After months of planning and intensive preparation, we are finally ready and have booked our flights from Frankfurt to Anchorage. Two of us have decided to trek in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park: not only a wilderness adventure in the largest national park in the United States but also an undertaking of a glacier crossing – the Russell Glacier and the first ascent of an unnamed peak in the Wrangell St. Elias Mountains on the eastern edge of the Alaska Range. These coastal mountains are some of the most heavily glaciated mountain ranges in the world, with their close proximity directly on the Gulf of Alaska. The moist air masses collide with the mountains, pulling heavy snowfall toward them and consequently forming gigantic glaciers.

Anchorage: the door to Alaska

Having arrived in Anchorage, we now need to equip ourselves with last minute necessities before we take off for the next ten days into the Alaskan wilderness of Wrangell St. Elias National Park. The REI store, is an exceptionally well-stocked specialist outdoor shop in Anchorage and it helps us out with useful equipment such as an ice screw, a bear bell and most importantly, trekking food. We decide against buying the bear spray as we’re not thoroughly convinced that we’d be calm enough in the face of meeting one to actually use it and frankly, we’re on a budget.

Into the wilderness

On the road from Anchorage to McCarthy, where our big Alaskan adventure was about to begin, we needed to try our luck with hitchhiking. Together with our trekking and mountaineering equipment, two 30-kilogram Osprey Xenith model 105 backpacks and a further 20 kilograms equipment bag we wait eagerly on the edge of the Glenn Highway in the hope of a ride. It doesn’t take long before we’re picked up by a young ski instructor from Palmer. Once we get the hang of this hitchhiking stuff our luck doesn’t stop there. To our great surprise, we are driven over 500 kilometres from Anchorage to McCarthy in just one day! We pitch a tent In McCarthy – in the middle of the airfield from Wrangell Mountain Air and after a restful night, we are awakened by the roar of a Cessna aircraft about to take off….right next to our tent!

As intended, our pilot Bill K. appears the following morning on the airstrip. Wrangell St. Elias National Park is a 40-minute flight away with the tiny Cessna that Bill will transport us in together with our equipment. Our landing spot is to be the Skolai Pass, a tiny airstrip in the middle of nowhere within the national park, approximately 50 kilometres as the crow flies from the nearest town. Frightening yet exciting emotions hit us as Bill takes off again leaving us behind, in this well and truly no-mans-land. We begin to realise: A small mistake could have fatal consequences out here! Especially without access to a satellite phone.

Glacier crossing in Wrangell St Elias National Park

Our first major challenge in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park is looming ahead in the form of Russell Glacier, its gigantic proportions we begin to admire on our already two day trek through the national park. Doubts start to cross our minds as to whether crossing this icy giant with its huge crevasses is such a good idea after all.

Things are always less daunting the next day and the following morning Russell Glacier seemed like it was ready to be tamed. Well prepared and equipped with all important items (GPS, maps, compass) we make the decision to cross, adhering strictly to the rule, that we only go so far into the labyrinth of crevasses, as seems possible. With a healthy dose of respect, we finally embark on the ice. Initially, we are somewhat uncertain and sceptical, pretty soon however the pattern of climbing starts to kick in: abseiling into the crevasse, pull rope,  with the aid of crampons and ice axes climb up on the other side of the next crevasse, haul our gear up. We simply skip over the smaller crevasses. Despite the incredible dimension of the Russell Glacier, we felt we had the situation under control at all times.

After two days of being on ice, “mainland” feels good. We don’t get a chance to see,”Our” mountain, the unnamed peak 9055,  as the Wrangell mountain range of St. Elias is enveloped in a dense cloud cover. We rely on our map and march blindly onwards. Our schedule is extremely tight, we have little reserves and the aircraft that is due to pick us up on the Skolai pass again, will not wait.
Tomorrow, we must reach the summit, to begin the long march back again.

On the day of  ascent, we awaken with discouragement – the weather will not be in our favour. Rain and gale-force winds blow over our tent, so much so that the rods bend powerfully. In spite of the adverse conditions, we both realise that we want to at least attempt what we came here to do. It wasn’t in vain that we flew to the other side of the world to Alaska.

Mountaineering the unnamed Peak 9055

The climb to our chosen peak in the Wrangell St. Elias Mountains is anything but easy. The route takes us over loose gravel fields, the wind force and the strength of the rain has picked up as we ascend and the summit remains shrouded in heavy cloud. At the half-way mark we are completely soaked despite rain gear. After crossing an ice field with crampons we reach the snow line and find ourselves a short time later at an extremely steep ridge once again. Snow covered, we notice nearly too late, that we have temporarily moved into a cornice. From then on we would continue to be roped secured until we need the help of our ice picks for the start of the summit climb. Finally  “real” climbing begins and we finally get to test out the hardened climbing skills that we use at home. The last 150 meters run average in grade 3 (UIAA classification: III) on wet, either very compact or very brittle rock. This makes securing with friends and clamping wedges quite difficult and some routes even impossible.

After almost a nine-hour climb we finally stand on the summit of Peak 9055: 9,055 feet high, e.g 2,760 meters. Our first ascent – a success! Up here, there’s a magnitude of a storm blowing that we’ve only witnessed on documentaries or read in books – with wind speeds of up to 75 kilometres per hour. Weather conditions make it impossible for us to stay up there longer than just a few minutes. A few quick summit photos then we begin our almost frantic descent.

Orientation and the meaning of happiness

Roughly two-thirds of the way down a dense fog appears out of nowhere. We are feeling tremendously uneasy. Orientation is becoming increasingly difficult. During the ascent we were impressed with huge striking boulders, even these are no longer visible. Our GPS equipment is safely stowed in the tent. As dusk falls, we are becoming more nervous and taking more of a punt of where to go than actually knowing where the trail leads. We have almost given up hope, when by chance we discover the corner of a storage pack that we had hidden under stones to protect it from animals. Our joy at finding it was almost as great as when we had reached the top. It rains all night unceasingly, but none of that bothers us anymore, we’ve done it!

After Wrangell Mountain Air strongly discourages a stay of more than ten days in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park due to the announced premature onset of winter, we head off the next day across the Russell Glacier for our return. The sound of the little Cessna’s motor in the distance on the Skolai pass was sweet music to our ears. Back in McCarthy, at the Golden Saloon, we treat ourselves to a few exquisite beers.

Climbing in the Talkeetna Mountains and on the Seward Highway

Our last day in Alaska, we spend, first up climbing in the Talkeetna Mountains, a mountain range northeast of Anchorage and Palmer. The local multi-pitch routes in themselves are enough, but we are also rewarded with two days of beautiful weather and for the first time after 14 days we take the opportunity to bathe in cool brook waters. It’s whetted our appetite for more climbing and we follow the advice of knowledgeable local climbers: Hitchhiking south to the Seward Highway, where sport climbing rocks open up just off the Highway we have stunning sea views along the coast. In our element, we enjoy climbing with the best views and experience at Beluga Point the most beautiful sunset we’ve yet to see.

A special encounter was to come our way on our last day in Alaska: In Anchorage, we by chance meet a family that introduce us to climbing legend Kurt B., who in turn invites us to his home. He emigrated 40 years ago from Germany to Alaska and has climbed many legendary mountains such as Mount McKinley and Mount St. Elias.

Conclusion of our trekking tour in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Even though, not everything went according to plan, we achieved what we set out to do. We experienced a three and a half week adventure in a wild country that deserves the name “Last Frontier”. After several days of complete seclusion and a successful first ascent in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park we met a number of nice people and found that Americans are extremely friendly and helpful in Alaska. We hitchhiked around 2,000 km with a total of 17 different drivers and rarely waited more than 30 minutes for a ride. We had a great climbing experience, even outside of our summit ascent, we put ourselves to the test in the Alaskan wilderness and proved ourselves worthy. A close friendship is also challenged on such a trekking tour, as after three and a half weeks in a small tent you know whether you have the right trekking partner on your side. Back home now, ideas for the next adventure are already taunting us: After all, one tour always seems to lead to another!

General facts about this trekking backpack

• Pack volume: 105 liters
• Weight: 2.7 kg (size L), 2.58 kg (Size M)
• Dimensions: 96x40x42 (L), 94x40x42 (M)
• Available colors: graphite gray
• Special features: top pocket with two compartments, zip pockets on the waist belt, large elastic side pockets, various compression strap, Stow-on-the-Go™ stretch-mesh front pocket, hydration system, ice axe loop