He wept, he praised, he prayed, he screamed, he high-fived, at 20,320 feet above sea level when Jim Perkins of Corvallis reached the top of Denali (aka Mt. McKinley), Alaska on June 11, 2009.
His emotions were off the chart as he knelt in prayer, humbly praising God and thanking Him.
"Denali was certainly both one of the most challenging events and greatest blessings of my life," Perkins said. "It was definitely worth it. I don't ever want to do it again but it was the experience of a life time. It was hard."
Starting off with nice sunny weather was good, but the rest of the trip held every type of weather. The second day, 7,200 feet, was a blizzard sloppy and wet - a white out. "Like being inside of a ping pong ball," Perkins said.
Perkins' group started with seven men, one a guide "Well worth his $6,000", Perkins said. But, two men turned back for different reasons. Their now five-man group plodded upward. "You're in your rhythm: step, rest, step, rest. Slow and steady. We were the "old guys". A couple of other groups passed us up but we ended up on top first."
Denali is a mountain of extremes - freezing then baking - but also never getting dark.
"I was surprised at how warm you can get in the day and then every night it is cold. You dress in layers. You sleep with stuff so it doesn't freeze: your water, batteries, clothes, smelly socks, everything in a mummy bag - which doesn't have much room to start with. Every thing feels slimy. Then add 3 men to a 2 ½ man tent - with no showers for 17 days," said Perkins. "You have to want it."
Perkins said the mental attitude is the determining factor. He focused on the route home as being a loop - "I kept thinking I want to go home and the route to home - for me to get to my ultimate end - includes the summit." Another man's vision was "three more tough days, two more tough days, only one more tough day." A third's thoughts were "either you're a winner or a failure. Failing is not an option."
Healthy hiking, mentally, has a balance between not caring and caring too much. Poor decisions can result in either extreme. Every night they played a trivia quiz game to keep focused: "QU: In what country does Dominoes serve reindeer pizza? A: Iceland." They also discussed the weather forecast for the next day "which was never right," said Perkins.
14,200 feet up is called the party camp. It is the place for regrouping and organizing. Due to weather they stayed there five nights. It gave them time to adjust to the altitude. Then they carried much of their equipment and food up to 17k and cache it then came back down and slept. It is a way to plan ahead for bad weather and having time to adjust.
They spent time cutting snow blocks to make a "posh" shelter and places to sit - out of the wind. They ate dehydrated food and water. Most of their fuel was used melting water. "We craved meat, blue cheese, grease - like fries and onion rings. I can understand why Lewis and Clark ate their tallow candles."
After 14,200 is "The Head Wall" where you increase altitude 2000 feet in one mile. "Once you get on the fixed-line rope you're committed." Their five man rope team was 70 feet apart from each other allowing reaction time if one of them fell. Their team leader and guide Tim Hewett kept them going. "We would climb for 50 minutes then stop and take a 10 minute break," said Perkins. "If one of us needed to catch our breath we'd yell out "ZERO" and every one would stop for a minute. But you didn't want to be the slow one everyone waited for."
"We did the head wall two times up and back. It was my nemesis section. Step. Move. The snow is deep; we're on a fixed line using a prussic knot. I would think ‘maybe this isn't worth it, but then I'd stop that thought with "what you need to do is keep rhythm. Focus!"
The prayers of family and friend at home "were huge and appreciated."
"I had as my [Bible] verse Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." That was my focus. Not to be afraid. I was a little intimidated and a lot out of my element," said Perkins.
At 17,000 feet the oxygen is thin. It is hard to breath, easier if you have increased elevation slowly - acclimated. "At 17k I did wake up in the middle of the night trying to catch my breath - having an underwater dream. I had to wake my self saying ‘I'm okay. I'm above ground - there's just no air here'."
"Also, nothing heals at 17K - a split in your lip or finger that's the way it stays."
There were climbing terms - slang:
Bomb proof - fastening everything down so it stays.
Nukin' - extreme blowing wind
Gnar - want to avoid that situation
Blue Bird Conditions - weather everyone hopes for - blue skies and calm.
They hit the high point and stayed for a half hour.
"17 grueling days of work for a half hour on the summit but it was amazing. It was a real blessing. It makes it easy to believe in creation - how the Lord laid it all out. It's so big, so big."
While they were on top the weather was perfect, but 1-2 hours later the heavy winds started a "spin drift" - blowing snow.
Perkins calls his group "Denali Brothers" with a closer kinship - bonded. There was an international flavor to the mountain: hikers from Germany, France, Poland, etc. with everyone having their own story.
"When we got to the bottom and back to town what hit me were smells. Other than tent mates, and food cooking there is just snow which doesn't smell. I was sucking in smells of cut grass, perfume, dust, wood, it was all so wonderful. I was appreciative of a chair to sit in - just something firm that wasn't going to slide off or blow away."
When they arrived back in the base town they got the news that two guys died on the mountain - two unguided men on a different route. Bringing the total deaths to 100 since men began climbing Denali.
Perkins came home 15 pounds lighter but deeply humble and rich in spirit.
"It is a very humbling thing. It was more than a conquest and victory. I was humbled that I was allowed to reach the top. Here's the romantic part," said Jim. "On the peak I loaded some snow into a Ziploc baggie. I brought that snow home and froze it into a snow ring of ice - and at the victory party I asked my wife to marry me all over again. She said yes."
Perkins will make a presentation of his hike Sunday June 28, 6:30 pm at Corvallis Community Church, 310 Second St., Corvallis.
He does have a couple more hikes planned for this summer and hopes to take Wyoming's high point with his friend and hiking mentor Mario Locatelli.
- Michelle McConnaha reporting for kpax.com
(from June 11, 2009)
Bitterroot hiker Jim Perkins reached the summit of Mt. McKinley (aka Denali) at 20,320 feet.
"Join me in rejoicing that Jim made it to the top safely," said Peggy Perkins - Jim's wife. "Please continue to pray for his descent. Thank you to all that have joined with me in prayer on this!"
The guide for the trip Tim Hewette called the guide school from the summit and reported that they were on the top at 6:00 p.m. His report included the details that it was rather windy in the morning, but that fleece glove liners were enough to keep their hands warm.
"It was an awesome summit day, and judging by the webcam it looks like they are going to have great weather for their descent too," said the blog spot master.
See photos and a great video at:http://alaskamountaineeringschool.blogspot.com/
It is just as long a trip down as it was going up, so it will be quite a while before they are back.
Look for a full report upon Perkins' return to the Bitterroot Valley which may be as soon as June 15th.
- Michelle McConnaha reporting for kpax.com
After spending many days at a stand still due to snowy and windy weather, the climbers on Denali (Mt. McKinley) are climbing again. Bitterroot resident Jim Perkins is still moving up.
"Jim's team is at 17.2K and they are poised to summit on either Tuesday or Wednesday, God and weather willing!!" said Peggy Perkins, Jim's wife. "I'm so excited for him!"
The weather forecast on Mount McKinley by the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, Alaska calls for wind above 17,000 feet to the summit at 35 to 40 mph with temperatures of zero to five above. Wednesday calls for a chance of snow.
In these climbs "no news is good news" and although no one has heard directly from Jim Perkins, the most recent posting on the blog spot says "Tim Hewette's group (the one with Jim Perkins) is at High camp and it is still an awesome day. Heard that through the grape vine."
You can follow Jim Perkins' climb by going to http://alaskamountaineeringschool.blogspot.com and looking for the group led by Tim Hewette.
- Michelle McConnaha reporting for kpax.com
(from June 1, 2009)
He's going up! And up and up! Jim Perkins has embarked on his great adventure to Mt. McKinley aka Denali - the highest point in North America.
His goal is to summit the peak at 20,320 ft.
"Denali's going to be cold - there's just no way around that," said Perkins in an interview before he left. "But I have better equipment, I'm in great shape, I've trained."
On May 20th, with all his hiking gear spread out across the floor, Jim Perkins contemplated the challenge ahead. It is a physical as well as a mental challenge.
He is taking some sentimental mementos from family and friends - an alpaca wool cap from his step-dad, a sweater from his father-in-law, bandana with sentiments penned on from wife and dad, his Bible, some gospel beads and tiny wooden chain carved by spiritual mentor Bob Smyth.
"Prayer is really important because you just have no control of the weather," said Perkins. "On Mt. McKinley the weather is in layers. A layer of sun, then up higher could be a blizzard, then sun again. This time of year is perfect because it's light - it's either dusk or day. We start hiking at 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. Snow is constant -it's everywhere all the time. So sunburn is a big factor - snow reflects the sun up. People burn the roofs of their mouths and the inside of their nostrils.So, hike with your mouth closed. I'm taking two tubes of SPF 70 and buying a nose guard."
This all started in 2004 when the oldest of their three daughters graduated from high school and "[my wife] Peggy saw that I needed to get a hobby," said Perkins. There was an article in the paper about Mario Locatelli, also a Bitterroot resident, being the oldest guy on Denali. Perkins thought was "if he can do it, I can. Mario, was my initial inspiration" he said.
Jim Perkins set his goal to reach the "high point of every state. The "high point" of each state has to be natural not man made.
The hiking started in Missouri when Perkins took his daughter to college. The high point was two hours from St. Louis, MO. It was only a 900 foot increase of elevation on a maintained handicapped accessible trail. "I thought ‘Oh, I can do this.'"
Some high points are marked with a monument, others just a peg in the ground but they all have a registry. "In a sense it's like geo-cashing only you do a registry at the peak of each hike."
After Missouri was Iowa. "We toured the Blue Bunny Ice-cream factory then popped over to the high point that was in the cornfield next door," he said.
Perkins said Delaware is the most dangerous because it is on a street corner and people back up to take a picture and step into traffic. Rhode Island used to be the most dangerous because the guy used to shoot people who came on his land, but the new owner is really nice, he added.
Florida's high point is 345 feet.
"I was going for a record when I did eight state high points in 24 hours. West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 8:05 - 7:45," said Perkins. "But it wasn't the record, someone beat me."
The closest high point to the Bitterroot Valley is Mt. Borah in Idaho. "That climb changed my life. I was shaking, every muscle hurt, I was crying like a baby - I couldn't make it. I decided ‘I'm going to have to be in totally different shape to do this.'"
That's when he started working out and putting in the effort to get into shape.
He added the goal of reaching the high point in all of Montana's 56 counties. He's done 54 and has two more to go: Castle Peak and Mt. Douglas, both in the Bear Tooth Mountain Range. "I'll do those this summer."
"Mount Hood was my first time with ice axe, crampons, everything," he said. He hiked with experienced hikers - experts at Mt. Hood. "I didn't tell [my wife, Peggy] I was doing it until I was done - then I called her".
Mt. Albert, Mt. Whitney, Mt. Rainier - each take about 27 hours. Perkins hiked Granite Peak, Montana with Joe Josephson, a hiking expert/book writer, August 18 and August 19, 2007.
"When you get to the top, you're often exhausted, the wind is howling, your are shaking, it's cold - maybe the pen doesn't work (Jim pack's his own now). It's not always glamorous."
But sometimes hiking defines who you are.
"Coming down Electric Peak it was so beautiful. I was yelling out to God ‘This is who I am.' I was running down soft grass - like tundra with no rocks. There were flowers and in beautiful Yellowstone Park - it was just the best feeling in the world," said Perkins.
One thing about hiking - there is lots of time to think.
"What do I think about? Breathing. Praying. Singing. Hopefully [on the Denali hike] I'll be encouraging team mates. I'll pray for good weather, live clean on the mountain and pray we go in and out and no one gets hurt.
"Altitude is a variable. There is no way to train for altitude - but altitude.There are so many factors. You can get High Altitude Sickness, acute mountaineering sickness, and the cure for High Altitude Sickness is low altitude, which totally ruins your itinerary.
It's a discipline. Show and steady. Cash up and sleep low. Up and down to adjust to altitude. it's a regimental routine.
Body maintenance is crucial. Not sweating is important. "Sweating is death. You've got to layer on and off all the time."
Factors include the weather it's going to be cold and constantly windy; team mates, training, mental attitude, God.
The cycle of energy to exhaustion is like a sine wave. It goes up and down. So training is aerobic to get the heart rate up and get the endurance.
"Two or three months ago I was full of fear and doubt. I was scared about this climb but now I am so ready. If I don't have it now I'll never get it. I am ready to start. Let's go."
Jim's wife Peggy says she will be praying and "thinking warm thoughts. I'm looking for the celebration on the other side. I appreciate beyond measure all your prayers for Jim during this time! It will be quite the accomplishment and I am extremely proud of him."
Jim Perkins' group began their climb May 26th. He is hiking with Alaska Mountaineering School / Guide Service in two teams of three climbers.
See www.climbalaska.org for the details. You can follow Jim Perkins' climb by going to http://alaskamountaineeringschool.blogspot.com and looking for the group led by Tim Hewette. The route they are on is the West Buttress Route. They hope to be done by June 15, (or so depending on the weather).
"I want the picture of me on top to be me kneeling in prayer to God. I hope I'm saying a prayer of thanks on top of Mt. McKinley," said Jim.
- Michelle McConnaha reporting for kpax.com
