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(Provided by the Americo Tordoya Mountaineering Club)

The Americo Tordoya Mountaineering Club (CMAT), based in Lima, Peru, is organizing the first Peruvian expedition to Mt. McKinley, Alaska (6,194 M) in June of 2007.

Alaska is considered the last frontier in extreme climbing. It is a remote and inaccessible area, where many of the most beautiful and impressive mountains on our planet are located. McKinley, known as Denali by the Native Americans, is the highest mountain in North America and attracts hundreds of climbers every year who try to climb this impressive and difficult mountain.

BACKGROUND

In May of 2000, the leader of the present expedition, Fausto Vinces attempted to climb Denali with American and Australian climbers but was unsuccessful because of bad weather and the lack of proper equipment. The highest point reached by Vinces and his team was Camp 3 (14, 000 feet).
 
The lessons learned from that expedition were assimilated and the idea to organize the first Peruvian expedition to Denali was born on his flight back to New York.

After multiple conversations and meetings in 2004 and 2005, the plan was formalized in August 2006. The expedition was officially supported by CMAT in November thus making the first Peruvian expedition to Denali a reality.  Currently, the expedition is conduction activities to obtain sponsorship and support for this brave endeavor.

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EXPEDITION

The CMAT is one of oldest mountaineering organizations in Peru, a true Peruvian pioneer. It has organized multiple expeditions within Peru but for the first time in its institutional history, it will be organizing and supporting an expedition to Mt. McKinley.

Although thousands of foreign mountaineers enjoy Peru’s mountains every year, the development of Peru’s mountaineering sector remained stagnant during the past twenty years. The lack of Peruvian organizations or entities that would support mountaineering has been one of the sport's main problems in Peru.

In addition, the lack of private entities interested in supporting serious activities outside of Peru has tremendously delayed the development of Peruvian mountaineering. Therefore, the need for support for this expedition, although small when compared to American and European standards, would be a giant step in the development and confidence of future expeditions.

ITINERARY

The main goal is to climb to the summit of Denali via the West Buttress. The expedition will be working on the mountain the the first three weeks of June. The expedition will be leaving Lima the last week of May and will be flying to Alaska where the climb will officially start on June 1, 2007.

The team will start its climb from Talkeetna. There they will meet and register with park rangers from the Denali National Park.  When cleared by the park rangers, the team will fly to the Base Camp.

The communication equipment will be tested from Talkeetna to Peru via our website and RPP (satelite phone). This testing will be performed in each camp where daily updates will be sent to our website. Direct calls, will also be made to a live audience in Peru (via RPP Radio) every day to update the whole country of our experience on the mountain.