Berg

Hear Wally's Call from Denali

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It is clear that we need to try to get down, if we can. It looks to me like we can. Our expedition team up here, with 21 days of food, full resolve to try to get up this mountain, if it was our time. And I think the statement's pretty clear this morning that we should get out of here. Vern Tejas, Willie Prittie, and myself, and an Alpine Ascents group spent eight days at this camp in 1994 not able to move an inch...[Unintelligible].

Whiteout

Not very good visibility, but we'll be fine heading down, I'm sure. Hit 14, probably call it a camp there, and collect ourselves, and just be thankful we're able to get down this mountain. Maybe we won't get past the 16 camp, but I bet we will. I'll try to keep you posted on that.

Japanese fellow, I called him Korean yesterday, but he's actually quite fine--Jamie and others tended him well last night. He came up on sort of a solo jaunt from the 14,000ft camp, fell, as I said, had some very minor frostbite, and he is in actually quite good shape today. He doesn't speak much English. The only two words that he seems to be able to say are "rescue" and "helicopter," in sort of a questioning manor. But actually, the fellow [chuckle] is just fine. He doesn't need anything like that. He's in a warm tent now and will be able to get down, I'm sure, at some point. He has only some very, very minor frostbite. We'll have to take him with us and make sure he's hooked up with another group. We'll communicate with the park service to see what, what, they are thinking, as well, before we head down this morning.

Don't know much about Bob Elias [Unintelligible]...I assume he made his summit attempt solo a few days ago, and walked past our snow cave at 16.5, when we were holed up there, on his descent. Maybe when we get back to 14, we'll...[Unintelligible]...

Okay Mountain Zone, thanks for everything we'll continue to keep you posted. If this phone gets handed off to Vern today, he'll fil you in...[transmission fails].

— Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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