Photo: Basecamp Pick Up - by John Walter Whittier Today was the day. We met Lonnie with big hugs, high fives and lots of cheers upon our landing at basecamp. With high energy and excitement we tried to take in the beautiful day and dramatic atmosphere Denali granted us. Dupre enjoyed a fresh Talkeetna Roadhouse salad, macaroons from Hear in America and a Denali Brewery IPA on the plane ride back. Before Lonnie was allowed to thaw too much, he showered, shaved and finally got to change into some fresh clothes after twenty-nine days on Denali. The coming days will be mostly relaxing by the fireside, mulled wine and plenty of story sharing. Stay tuned as we update with photo and video from the

Photo: Dupre Basecamp Arrival - by John Walter Whittier Lonnie Dupre called in around noon to Talkeetna with a weather report coming around Heartbreak Hill on Denali. Two planes, an otter and beaver, loaded up and took off in hopes of returning with Lonnie. From the town of Talkeetna to the range, into Denali the weather changed rapidly. Both planes kept on with hopes of making it to basecamp, but were both unable to land on the Kahiltna glacier(basecamp) due to extreme winds. We did however get the 'ski pole' wave from Lonnie just arriving at basecamp during the flyovers. His plan is to feast on the mass of suplies he had buried at basecamp from his initial departure. Weather permitting we

Photo: Lonnie's Ladder Denali 2012 - by Lonnie Dupre Lonnie called later in the evening last night at 11,200ft. Sounding more positive than ever, his plan was to camp that evening and continue travelling today as the weather allows. Dupre could arrive at basecamp as early as today, giving us a potential to pick him up either today or tomorrow. Stay updated here or our facebook as we receive more information.

Dupre called today at 15:57(CST) via his satellite phone at 14,200ft. He started his ascent from 17.2K to the summit at 5am Alaska time, arriving at 20,320ft(Summit) 2pm and arriving back at 17.2K at 5:15pm. For the summit, Lonnie Dupre travelled light. He packed four liters of water, one chocolate bar, one and half packages of shot blocks energy bar and one ice axe. He left this morning from 17.2K camp at 3:30am with only hours of sleep. He made his way down the West Buttress Ridge in the dark, descending all the way to 14.2K camp. Dupre packed his cache at 14.2k and is now on his way to 11.2k for the evening. We should be recieving more information from Lonnie this evening. Another big tha

January 11, 2015 Talkeetna, Alaska Photo: Lonnie Dupre Descending Denali (approx 18,000ft) with Headlamp by John Walter Whittier Contact: Stevie Plummer, 503-871-3387 or LonnieDupre@gmail.com Solo Climber Reaches Elusive Winter Summit Arctic explorer and climber Lonnie Dupre became the first to summit Denali aka Mount McKinley in January – alone. 25 days ago on 12/18/14 Dupre flew to basecamp. With winter winds regularly exceeding 100 miles per hour, temperatures dropping below -60º F, and just six hours of sunlight each day, January is a formidable time on Denali, whose elevation of 20,320 feet makes it North America’s highest mountain. Dupre reached the summit at 17:04(Central) on Janua

Photo: Denali Summit - Lonnie Dupre Spot GPS Signal Today at 5:08 central time Lonnie Dupre reached the summit of Denali. We recieved another spot just moments ago back down at high camp, 17.2K. Stay posted as we recieve more information from the mountain.

Communications from the mountain came through just thirty minutes ago from Lonnie. He sent a Spot signal that all is okay and current location at high camp, 17,200ft. Just eight hours from the summit. Weather is looking good through Monday possibly giving Lonnie the chance to summit either Sunday or Monday. Stay posted via our facebook or here for Lonnie's update as we recieve information from the mountain.

Photo: Chuck Berray Lonnie is holding out at 14,200ft camp today unless the snow and wind subside long enough for him to make it up the fixed lines back up to 16,000ft and weather dependent, high camp at 17,200ft. He called and left a detailed satellite phone message about the difficulties on Denali solo.

Lonnie called late yesterday evening after a long day of taxiing gear up to 16k. He started another EPIC day on Denali early in the AM with a few EPIC bars, oatmeal and hot tea for breakfast at 14.2K. From his current camp(14,200ft) he heads up the fixed lines at the base of the headwall. He then carried his gear up to 16,000ft burying a cache the he will pick up on his way to high camp, 17,200ft. Today Lonnie plans to take a rest day and study weather patterns for when he will make the next big push on Denali heading up to 17.2K camp from where he is now, back at 14.2K.

Dupre plans on taking a load of gear up to 15,000ft today on Denali. A steady progress towards summit, he plans to taxi gear to 15k and return this evening back to 14k to camp. With a few days left of great weather, he'll use it to deposit caches, acclimate and rest all to get in position to make a push for summit when the weather will allow. Photo: North Pole - Lonnie Dupre

Photo: 14K Lonnie Dupre Today is an organize gear and rest day for Lonnie after trekking well after sundown yesterday in more deep snow. He'll organize gear, store up on energy and make plans depending on weather for the next couple of days.

Lonnie sent a Spot beacon signal at 13,600ft where he made camp for the evening yesterday. He spent the day hauling 160lbs of gear around the crevasses of windy corner up to 13.6k arriving at around 5pm Alaska time. With plenty of energy left, he pitched his Hilleberg tent, made a dinner of bacon mac and cheese and treated himself with a little duck fat hot chocolate. Today he plans to travel to 14k camp where he'll build a 'delux' snow cave to travel to and from for the next few days taxiing gear up to 16k.

Photo: Windy Corner Monovita Yesterday Lonnie was able to carry his first load of gear up to 12,800ft all with great weather, low winds and plenty of mountain sun. With high spirits he plans to move today with all gear up to 13,500ft. Below are two audio updates due to the rough satellite connection where he is currently located at 11.2K.

January 2, 2015 Last night Dupre enjoyed his first dinner in 5 days. He spent over two hours hunting for his cache at 10k due to heavy fog. After finding it Lonnie downed a couple of Epic bars, loaded up the sled and headed back to his tent at 11.2k for a full meal and warm rest. With temperatures well above average for this time of year, Lonnie struggled to keep dry with freezing rain and wet snow. For the first time in history, a robin was spotted just days ago in in Bethel, Alaska, in the dead of winter. Read more on that story here. Today Lonnie is using the calm winds and sunny Alaska weather to continue his journey up. He's planning on dropping gear while acclimating up to 12k and head

A clearing in the weather arrived with the new year for Lonnie. He called from his camp at 11.2k after retrieving his food, fuel and supplies below his current camp. He's now spending the rest of the day 'doing chores' at 11.2k in preparation to continue his way upward tomorrow. With high spirits, a full belly and 5 days of rest he's ready to put the next several days of sunny weather to use. Upward! Photo: Monovita