From Alaska to Yukon
Aktualisiert: 16. Sept.
How the next stage nearly came to an end after 50 meters
Tobias Renggli
Returning from the Mountain
In this project, there’s no downtime between the two expeditions—just more cycling. After 36 days on the glaciers, Denali is behind us, and Mount Logan lies about 1,200 kilometers more to the east in the Yukon. I had to hit the road on my bike to get there.
I’d been looking forward to it. After 36 days on the mountain, there’d finally be a different kind of movement, warmer temperatures, and moving forward without dragging a pulka. The first attempt ended after about 50 meters.
After the flight from the glacier, we were allowed to stay for a few days in the K2 Aviation hangar in Talkeetna. We didn’t want to splurge on a hotel. After more than a month on the mountain, a washing machine, shower, toilet, and running water were enough to make us feel like we were in a hotel.
For three days, we washed, dried, ventilated and sorted our gear. On the first morning, Laëtitia flew back home. Suddenly, our team of three had been reduced to a team of two. For five weeks, we’d made all our decisions together, cooked together, discussed things together, and stuck it out together. Now one person was missing.
The next issue was less emotional but more urgent: How do we load all our gear onto two bikes?
50 Meters
First, we just packed everything onto our bikes. My bike had bikepacking bags attached, the tent was on the back, two pairs of skis on the sides, and a large 110-liter duffel bag strapped to the skis. Heli was pulling a trailer with three more duffel bags and also had panniers on his bike rack.
We talked ourselves into believing it would work as soon as the bikes started rolling. Then we opened the gate and set off.
My front wheel lifted right off the ground because the duffel bag was positioned far behind the rear axle. Heli’s trailer was so heavy that small cracks already appeared in the welds of the steel trailer. Not ideal.
After about 50 meters, we turned around. We put the bikes back in the hangar, looked at the pile of gear, and unloaded everything again.
Traveling light(er)
The new solution wasn’t glamorous, but it worked. We left some of our gear in Talkeetna, cycled to Anchorage with a lighter load, and arranged to rent a car there. We used it to retrieve the rest of our luggage. At the same time, Andi, the founder of Explora, met us halfway from Whitehorse and stored the bags in Canada.
I wasn’t entirely satisfied with this solution. The project was supposed to be entirely self-propelled, and now part of our luggage was traveling ahead of us. We continued to cover the entire route by bike. We simply decided not to load the bikes so heavily that they—or the trailer—would fall apart. That was clearly the more sensible decision.
After the first 200 meters of our actual first day of riding, my electronic gear shifter gave out. I secured the battery to the contact point with a cable tie until it worked again. We continued on like that all the way to Anchorage.
Rock and Roll
Once we finally got on the road, it immediately felt great. Going uphill, the weight was brutal, but on the flat stretches, everything rolled surprisingly smoothly.
After five weeks on a glacier, the traffic was exhausting. Cars, noise, people, traffic lights—it all suddenly felt like a lot. On night two, we reached Anchorage.
Repairations, Groceries, Organizing
In Anchorage, we were once again welcomed by Florian Schulz, who had already hosted us before our Denali trip. Over the next two days, we repaired everything that was broken.
A bike shop replaced my rear gear shift mechanism. My skis were also shot—the core had disintegrated. Scott got me a new pair in Anchorage.
Then we went to Costco. Again, we bought too much food, but in our defense, we were eating a lot at the time.
On the side, I backed up videos, sorted through photos, prepared blog posts, answered emails, updated sponsors, and arranged the permit for Mount Logan. During those days, I often didn't go to bed until three or four in the morning.
I started looking forward to Mount Logan because there would be no electricity or internet there.
Yet to Fully Recover
Physically, I was a long way from recovery after Denali. My feet and several toes were still numb. After two days on the bike, pretty much everything hurt.
Even mentally, the expedition wasn’t over yet. On the one hand, I felt a great sense of relief at having succeeded on Denali. On the other hand, Mount Logan was already drawing closer. A friend texted to me, saying that once Logan was conquered, 95 percent of the project would be complete and the rest would just be a matter of diligence. Well, only time will tell if that’s true.
Even mentally, the expedition wasn’t over yet. On the one hand, I felt a great sense of relief at having succeeded on Denali. On the other hand, Mount Logan was already drawing closer. A friend texted to me, saying that once Logan was conquered, 95 percent of the project would be complete and the rest would just be a matter of diligence. Well, only time will tell if that’s true.
Nine Days on the Alaska Highway
At the end of May, we finally set off from Anchorage, Alaska, toward Canada. There isn’t much to say about those nine days. That was exactly what made it so wonderful.
We rode along the Alaska Highway, passing forests, lakes, glaciers, and mountains. We covered about 120 kilometers per day. With skis strapped to our bikes and a big backpack, it wasn’t easy, but manageable.
Within a few days, winter turned to summer. We were riding in shorts, the trees were turning green, the rivers were open, pollen was in the air, and eventually mosquitoes appeared. After weeks of everything being frozen, life returned. It felt as though we, too, were slowly thawing out.
We slept at campgrounds or somewhere in the woods beside the road. At night, it hardly got dark anymore. Having our skis attached to our bikes meant that people were constantly striking up conversations with us. At some point, I didn’t really feel like telling the same story over and over again. Most of the time, I was more interested in what the other people there were doing anyway.
Every one or two days, we’d find a gas station, a store, or a restaurant. There, we’d charge our batteries, buy food, and keep going. Life was very simple: pedal, eat, find a place to sleep, sleep. After five weeks on Denali filled with weather forecasts, cold, avalanche conditions, and decisions, that was very pleasant.
Nothing much had happened over the course of nine days. We’d just driven, eaten, slept, and witnessed Alaska and the Yukon turning greener with each passing day.
Between Denali and Mount Logan, that was more than enough.
Silver City
On the evening of June 8, we arrived in Silver City on Kluane Lake. The next day, Heli and I packed our gear for Mount Logan. We left everything we didn’t need behind. Still, we ended up with about 150 kilograms of equipment.
On the afternoon of June 10, we set out on the Mount Logan expedition. But that’s another story.
*Tobias Renggli is on his way from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Patagonia. 35 countries, 35 highest peaks, about 40,000 kilometers under his own power.
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