• After Aconcagua (Argentina), Vinson (Antarctica), Elbrouz (Russia) and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Pascal Denoël, CEO of the ZEKat group, successfully climbed Denali in Alaska in late May-early June.

  • A "real adventure" carried out in freezing cold and in total autonomy.

And five.

Pascal Denoël, the Angevin entrepreneur, at the head of the Angevin industrial group ZeKat, has climbed five of the "seven summits", the highest mountains on each continent (he has already to his credit the Aconcagua in Argentina, the Vinson in Antarctica , Elbrus in Russia and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania).

The latest: Mount Denali, Alaska, the highest peak in North America.

An ascent made from May 17 to June 3, with three other mountaineers.

“Denali is reputed to be the second most difficult climb after Everest, explains Pascal Denoël, 58 years old.

We had a real adventure.

Which takes on its full meaning when the Angevin lists the difficulties encountered during his eighteen days of ascent, including thirteen days of walking.

“We left without Sherpa already.

There was no Wifi, I only had a satellite phone which allowed me to send a few texts.

We were totally independent.

We were masters of our ascent strategy with the absence of a base camp!

The Denali is demanding "for the commitment" and "resourcefulness" that climbing demands.

“We walked 103 km on the ice with our belongings.

In these, shovels and snow saws!

Because the cold is freezing there.

“The failure rate at Denali is 50% due to the weather,” admits the entrepreneur from Maine-et-Loire.

Pascal and his acolytes – dressed in underpants and a cap day and night – were fortunately rather spared on that side.

He wants to make a film about this ascent

“We were lucky, we had a good weather window.

It was -18 C° at the top with 30 km/h of wind, which gave a feeling of -25 C°.

However, it can be down to – 40 C° there.

Moreover, beyond 35 km/h of wind, we cannot go there... " This time, and even if a few days after his arrival, Pascal Denoël still bears the scars of the great freshness of his journey (“my hands are still tired, some ships have burst”), so the Angevin had better luck with the weather conditions.

Heavy snowfall had indeed prevented him a little over a year ago from successfully climbing Everest without oxygen.

In the meantime, Pascal Denoël plans to make a film of this adventure "straddling the polar expedition and mountain climbing".

“It's the most beautiful mountain I've seen, concludes this accustomed to extreme challenges who surpass themselves “for fun” and “for the Seve Foundation” (Knowing how to be and living together).

At the top, you see the mountains of Alaska very far.

We kept saying to each other, "How privileged are we! How privileged are we!"

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