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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 8, 2016 - 11:17am PT
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Don't see it mentioned here so- Dave and a partner are working on an attempt to cross the Alaska range by paragliders!
You know Bobo, the first guy to complete a Grade VII Solo FA.
Friend him on Facebook and follow along it's going to be wild.
He just posted their cub recon flights.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2016 - 11:29am PT
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Years ago I was at the top of the first peak by the road in Alaska. I looked out into the distance and saw peak after peak, all bigger than the biggest summit peaks in the lower 48, stretching out into the distance, as far as the eye could see. I wasn't going any further, but I still felt a sense of awe and dread, just imagining being out there. There's no way you could get back out. Now he's voluntarily flying into that. Badass!!
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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That guy (Mr. Turner) is something else, best of luck to them.
vvvvvvv yeah, that. Never shall I succumb to the infectious, ill-breeding mumble news that is Farcebook
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F
climber
away from the ground
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The full Monty from Lake Clark to Canadia? Or North to South near Denali?
East to west is like 700 miles, and contains some pretty remote terrain. Either way, I wish him luck and safety. Wild objective in a wild place.
Post updates for those of us that haven't succumbed to the scourge of Facebook yet.
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John M
climber
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The full Monty from Lake Clark to Canadia? Or North to South near Denali?
Hard to say from his posts on Facebook, though he did say this..
Today we will probably hop in the plane and take a lap through our first half of the route, from Lake Clark to Denali. This place is pretty cool.
he is staying at a place near Willow, where the plane is.
Here is a tracking of the plane flight.. zoom out to see the route the plane took.
http://share.delorme.com/DaveTurner2
I believe this meets Donini's definition of an adventure.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2016 - 02:48pm PT
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Coach37
Social climber
Philly
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"the first guy to complete a Grade VII Solo FA."
No, sorry, but that had been done long before Mr. Turner was out of grade school. At least a couple of times, but likely many more.
Good luck to the young man, he has made some really incredible flights in those paraglider rigs.
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Was it before he was in 7th grade?
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ryankelly
Trad climber
Bhumi
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Yeah Dave, Go Big!!
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Coach37
Social climber
Philly
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Takeyasu Minmiura soloed a new Grade VII on Nameless in 1990.
You could argue that Porter's '74 solo of Asgard qualifies as a Grade VII.
All beside the point, since this thread is about flying. I just point this out in the interest of having an accurate climbing history.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Topic Author's Reply - May 9, 2016 - 10:55am PT
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I think it's good to have accurate history. Interesting that Alpinist did not include that info.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Also, would the early date effectively increase the grade, in some sense? For example, apparently "remoteness" is counted as a factor in highest grades.
That is a valid question.
If the entire expedition, car to car (ox to ox) is done ground up, then shouldn't the difficulty of the approach and descent be counted as well?
I heard that Charlie Porter spent two weeks ferrying loads to Baffin Island (Mt. Asgard???) as part of his famous solo ascent there.
Grade VIII? What if you rode your bicycle all the way from Germany to Switzerland, and then climbed the Eiger (or whatever it was)? Or if you rode your bicycle from Germany over the Khyber Pass and climbed K2?
Any word on using Dave & Co. using turbochargers on their tiny engines to improve high-altitude performance? How high are they planning to fly?
Supercharged engines were a key aircraft factor in WW II, because of their ability to allow high altitude operation. My father had plain vanilla Piper Cherokee that had an aversion to, say, 15k feet and above.
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kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
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Grade VIII? What if you rode your bicycle all the way from Germany to Switzerland, and then climbed the Eiger (or whatever it was)? Or if you rode your bicycle from Germany over the Khyber Pass and climbed K2?
A bit OT, but this fits with Göran Kropp cycling all the way from Sweden to Everest, which he climbed solo, without oxygen or support, and then biked part of the way back to Sweden.
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Grade VIII, then, I suppose.
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enjoimx
Trad climber
Yosemite
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So did that Rockies trip ever get accomplished? That looked amazing. Any video of that?
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DaveT.
Big Wall climber
Mammoth Lakes
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May 10, 2016 - 08:38am PT
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Yeah guys, adventure is still alive!
ALASKA- Under the Midnight Sun, Dave Turner and Gavin McClurg
We are getting ready to set off on an adventure of a lifetime in the next few days. Gavin and I are attempting the first ever vol biv paragliding traverse of the Alaska Range, crossing the state from west to east through some of the most rugged, remote, wild, and grizzly bear infested mountains in the world. Some people tell us that our plan is impossible. Some say it's too bold. Others say we are crazy. Yeah, maybe some of this isn't too far from the truth, but an adventurer must choose their path in life, and our path is going to take us on a 800km journey over North America's highest peak- Denali.
I'd be lying if I said that we were confident that this will go down the way we have it planned, as anything can happen in the Alaska wilderness. This place is so big, it makes me feel small and vulnerable. Every time I have crossed the Alps or the Sierra, I knew that it was not only possible, but probable. On this one, nothing is guaranteed.
Our plan is to begin at the border of the Lake Clark National Park at the start of the Alaska Range, and hike and fly all the way to where the Alaska Range ends and the Wrangell Mountains begin. We will be putting in four food caches along the way before we start, and will have to make it to each one before we run out of supplies. We have come to the conclusion that for such a remote range without virtually a single place to get even a candy bar, having a few food caches along the way would be the only way to make it through without starving. We hope.
As of now, our start date is looking to be this Thursday, the 12th of May. Gavin and I will set off from the SW corner of the range, and head for the Kichatna Spires. Once past the Spires, we will pass Mt Foraker (19K feet) on our way to Denali (20,320 feet elevation). We will be attempting to make the entire flight across Denali National Park in one go, which would be an astounding 200km (120 miles) over glaciers, alpine peaks, raging rivers, and terrain that you can't land on. Oh yeah, did I mention that it was over the National Park!?
In the backpack will be Ozone's newest high performance wing- the LM6 paired with an Ozium harness. Also in the pack will be camping gear, a fly fishing pole, a large caliber hand gun, and all the gadgets and gizmos for such an adventure. I guess if we run out of food, I'll have to whip up some fish and game so we don't starve! It's going to be almost impossible to cover ground on foot, we will have to make big flights or running out of food is guaranteed.
Between the grizzly bears, wolves, killer moose, and other crazy critters, we are going to have to keep a sharp eye out for natural 'hazards'. But I'm not so worried about the animals, rather the river crossings, glaciated terrain, and absolute lack of landing options.
If you'd like to follow along on our adventure, we will have our DeLorme satellite trackers on and running the entire time. We are both bringing mini solar panels to keep them and the rest of our instruments charged during the trip, so it should be up and running the entire time. Here is my personal tracking page- https://share.delorme.com/DaveTurner2
And our shared page (this site only holds our tracks for a week before the last day drops off)- http://xcfind.paraglide.us/map.html?id=96
Good weather is approaching- GAME ON!!!!!!
-Dave T
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