Ernie Clark - Mount Dinali

Snow, snow and more snow - using a sequence of vivid images, Ernie told us of the Fire and ice Expedition to climb Mount Dinali in Alaska back in 2011.  At 20,320 ft (or 20,327 ft, depending on where one checks), it is not as high as Everest but is considered to be a harder climb.  We enjoyed a talk from another member of the Fire and Ice team back in 2007, so this was a welcome return.

Image from Wikipedia - with acknowledgements

The Fire and Ice team set out to climb the highest peaks in all seven continents - raising significant amounts for charity through sponsorship - as their Facebook page shows (the image below is from there and shows Mount Dinali in the distance.

Ernie described how they needed to dig deep holes to form "food caches" as they progressed up the mountain (to avoid carrying all their supplies all the way)  - this was to prevent ravens(!) finding them.  On the same ornithological theme, he also told us of a most unusual occurence when they encountered, at 14,000 ft., a small flock of finches that must have been blown off course during their migration - it is unlikely that any survived in such harsh conditions.

An informative and enjoyable presentation.