North America, United States, Alaska, Hunter and Deborah, 1993

Publication Year: 1995.

Hunter and Deborah, 1993. Holly Samson and I climbed the west ridge of Hunter to 9200 feet on May 20, 1993. The next day, in deteriorating weather, we climbed the spectacular corniced ridge and reached the summit (4442 meters, 14,573 feet) at ten A.M. On May 27, we were flown to the Yannert Glacier in the Hayes group and climbed up the broken icefall and glacier to camp at 9000 feet. The following morning, we climbed the beautiful, straightforward west face of Deborah (3761 meters, 12,339 feet), which involved 3300 feet of ice up to 70° and some unconsolidated cornices on the summit ridge. We reached the summit at three P.M. Our descent down the original 1953 Beckey route was a fearsome affair with horrendous, sun-baked cornices and a temporary setback when a section of the ridge collapsed and sent Holly on an 80-foot flight over the east face. We returned to camp after an 18-hour round-trip. We spent the next three days slogging across wet glaciers and muddy tundra and reached the highway on June 1.

David Nettle, Unaffilated