July 9, 2007

The climbers are all back safe and sound. The weather station is now transmitting temperature and air pressure but no wind speed because they were unable to save the tripod that had busted off of the rock last year. Tohru thinks that heavy icing and strong wind pulled the tripod over so far that the cables broke. When they found it, it was leaning with only one leg attached. They did their best to remedy the situation and attach the new sensors to the rocks. The old data logger has been sent to Climatec in Japan so any data can be downloaded and sent over to reconstruct what happened.

The climber who was taken down the mountain has recovered well. He was with the group that made it to the summit, so everyone is happy.

Stay tuned to the McKinley Weather Station website for more details.

July 3, 2007 – 11pm

Tohru called and said that it took them 16 hours to get from Medical Camp back to Landing Point due to bad weather conditions and very icy snow. He said that it was like ice skating down the mountain and they had to snow plow the whole way. But, everyone is safe and they were hoping that the weather would open up so they could catch a flight back to Talkeetna this morning. The weather in Talkeetna is not great, so they may have to wait until conditions improve. They have not heard anything more regarding the condition or whereabouts of the climber who was flown out, so they are eager to get news of that.
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悪天候と、氷のような雪面のため、Medical Campから離着陸地点まで、16時間かかった。まるで、山をアイススケートして下りているようであり、全工程雪の中、道を開きながら進まなければならなかった。しかし、みな無事で、天気さえ晴れれば今朝にでもタルキートナへ帰るセスナに乗れることを願っている。タルキートナの天候はあまりよくないので、メンバーは状況がよくなるまで待たなければならないかもしれない。高山病で下りたメンバーについての症状やどこにいるか、などの情報をなにも得ていないので、どうにか情報収集にかかりたい、とのこと。

July 2, 2007 – 11:20 am

Tohru called from Medical Camp, everyone is safe after an arduous trip from High Camp to Medical Camp due to the white out conditions and no break in the wind. They will try to move down to landing point later today. One climber had to be flown out to Talkeetna due to high altitude sickness and pulmonary edema – he is alright and recovering well – his condition was never extreme but they flew him out early as a precaution.
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Medical Campからの連絡。ホワイトアウト、でしかも、風は休みなく吹き続ける厳しい条件であったが、皆無事にHigh CampからMedical Campへと下りてきた。今日遅くに、離着陸地点まで下りる予定である。メンバーの一人は、高山病と肺水腫のため、Talkeetnaまで(ヘリコプターで)運ばれなくてはならなかった。彼は無事で、回復してきているおり、決して極端な状態ではないが、大事を取ってTalkeetnaへ早めに送った。

June 30, 2007

Tohru called about 11:00AM this morning. He and the other climbers are back at high camp and ready to head down to medical camp. It seems that while Tohru and Yoshi were busy repairing the weather station, the rest of the climbers who went to the summit had quite an adventure…

Bad weather closed in on the summit party while they were descending from the summit. They were in whiteout conditions, and could not move up or down the mountain. The climbers were stranded above Denali pass for almost 24 hours. Finally, the weather cleared and they made it back to high camp. Everyone is fine, and the weather seems a bit better today, so going to medical camp should be no problem. They will probably rest at medical camp before descending the rest of the way to the Kahiltna landing point.

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今朝午前11時に連絡が入る。全てのメンバーがHigh Campまで戻っており、Medical Campへ下りる準備が整った。TohruとYoshiがWeather stationの修復をしている間、どうやら頂上を目指した他のメンバーは、随分と冒険をしたようだ・・・

頂上を目指したメンバーは、悪天候のため頂上からの下山途中に足止めをくった。ホワイトアウトの状況で、上にも下にも動くことが出来なかった。メンバーは、Denali passの上で、ほぼ24時間取り残され、ようやく天候が回復してHigh Campに戻ってくることができた。皆元気にしており、今日の天気も少しはよくなっているので、Medical Campまで下りるのには問題がないだろう、とのこと。メンバーはKahiltna離着陸地点まで行く前に、Medical Campで休息する予定である。

June 29, 2007

The climbers have reached the weather station at 4:00PM this afternoon. They found that the weather station was completely collapsed. Yoshi and Tohru were able to install the temperature sensors and pressure sensor, but not the the wind sensors. Amazingly, they were able to install the telemetry system, and we are getting good data.

The temperatures are quite cold today – about -18degC.

It is too late for Tohru and Yoshi will try for the summit this year, so they are heading back to high camp, but other members of the team are continuing up to the summit.

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チームは今日の午後4時頃Weather stationに到着した。Weather stationは完全に崩壊されていた。YoshiとTohruは温度計と圧力計を取り付けることができたが、風速計は取り付けられなかった。驚くことに、彼らは遠隔測定システムを導入することに成功し、大学で山からの送信を受け取っている。

今日の気温はとても寒く、約マイナス18度。TohruとYoshiにとって、今年は頂上を目指すには時間が遅くなったため、High Campへ戻っている。

Thursday, June 28, 2007 – 10:54 am

The climbers made it to High Camp last night at around 8pm. After setting up camp and cooking dinner it was nearly midnight. This morning they are taking it easy and have not decided yet whether they will attempt getting to the weather station this afternoon because the winds are still very strong up above High Camp. Temperature this morning was -10degC with a cold wind blowing off the mountain but inside the tent, it is above freezing.
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チームは昨夜8時頃にHigh Campに到着した。キャンプを設営し、夕食を作り終えた時には夜中の12時頃になっていた。今朝はゆっくりと過ごしており、High Campより上は強風のため、今の時点でWeather stationを目指すかどうかは決定していない。今朝の気温は摂氏マイナス10度で、寒風が山から吹き降ろしているそうだが、テントの中は氷点下以上ある、とのこと。

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 – 3:08pm

Tohru called from the bottom of Headwall to report that the group had a successful day yesterday securing their cache up at High Camp and return back down to Medical Camp. They are on their way back to High Camp under clear skies. There are still high winds above High Camp but they are hoping these will calm some by tomorrow, as they hope to climb to the weather station and the summit. Right now the winds are too strong for working on the weather station. Everyone is doing well and are excited to be nearing the top of their journey.

They saw one raven fly overhead this afternoon and an avalanche had come down over part of the trail, but no climbing groups were caught nearby. High Camp is relatively quiet today, as many groups who had been waiting out the bad weather have started moving up or down the mountain.
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Headwallの下より連絡。昨日、チームはHigh Campへ登ってキャッシュを無事に終え、予定通りMedical Campへ戻って来た。今、快晴の下、再びHigh Campへ向かっている途中である。High Campの上は未だ風が強いが、チームは、明日までにいくらか風がおさまってWeather Stationと頂上を目指せることを望んでいる。今現在の風は、Weather Stationに取り組むには強すぎるとのこと。皆、調子はよく、頂上に近づいていることに興奮している。

チームは、今日の午後、上空を飛んでいる一羽のワタリガラスを見た。また、トレイルの一部にかかっておきて来た雪崩も見た。幸い、雪崩の近くには誰もいなかった。天候のために待機していた多くのグループが上、あるいは下に動き始めたため、今日のHigh Campは比較的静かである。

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:48pm

Tohru called from the top of Head Wall this afternoon. The group is doing a carry up of equipment and food from Medical Camp (14,000ft) to High Camp (17,200ft) today. They left Medical Camp at around 9:20 am and are hoping to arrive by 5pm this afternoon. After making a cache, they will return to Medical Camp for the night. There are around 100 climbers at Medical Camp who are either on their way up or down the mountain and everyone is happy to be moving again. The skies are clear and the wind has diminished, although it is still somewhat strong on the ridge they were calling from. They tested cellular phone service from this location and were able to get ACS service – CellOne was not working.
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今日の午後、Head Wallの上からの連絡。チームは今日、Medical Camp(4267m)からHigh Camp(5242m)へ機材と食料の荷揚げを行っている。チームはMedical Campを午前9時20分ころ出発した。キャッシュを済ませ、午後5時までにはMedical Campへ戻って今晩泊まる予定。Medical Campでは、約100人のこれから更に上を目指すもの、または下山途中の登山者がいる。みな、再び動きが取れることを喜んでいる。チームが連絡をくれた場所はまだ風が強いそうだが、空は快晴で、風もおさまってきている、とのこと。携帯電話の使用をテストしたところ、ACSは通じたが、Cellular Oneの携帯は通じなかったそうだ。

Monday, June 25, 2007 3:00pm

Tohru called to say that this afternoon the weather seems to be changing and, although it is still windy up above Medical Camp and snowy in the morning, they were able to get out and do some skiing and go to the “Edge of the World”, about 1/2 mile East of Medical Camp. The Edge of the World is a cliff that drops thousands of feet and from which on a sunny day, the view is endless. The temperature at Medical Camp is a warm 14degC in the patchy sun. They are hopeful that on Tuesday, they will be able to do a carry up to High Camp. Some of the group are doing ski runs to occupy the time and keep in shape.
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Medical Campの上は以前風が強く、今朝は雪が降ったが、天候は午後になって変わってきている模様。チームは、外に出て、スキーを楽しみ、“Edge of the World (世界の端)と呼ばれる、Medical Campから約800メートル東にある離れた場所まで行くことが出来た。Edge of the Worldは、数百メートルもある崖のへりで、晴れた日にはそこから果てしない景色を臨める場所である。Medical Campは、ところどころ晴れ間があり、気温は摂氏14度と暖かい。チームは、火曜日にはHigh Campへの荷揚げが出来るようにと、望んでいる。メンバーの中には、スキーをして体調を整えているものもいる。

Sunday, June 24, 2007 – 4:25pm

Climbers are staying at Medical Camp while the white out and stron wind conditions at High Camp continue over the weekend. Other climbing groups are not going up the mountain either and only one group has come down. Spirits are high and everyone is doing fine – those who where having altitude sickness have had a chance to acclimatize. With the kitchen tent completed, the group has time to socialize and even play some cards.
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引き続くハイキャンプでのホワイトアウトと急風のため、チームは週末にかけてMedical Campに待機している。他の登山グループも上を目指すものはなく、たった一グループだけが下山してきたとのこと。高山病を感じていたメンバーも高度順応をすることができ、皆元気で、調子がよい。完成したキッチンテントで、メンバーは交流を深め、トランプゲームを楽しむ余裕もあるとのこと。