Incredible video footage shows British explorer climbing North America’s highest mountain, braving icy rivers, near-vertical ice walls and nail-biting ridges
Incredible video footage shows British explorer Oli France conquering the highest point in North America and the most dangerous mountain in Alaska: Mount Denali.
Footage shows him and his team skiing through the foothills of Denali National Park, crossing snow bridges, icy rivers and deep crevasses on their way to Denali Base Camp.
From there, they can be seen climbing to the top of the 6,190-meter (20,310-foot) mountain, negotiating near-vertical slopes and tiptoeing across narrow ridges while lugging heavy equipment on their backs.
Ultimately, they offer stunning views from the top, with the white peaks blending into the clouds below.
The video shows the final leg of Oli’s 64-day journey, which began at the lowest point in North America.
Incredible video footage captures British explorer Oli France’s journey to the top of Mount Denali – the highest point in North America and Alaska’s deadliest mountain. Oli is pictured on the 6,190-metre (20,310 ft) summit
This still from Oli’s video footage shows the breathtaking view from the top
Here you can still see Oli making a 50 degree climb to Denali High Camp at 5,250 m (17,224 ft)
Top Special: Hiking a steep ridge approaching Denali High Camp
Here Oli is carefully navigating the narrow ridge. The temperature? A chilly -30C
The 33-year-old father of two from Wigan completed the first leg of the journey alone, cycling from Death Valley in California to Canada and then into the foothills of Denali National Park. There he met up with a team of four mountaineers who joined him to climb Denali via the West Buttress Route.
Oli, who is the first Briton to complete the journey in 20 years, told MailOnline Travel: ‘I assumed it would be the toughest physical, mental and logistical challenge I have ever undertaken. I was right.’
It took him 41 days to cycle to Denali National Park, then skied 122 km (75 miles) to reach Denali Base Camp, where most climbers begin their ascent.
Oli described Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, as “brutal.” During the 12-day climb, he “encountered mountain storms, temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius, encounters with bears, nearby avalanches, snowstorms, and all manner of physical pain.”
Here the team drags their 35kg packs to the 4,350m (14,271ft) long camp
Crossing crevasses on the lower Kahiltna Glacier on the approach to base camp
Here the team approaches base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier
Oli revealed that the team lugged more than 300 kilos of equipment, food and fuel up the mountain on heavy sleds and slept in a tent on the snow every night. And it wasn’t easy to relax.
Oli said: ‘One night I heard wolves in the mountains from my tent. Another night, on the mountain, we found a moose carcass mauled by a bear, as well as huge grizzly prints just 20 metres from our tent. Each footprint was the size of a dinner plate.’
The days had their challenges too. Oli shared a particularly terrifying experience, saying: ‘After climbing a steep piece of ice to a height of 5,000 metres [16,404ft] On the ridge we saw the body of a climber who was lifted off the mountain by helicopter after dying in a fall.
“It was a reminder of the tight margins that exist here and that we couldn’t afford to be complacent.”
A rest day at the 4,350-metre (14,271 ft) high camp, where the team enjoys the sun after a six-day storm
After completing the journey, Oli felt relieved that he had come through it unscathed and had an ‘incredible sense of strength and satisfaction that he had fulfilled a dream he had had for ten years’.
The expedition is the second phase of Oli’s ‘Ultimate Seven’ project, in which the adventurer hopes to set a world record by travelling from the lowest point to the highest point on each continent.
After completing the African leg last year and the North American leg this year, Oli wants to take on the challenge in Asia, where he will walk, cycle, ski and kayak 7,200 kilometres from the Dead Sea to Everest, through nine countries.
For more from Oli, visit his website, www.wildedge.co/pages/oli-france. Or follow him on Instagram via www.instagram.com/oli_france/?hl=enor on TikTok on www.tiktok.com/@oli_france.
