summer – Denali here I come']

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