this is graymore --cutterbuddy i live in new plymouth in new zealand and have met the boys at the beach when they came home over here also we met again when they came back to unveil the plaque here i also know stan the man who also lives here

MORNING FORUMITES.
G/day Cutterbuddy , Our Stan the man , is sitting in the corner waiting for something , so he can report to all his mates on the FORUM , ,aint you Stan .
why is it so ?? I get out of a warm bed>> its cold>>>temp around 6%, then why does a KING RAT want to wake up in 15% below ??? and at least I can hit a button and warm the tent up , they hit the button and only the ice an snow fall off their tent , and it only gets colder ???but the view, I hear you say, LOOK I can see Forster .

smile

A man lay sprawled across three entire seats in a theater. When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the man, ''Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat.''
The man groaned but didn't budge.
The usher became impatient. ''Sir,'' the usher said, ''if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager.''
Again, the man just groaned, which infuriated the usher who turned and marched briskly back up the aisle in search of his manager.
In a few moments, both the usher and the manager returned and stood over the man. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move him, but with no success. Finally, they summoned the police.
The cop surveyed the situation briefly. ''All right buddy, what's your name?''
''Sam,'' the man moaned.
''Where ya from, Sam?'' the cop asked.
''The balcony.''

bern

If only......
if only we could trade some of our 90 degree F/32.222 C. with your cold, we all might be pretty comfortable! Bern, right now we push
a button and it is cool inside.... the pictures are breath taking, oh can you imagine being there...wow!!
love ya'll

Pam, are you in OZ?

Evening all, it's 10.21pm here in Melbourne and it's cold. But I'm sure it's not as cold as where Hugh and James are.

You guys are speeding along. I'm enjoying the podcasts, it's like the old days. Hey could Hugh do a podcast?

----
Amorous Texan
Loved your photo's. You could always load your photos onto Picasa and then put the link on a forumite entry. Go to http://picasa.google.com/ You can download the software for free. However saying that you need a google account. Hope that helps.
I used Picasa to show everyone my photos from the Crossing the Ditch Welcome Back Party at Ryans bar all that time ago.

Cheers
Beky

Just got the new update on crossing the ditch website,,,,will check it out..
pat

MORNING FORUMITES
Hi Cutterbuddy I will chase up the reading when I post this
Had to tuck more singlet around the old family jewels this morning bit chilly James and Hugh would say thats warm bern

smile

A man is walking by an insane asylum and hears all the residents chanting, "Thirteen! Thirteen! Thirteen!"
Quite curious about all this, he finds a hole in the fence, looks in and someone pokes him in the eye.
Everyone in the asylum starts chanting "Fourteen! Fourteen! Fourteen!"

bern

WOW just listened to the podcast.
It must have been very scary seeing climbers tumbling down the mountain.
Thank God James & Hugh were on the spot.

Pat, I live in Sydney on the northern beaches.
It doesn't get as cold here as in the western suburbs of Sydney but it is cold enough for me!!

Pam

Wow! What an experience. How James and Hugh were in the right place at the right time to see three descending climbers fall and be able to rescue them and get them down to Basin Camp from where the injured and shaken climbers could be flown out. They definitely deserve a medal.

Hear James telling the story at: http://www.crossingtheditch.com.au

On the way down, climbers are still carrying heavy loads on their backs, they are fatigued, may be dehydrated and effected by the altitude. Is this what some call fun?

Barry

Howdy all

Thanks for following James and Hugh on their exped up McKinley.

As you know they were involved in the rescue of three other climbers at 16 and half thousand feet yesterday. They performed amazingly well and the SAR team from the Denali National Park commented that they couldn't have done a better job. Today James and Hugh were going to get a bit of a sleep in after there mammoth day yesterday and make there way up to 17200ft if they and the weather were feeling and looking good. I'll have an update for the website in approximately 4 hrs.

Pat - excellent pick up on the map, I couldn't upload the podcast till I was at home but could update the map from work, I was wondering if anyone would be able to pick that up!

Hugh (some have been asking details on him) is a climbing buddy of James' and a really top, no nonsense kind of guy. I've gone on a bushwalk or two with him and he is a great companion for James whilst climbing. The two of them are really switched on, as was evident with the recent rescue. Hugh has the lovely nickname of EPIC because he relishes hard, scary, difficult situations and has been known to deliberately hard for him. At the start of a multi day walk in winter, Hugh walked through a creek to wet his shoes to make the day "more fun". That said McKinley is enough of an epic, so he's not doing any of that on the Ice.

Cheers all

Rat 2

Good morning to you all in Oz, even though it is quit early there at this moment. Hope James and Hugh are rested up, nerves settled down and ready to climb on the way to the top! Get good pictures when you reach the summit, must be beautiful up there and BE SAFE!! AT sounds like you (and all the others) stay quit busy, glad you check in occasionally. Justin, you don't know how many times a day I come in and am at the computer checking the map to see where they are, I am excited for them...... and I wish I was in Alaska. Got an email from a couple who were able to spend several days in the park just below McKinley. Sent pictures that were gorgious! Some day I will get back to Alaska, haven't been there since June of 1968,,,,,,two weeks after graduating from West Anchorage High School we left and I haven't been back since....lived there 3 1/2 years.
take care and have a great day
pat

MORNING FORUMITES
Well James and Hugh congratulationson your big rescue ,you RATS sure know where to be at the right time,
I hope you liked the red I had for you both last night James and Hugh
great to have reading in the morning . Hi Pat "n" AT
sorry Iforgot to say
HI to RAT 2 , hi Justin

smile

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of this bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.
John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, and anything he could think of to set a good example but nothing worked.
Finally, John got fed up and he yelled at the parrot. And, the bird yelled back. John shook the parrot, and the bird got angrier and ruder. Eventually, in a moment of desperation, John put the bird in the refrigerator freezer.
For a few minutes, John heard the bird squawk and kick and scream... then suddenly there was quiet. Not a peep for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the bird, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.
The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arm and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I am truly sorry, and I will do everything to correct my poor behavior."
John was astonished at the bird's change of attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the chicken did?"

bern

Bern

I think the lads will be looking for hot drinks, not a red at room temperature, when it is zero F (-20 C).

Pat

I have bookmarked both

http://www.crossingtheditch.com.au
and
http://www.rushlabs.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=29&page=70

If you submit your details at Newsletter Subscriber on the left of the home page of Crossing the Ditch, you will get an email if Justin presses the right button while entering James’s updates.

When I open up in the morning, I first look for Justin's latest update from James, before I come here.

James and Hugh should benefit from their rest and mountain cheesecake.

They are certainly getting an experience even if it is not much fun up there. When the weather is fine they will have amazing views.

The weather forecast at Denali for Friday is cloudy with some snow, warming from zero to 10 F (-12 C). With finer dryer and warmer weather for next week. Hopefully there will be a suitable fine weather window to allow them to summit in good weather. However as James said, the forecast is right only 50% of the time.

I think that part of the trouble is that the weather station that was on the mountain got blown away.

SMILE

Husband and wife are waiting at the bus stop with their nine children.
A blind man joins them after a few minutes. When the bus arrives, they find
it overloaded and only the wife and the nine kids are able to fit onto the bus.

So the husband and the blind man decide to walk. After a while, the husband
gets irritated by the ticking of the stick of the blind man as he taps
the footpath and says to him, "Why don't you put a rubber thing on
the end of your stick? That ticking sound is driving me crazy."

The blind man replies, "If you had put a rubber thing on the end of YOUR stick,
we'd be riding on the bus."


Barry

MORNING FORUMITES
HAVE NOT READ jAMES POST AS YET ,GOING BY pAT THEY ARE INTO IT AGAIN,
I agree with Pat , I know where I would be ?
With James "n" Hugh ,>>or in the tent with the heater on , one guess ,
no your wrong answer =inthe tent
Question , would you make a living selling refrigerators or freezers there??

smile

There once were 2 men named Zip and Doo Dah. Zip and Doo Dah were best friends. The 2 friends decided to go fishing one day, but during their outting the boat sank, and while Zip was an expert swimmer, Doo Dah had never been one for swimming and tragically drowned.
Now Zip had a slight speaking problem; he had a terrible stutter. He was asking his friends how to tell Doo Dah's wife about the tragedy. "B-B-But I c-c-can't sp-sp-sp-speak that w-w-w-well, h-h-h-how a-a-am I g-g-g-going to t-t-t-tell h-h-h-her?" he asked?
One friend, being helpful, answered: "Well, doctors have found that when stutterers sing something, they don't usually stutter. If you can find a way to do that, then you should be fine."
Zip thought about this all day and finally went to Doo Dah's house and knocked on the door. When Doo Dah's wife answered the door, Zip sang, with tears in his eyes:
"We went fishin and guess who drowned? DOO DAH, DOO DAH!"

sorry about that
bern

In the last report they were at High Camp with 3,000 ft (915 m) vertical, to get to the top.

They are right on the recommended schedule which suggests they rest a day here before attempting the summit.

The weather rules on these mountains. The forecast at:
http://pafg.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=SXAK49PAFG&type=public
promises a chance of fine weather over the next few days. Things are looking good.

Barry

View from denali High Camp: http://exposedplanet.com/index.php?showimage=106

On a clear day you can see forever.

11 year old Jordan Romeo climbing Denali in his attempt to climb all 7 summits of the 7 continents.
This video gives good views of the climb that James and High are on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZeYOIIESMw


Barry

I am waiting anxiously I will be very busy today, away from my computer til later this afternoon , so hope to see some great pictures and great news from the great McKinley..... ye ha!!!
pat
Barry, thanks for the link of the view from high camp, wow!! ( If you haven't looked check it out.) gotta watch the utube on the 11 yr old later. anxiously waiting
for the news

to all, if you haven't done so, be sure and watch the piece mentioned by Berry about the 11 year old going up McKinley. Wow, the scenery is breath taking and a little scary at the same time. i can see why this is the most dangerous. you want to get there to the top but you must take care......will check in after supper...
pat

Hi All,

Thank you Justin for keeping us informed on James and Hugh's progress.
Sounds like this is it.

God be with them.

Aunty Sal

We all wait here with bated breath for news. There has been nothing from James, Justin or Bern for many hours now.

I only hope that they are too busy retreating down the mountain, or are catching up on rest. Or they have lost contact by their satellite phone. I expect that we will get news soon.

Pat
Thanks for the link to the story about the two doctors.

Maybe Bern stood on Nan's broken toe and got put out of action.

Barry

This is Barby back from our trip to Austria, Germany, Scotland and England ... a little jet lagged but had to get onto the Forum to see what is happening.

James, I am very proud of you and Hugh for your new adventure and for your rescue of other climbers - it just shows what good and caring people you are . Keep warm, safe, well and happy in your fantastic climb.

We cycled along the Danube from near Passau to Vienna, almost right across Austria ... quite a small adventure compared to yours. It is a lovely trip and very friendly people, beautiful views and very easy, almost no hills!

I have lots of forum messages to read from the last 6 weeks.

Lots of best wishes to all
Barby

to James and Hugh, don't feel like you have been defeated, you are true champions for trying and you both did the right thing, don't think for a minute you didn't! I am proud of you both, if nothing else, you were on that mountain to help those three climbers get back to safety. You did extremely well, hope by this time you are much better James, thanks for taking care of him Hugh, for the next big adventure. God bless you both.
(If you haven't read the crossing the ditch report, do so and you will undertand my comments)
pat

James and Hugh
What an adventure you two have been on. It has a been a pleasure to tag along on yet another great adventure. Barb and Pat have said it already, but I will add my 2cents worth. You should be proud of yourselves and what you have accomplished. Whilst you may not have been able to tick all the boxes (this time) what you have done, and the extra bit of rescuing thrown in, is amazing! Well done boys and thanks for allowing us all to come along for the ride.
Thank goodness you are safe
May your journey home be a safe one,
mae

It is with great relief to hear that James and Hugh are alive and are well on the way down the mountain.

Having had no news for so long, I was concerned for their safety.

I don’t see it a failure not to reach the top. That was their number 4 objective. It would have been a failure not to get off the mountain alive.

The main cure for Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is to get down to lower altitude.

Of the 601 completed attempts so far this season, only 302 have summited.
There are currently 339 climbers on the mountain.

While half of the climbers leave with some disappointment, about 1 of every 200 climbers dies on the mountain.

A big thanks goes to Hugh for his support for James.

Barry

You champs! A great decision! Shows the instincts of real adventurers! Well done!! You both live to adventure again, and that is all that matters!!
Jan xxxx

James and Hugh.

You have still done more than most of us here can ever hope to do.

you guys are still alive and on the way down. As Barry said 'It would have been a failure not to get off the mountain alive'.
Sometimes you have to make those decisions but you have made the right one.
Take it easy for the rest of your descent and and get better soon James. Hugh - Thanks for looking after James.

Justin, Thanks for the updates. We were all very concerned.

Nig