737 Leg 8 Denali - Day 206

Hi All

In Talkteena after returning from base camp last night. Talkteena is about 3-4 hours away from Anchorage and we are getting shuttles to Anchorage tonight before flying out from Anchorage tomorrow.

We flew off the glacier yesterday in a single otter plane. It was an amazing flight. After 3 days in base camp seeing the plane fly towards us on the glacier was just dreamy!

We had got to the point at base camp where we had run out of happy food and was on to the stuff we really didn’t want to eat!

It hadn’t stopped snowing for 2-3 days, more a less a total white out and I really didn’t think we were going to get off the glacier but luckily at one point yesterday the clouds cleared and blue skies appeared like on the Simpsons and we had a radio message to say the plane would be coming in. The runway was too sticky at first making things difficult for the plane to take off so all the teams on the glacier, that’s about 20-30 people from different teams had to stomp the runway, in other words walk on the runway lots to improve it.

Luckily we were on the first flight out and were picked up around 6pm. Everyone managed to get off the glacier too as we saw the other teams in town last night.

My toe is flat out grosse! it looks disgusting. It still looks like a toe thankfully, but maybe a little smaller. Bits of flesh from the side and the bottom have fallen off and I have lost my nail. After summiting and the descent, which was around 2 days I took off my sock after the descent and couldn’t actually find my nail and it had worked it’s way underneath my toe, it took a while to find it! The overall condition of it though is really good despite it looking grosse. I am really pleased it hasn’t re frozen on Denali and I hope I will keep most of the toe. I might lose the tip but hopefully I will get to keep most if it, will have to wait and see. It’s really painful but from a toe point of view Denali couldn’t have gone any better, everything has fallen off as planned and I was really careful about keeping it dry and clean.

This will probably be my last update from Alaska. Got some phone ins to do with the press late tonight early morning tomorrow your time. Gotta go now as time to make our way to Anchorage. Thanks for all your messages on Twitter and Facebook and please if you can donate anything to help me keep on pushing that figure up for Marie Curie Cancer Care.