Bjorn-Eivind Artun from Norway and American Colin Haley have climbed a leading new route on Foraker, the second highest peak in the Alaska ranges.

As a warm-up for this ascent the pair tried to set a new record for the fastest ascent of the classic Cassin Route on Denali. This record stands at 15 hours and was established as long ago as 1991 by the legendary Mugs Stump, climbing solo.

The pair started from the standard 4,300m (14,200') Basin Camp on the West Buttress of Denali, following the West Rib Cut Off and then slanting down the 1972 Patterson Route to the glacier below the South Face.

From here they made the short crossing to the base of the Japanese Couloir, where they started their watches at 10:40pm.

The forecast had not been perfect and by the time they reached the first rock band the sky had clouded over and the first flakes of snow were beginning to fall.

Underfoot conditions were good until above the third rock band at c5,200m, but then the climbers met fresh snow, and their hopes of a new record disintegrated.

As they approached the summit ridge, the snow got deeper and it took more than three hours to climb the last 300m. Nonetheless, when they finally reached the 6,194m summit, it was only 3:43pm. It has taken them 17 hours and 3 minutes to climb the route, the second fastest time in history.

Descending the Normal Route along the West Buttress, they regained their tents in 14,200’ Basin Camp 28 hours after leaving.

In mid June they set out for their big new route on Foraker (5,303m), again in a single push.

The objective was the much admired and previously attempted diamond-shaped buttress on the South East Face, forming the right flank of the upper South South East Ridge.

Access to this line has deterred many suitors. The buttress is skirted on the right by the 1990 John Phelan-David Sharman route, False Dawn, and the entire lower section of this route is threatened by dangerous seracs.

Stashing skis at the base of the mountain (c2,050m) the pair started up False Dawn at 6am, climbing rapidly unroped up a narrow couloir (AI3) left of a huge serac barrier to gain the hanging glacier above, reaching the site of the 1990 first bivouac, and relative safety, after only a little over two hours.

From here False Dawn continues up right in a wide couloir. The Norwegian-American duo climbed snow slopes left to the base of the diamond, and then climbed through it via two successive ramp lines, the first slanting up left, the second up right, for 1,000m to snow slopes above. This section had friable rock and difficulties up to M6 R.

At the top they'd hoped to stop for a 'tea break' but there was nowhere suitable to set up the stove. Instead, they continued climbing through the night up 60° slopes to arrive on the crest of the South South East Ridge at dawn.

Dehydration and nighttime cold had taken its toll and Haley was now mildly frostbitten.

After a suitable break for refreshment, the pair continued along the upper section of the South South East Ridge, first climbed in 1976 with much use of fixed rope by Henri Agresti's seven-member French expedition. The two reached the summit of Foraker 31 hours after leaving their skis.

What followed should have been a relatively simple yet notoriously lengthy descent of the Sultana (North East) Ridge, the Normal Route on Foraker. Instead the pair was caught in a bad storm with violent winds, forcing them to shelter in a crevasse part way into their descent.

They made two attempts to continue down from here, but the weather forced them back to the crevasse, where they spent the following night without tents, sleeping bags or mats.

Next morning it became obvious they would not be able to descend the Sultana, and so instead bailed down the East Flank - the North East Icefall Route - which was considerably more sheltered from the fierce wind.

The North East Icefall was first climbed in 1966 by Japanese to make the third ascent of Foraker and is rarely repeated. In its lower section lie difficult serac barriers and areas threatened by avalanche from the flanks of the South East Ridge.

To minimize the danger, the pair took a previously untrodden rock rib, which they rappelled to safety, eventually wading back across the glacier to Kahiltna Base Camp, where they collapsed after 71 hours on the go - all without sleep.

Haley's feet were too frostbitten to move, so Artun subsequently enlisted another climber to accompany him to collect the skis.

The new route has been named Dracula and is 3200m high, with difficulties of M6 R, AI4+ and A0.
 

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