After years of climbing in Glacier National Park, Flathead Valley native David Steele recently reached the summit of North America’s highest peak, Alaska’s Denali.

But Steele frames the impressive accomplishment in a modest way.

“You don’t conquer the mountain. You conquer yourself. You are the variable, reacting to everything up there,” says the 24-year-old 2007 Flathead High School graduate.

The mountain, he adds, is not directing “active antagonism” at the climber, but Denali is famous for extreme weather that can become exponentially worse with storms.

Preparing for the expedition and everything that could be encountered was a big job for Steele and his climbing partner, Seattle resident Grant Domer.

“There was a ton of planning,” Steele said, adding that the planning stretched back to 2011 when the two first contemplated going to Denali.

Steele got his start in mountaineering in Glacier National Park and then moved on to attend Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., working winters at the Stevens Pass ski area.

He and Domer embarked on two trips on Mount Rainier and one on Mount Baker.

“They were expedition trips to kind of mimic what we would be doing on Denali,” Steele said.

But Denali is different.

“It’s very different from what you experience down here because you have to be able to move and function in negative 20” temperatures, Steele said.

The combination of extreme cold and sheer altitude set the mountain apart. Getting proper gear lined up was a task made easier because of Domer’s work at a Seattle mountaineering store. Preparation eventually required the two to pull the trigger and make a decision to go.

After flying to Alaska, the expedition got underway May 17, with surprisingly favorable weather.

“We got there and it went bluebird and it stayed that way for two weeks. It’s just totally a roll of the dice,” Steele said of the weather climbers encounter on Denali.

After landing on a bush-pilot airstrip at 7,200 feet, Steele and Domer moved to their first camp at 7,800 feet, traveling over sprawling glacial terrain that led to an ascent that involved a repeated “S-turn” route. The two carried 70-pound packs and pulled similar weights on plastic sleds.

They gradually moved on to camps at 11,000 feet, 14,200 feet and 17,200 feet, using a double-haul method that involved carrying gear to a higher camp and returning to a lower camp to sleep. They climbed roped together and did many of their descents on skis.

“You turn around, put on your skis and you’re back in camp in 20 minutes instead of walking,” said Steele, who works winters as a coach for the freestyle ski team on the Big Mountain and as a guide for Great Northern Powder Guides, a cat skiing business based in Olney.

“Carry high, sleep low” is largely aimed at acclimating a climber to altitudes that can cause high-altitude pulmonary or cerebral edema.

Steele and Domer managed to avoid those conditions, but another group of climbers didn’t. They acquired pulmonary edema, causing them to cough up blood.

“There were blood stains on the snow around the trail as we were going up” at one point during the expedition, Steele said.

Not everything went perfectly for Steele and Domer, either.

“We had one day where we had a lot of problems,” Steele said, recalling how white gas containers started leaking fuel inside his backpack and then into his pants, causing a painful burning sensation.

“It felt like my butt was on fire,” he said.

That same day, Steele’s avalanche beacon broke and Domer started getting a cough from the icy air. The condition cleared up after a couple of days.

Steele noted how busy Denali is, attracting climbers from around the world.

“We were on the mountain with 300 to 350 climbers,” Steele said. Every day at 8 p.m., climbers tune into a radio weather broadcast and then begin planning their next day.

From their 17,200-foot camp, Steele and Domer made their march to Denali’s 20,320-foot summit.

“We skied off the summit,” Steele said. “We are skiers first.”

The trek was completed in 16 days, which Steele describes as a relatively quick turnaround that can largely be attributed to the favorable weather and skis. Most climbers plan for the trip to take about 28 days, with the expectation that there will be delays caused by bad weather.

Steele said he was somewhat surprised and grateful for unexpected support he got prior to the trip.

“The biggest thing I was struck by in the whole thing was the outpouring of support in the whole community,” he said, recalling how one friend offered to loan him some extreme weather long underwear.

“People pull out the stops. They say these people are going somewhere cool; let’s help them out. I’m really appreciative of that.”

 Steele said he is considering a return to Denali next year, but in the meantime he will be spending plenty of time climbing in and around Glacier Park.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.