Incredible video captures British explorer Oli France conquering the highest point in North America and Alaska’s deadliest mountain: Mount Denali.
The footage shows him and his team skiing down the slopes of Denali National Park, crossing snow bridges, frozen rivers and deep glacial crevasses on their way to Denali Base Camp.
From there, they are shown making their way to the top of the 6,190-metre (20,310-foot) mountain, battling near-vertical climbs and tiptoeing along narrow ridges, all while dragging heavy equipment on their backs.
Finally, they reveal a beautiful view from the summit, with the white peaks of the mountain blending with the clouds below.
The video shows the final part of Oli’s 64-day journey, which began at the lowest point in North America.
Incredible video captures British explorer Oli France’s journey to the summit of Mount Denali, the highest point in North America and Alaska’s deadliest mountain. Oli is pictured on the 6,190-metre (20,310-foot) summit.
This image from Oli’s video shows the stunning view from the summit.
This image shows Oli tackling a 50-degree climb to Denali High Camp at 5,250 m (17,224 ft).
Summit Special: Hike a steep ridge on the way to Denali High Camp
Here Oli is carefully negotiating the narrow summit ridge. The temperature? A cool -30°C.
The 33-year-old father of two from Wigan completed the first stage alone, cycling from Death Valley in California to Canada and then to the foothills of Denali National Park, where he met a four-man mountaineering team who joined him to scale Denali via the West Buttress Route.
Oli, who has become the first Briton to complete the journey in 20 years, told MailOnline Travel: “I set out thinking it would be the toughest physical, mental and logistical challenge I have ever undertaken. And I was right.”
It took him 41 days to reach Denali National Park by bike. He then traveled 75 miles (122 km) on skis 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 “faced mountain storms, temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius, encounters with bears, nearby avalanches, snowstorms, and all kinds of body pains.”
Here the team drags their 35kg backpacks to camp at 4,350 metres (14,271 ft).
Traversing crevasses on the lower Kahiltna Glacier during the approach to base camp
Here the team approaches base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier.
Oli revealed that the team carried more than 300 kilograms of equipment, food and fuel up the mountain on heavy sleds and slept in the snow every night in a tent. And it wasn’t easy to relax.
Oli said: ‘One night, from my tent, I heard wolves in the mountains. Another night, on the mountain, we found the carcass of an elk that had been eaten by a bear next to huge grizzly bear footprints just 20 metres from our tent. Each footprint was the size of a dinner plate.’
The days had their challenges, too. Oli shared one particularly terrifying experience: “After climbing a steep section of ice to a 5,000-meter (16,404-foot) ridge, we saw the body of a climber being taken off the mountain by helicopter after he had died in a fall.
“It was a reminder of the tight margins that exist here and that we cannot afford to become complacent.”
A rest day at the 4,350-metre (14,271-foot) camp, with the team enjoying the sunshine after a six-day storm.
After completing the journey, Oli said he felt “relief at having come out unscathed” and an “incredible feeling of empowerment and satisfaction at having fulfilled a decade-long dream.”
The expedition is the second stage of Oli’s ‘Ultimate Seven’ project. The adventurer hopes to set a world record by travelling from the lowest to the highest point on each continent.
After completing the African leg last year and the North American leg this year, Oli intends to take up the challenge in Asia, where he will travel 4,500 miles on foot, by bike, skis and kayak from the Dead Sea to Everest through nine countries.
To see more from Oli, visit his website, www.wildedge.co/pages/oli-france. Or follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/oli_france/?hl=enor on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@oli_france.
