Dupre left Burwash Landing today at 11 am, flying into the St-Elias Mountains to the base, south of Mount Lucania (5226m / 17,146ft).
After waiting out a 5-day storm in town that dumped over 1.5m of snow, today, with partly sunny skies and mild winds, the team will start their trek. Kluane’s National Park and Reserve mountain forecasts are showing a decent weather window on the horizon - it was worth the wait.
Photo: Dupre enjoying clear weather, calm winds and -15C before take-off. Shot by teammate Marceau.
Landing on the Dennis glacier in winter’s low light and unstable weather is no easy task. In order to land, it has to be calm and clear to take advantage of the small window of sun needed to provide depth of field on the surface of the glacier.
Rocking Star Adventures pilot John Ostashek flew Dupre in first. The little Super Cub, a fabric plane where the passenger sits in tandem behind the pilot, could only accommodate one of the mountaineers at a time – two flights in are required to bring in the duo and their gear.
Photo: Marceau, Dupre, and pilot John in Burwash Landing, YT. Shot by Michael Schmidt, Co-chair of Expedition Program for Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Marceau will be second to take off. “There was no doubt that Lonnie gets to go first – he could be stuck out there waiting for a week if our weather window doesn’t hold. He’ll have the place all set up and warm for me when I arrive – wink.”
Dupre will set up base camp, store the base camp food and fuel stash, and await Marceau’s arrival.
A special shout out to their sponsors, each playing a unique part in keeping Dupre & Marceau alive and well on the mountain.
Lead Sponsor - PrimaLoft
Major Sponsors - Granite Gear, Mountain Hardwear and Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Support Sponsors - SPOT, Globalstar, Hilleberg the Tentmaker and Midwest Mountaineering