Man Attempts First January Solo Climb of McKinley

This is Lonnie Dupre's second attempt

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By Heather Hintze
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Story Created: Dec 23, 2011 at 9:13 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Dec 23, 2011 at 10:50 AM AKDT

It’s a feat that’s never been done before – a solo summit on Mount McKinley in January. A Minnesota man is taking on the challenge.

Lonnie Dupre made his first attempt at a January summit last year, but didn’t quite make it.

Out in Talkeetna Thursday afternoon, Lonnie Dupre won’t be home for his traditional Minnesotan Christmas dinner. That’s because he will ring in the new year here.

Denali waits under a veil of clouds, while Dupre prepares for the adventure ahead, attempting to be the first person to ever solo summit the mountain in January.

Dupre is an Arctic explorer, with 25 years under his belt.

The spirit of adventure comes with a price. Six people have died making winter attempts. Issuing permits is not something Talkeetna rangers take lightly. Dupre made an attempt at a January summit last year, but only hit 17,000 feet. He says some people may call him crazy, but crazy is in the eye of the beholder.

Denali will be his home for the next month. Weather permitting, he’ll be back at the dinner table by February with a one of a kind tale to tell.

KTVA got word Thursday afternoon that the crew had made it to base camp. Lonnie took enough supplies for the 34-day climb, but says in an emergency he could make it a month and a half. He’ll be posting updates and pictures to his website, lonniedupre.com, along the way.

 

 

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unknown said on Sunday, Dec 25 at 3:56 PM

get a life lonnie, put a gun yo ur head if u want to commit suicide

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