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June 13-14, 2017: 21hrs and 6 minutes from 7,200ft to 20,310ft and back again
With a piece of Duct tape as a sheild for her iced over, potentially frost bitten nose Katie Bono summited Denali in -40 degree temperatures, the half way point in her round trip speed record setting journey.
Bono ,29, has been a Rainier Mountaineering Inc. ski guide since 2011 and is a former cross country ski racer that has set the third fastest time for Denali, North Americas highest peak, and the fastest known time for women. Beating out the previous third fastest time of 23:55 by Chad Kellogg in 2003.
“I grew up cross-country skiing, so I inherently kind of like the idea of suffering for long periods of time in the cold. It’s what I do.” Katie stated in an interview with Chris Weidner for dailycamera.com
Denali is 20,310ft tall, the tallest mountain in North America, Base Camp is at 7,200 ft. The West Buttress route is over 33 miles round trip.
As of June 29th the National Parks Field Guide reports only 36% of registered climbers had summited this season, according to Denali National Park Services . This number is down dramatically from 50% in previous years.
The speed record for the West Buttress route was set by Ed Warren on May 13th, 2013 in 16 hours and 46 minutes. The current speed record for Denali, via the Rescue Gully, was set by Killian Jornet, 26 years old at the time, on June 7, 2014 in 11 hours and 48 minutes.
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She has also set a speed ascent record for women on Mt. Rainier with a time of 4 hrs and 58 minutes.
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The Route Via SummitPost.org
