McKinley climber moves down to 14,000 feet

After enduring seven days in a refrigerator-sized trench and a 5.4-magnitude earthquake that rattled Mount McKinley and "scared the crap out of him," Minnesota adventurer Lonnie Dupre found lower ground today, Dupre's expedition manager said.

Dupre took advantage of a brief break in whiteout conditions to descend from 17,200 feet to his old camp at 14,200, where he had cached food, fuel and an extra sleeping bag -- and where oxygen is more plentiful.

"He said he's really tired and weak," said Tom Surprenant, who is in Talkeetna and speaking with Dupre once or twice a day via satellite phone.

Dupre, 49, of Grand Marais, Minn., began his climb Jan. 7.

His goal was to become the first person to make a solo ascent of the 20,320-foot peak in January. He made slow, steady and trouble-free progress at first, getting to 17,200 feet in 13 days. There, however, high winds created a whiteout, preventing a summit attempt and pinning Dupre in his snow trench.

Dupre's descent to 14,200 came after he spent an entire week inside a snow trench measuring 3 feet high, 3 feet wide and 6 feet long. He left the trench only once during that span, to add a layer of snow to the roof, Surprenant said.

Dupre was inside the trench Saturday night when he was shaken -- physically and mentally -- by a 5.4 earthquake whose epicenter was nine miles northeast of Kantishna, in the heart of Denali National Park.

"He thought he was going to be buried alive," Surprenant said. "At first he thought it was a crevasse opening up. He said it scared the crap out of him.

"He thought the ground was going to open up or the walls of his snow trench would start falling in or the roof would fall in."

The earthquake remained a worry today as Dupre made his way to 14,200 feet.

"We're a little concerned that the earthquake changed the landscape on the way down," Surprenant said. "It could open up some crevasses on the Headwall, or it could clear a slope off."

But Dupre safely made his way to 14,200. He'll take up residency in the same trench he stayed in a week ago.

"He had time to dig a roomier trench then, and there's an extra sleeping bag, and more food, more fuel -- it's probably a little more comfort than he had at 17,200," Surprenant said.

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