Rob DesLauriers  John Falkiner  Frederik Jacobi  Kit Katzenbach  Ace Kvale  Kasha Rigby  Scot Schmidt  Jim Zellers

Scot Schmidt

Hear Scot's Call

I'm standing out on the frozen Akkem Lake. The meaning is something white, and it is very white and frozen here. It was another minus 30 celsius day for us — very cold here. I'm standing here looking at an incredible and powerful ring around the moon. The weather has been fairly clear, but still cold and harsh.

Today mostly was rest and organize gear and prepare for our push up the mountain tomorrow. The logistics seem kind of endless because of the harshness of the ... the drastic temperatures here and the great distances that we have to travel. Climbing this mountain — the altitude isn't that high, but it's very difficult, so we're starting to realize that it's quite a project. It is incredibly beautiful here, but at the same time difficult.

Tomorrow we leave for our push all the way to the summit. We have decided to spend one night back at the Tomsky Hut and then from there we will establish two more camps. We will be building snow caves and that's where we'll be for the next few days. We have fully charged the Iridium phone and we cannot carry the batteries up there with us to further the power capacity so if you don't hear from us in a couple days that is the reason.

I have a few messages for people: Bonnie, have fun in Alaska from Jim. Nicolai and Yuri give their love and regards to Era, and to Terry and Kaley and Tia, look at the moon... [satellite signal failed]

— Scot Schmidt, pioneering pro skier and mountaineer

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