Did you have any difficult situations while climbing the mountain? Any crises?

Luke: I have to say that the whole expedition went quite smoothly and the ascent of Denali went without any dangerous or crisis situations. We stood on the summit quite quickly, so I didn't really have time to acclimatise well, which sometimes caused discomfort. In addition, I was troubled by a constant nosebleed. Somehow I already have that at altitudes. I've been to higher and more demanding peaks several times before. What was new to me on Denali was the rather low temperature, the length of the day and the landing by avionette on the glacier. An unforgettable experience.

Simon: Crises in the high mountains are probably always there - certainly for me. Often, when we are very tired, our head tells us to give up already. Why get so tired? If such thoughts come into my head - for me it's a crisis. Then you have to fight with your thoughts, your weaknesses and not give up :)

On Denali it was hard and difficult for me to cross a cracked glacier with a huge number of big black crevasses. This is what I was most afraid of.

You probably experienced a lot of hardship while climbing the mountain. For you the bar was the mountain, for SA people it is often simple daily tasks. What did you feel when thinking about this during the climb? These are probably very personal and individual experiences, because, after all, you can't compare a healthy, physically fit person with a person suffering from SA.

Szymon: As I mentioned earlier, we fight in the mountains for several days, they fight every day with their illness. I was aware of that. Knowing that Igor puts in a lot of effort every day to improve his health at least a little bit, I couldn't let go either - it had a very motivating effect on me.

photo: A page from a journey

I am sure they are much stronger people than us. Sometimes we think we have nothing and we have so much. We can walk, run, jump, sit. They strive for it all their lives, we mostly have it handed to us on a platter, we don't have to fight for it, maybe that's why we are more lazy?

Luke: We tried to metaphorically compare climbing Denali to fighting this chronic illness. For us, every step up is a step for victory, and the reward is the satisfaction of the effort put into the whole endeavour. For the SA children, every hour of rehabilitation, every report of progress towards an effective treatment method, is another small step forward. It was wildly motivating for me to dedicate the expedition to Inga, Igorek and others from SA. I was aware that our eventual success would contribute to spreading awareness of the disease. We are convinced that this will make the recently approved drugs available to everyone. It was also a bit of a mental burden for me, because would we be talking now if we hadn't managed to put our foot down at the summit? :)

photo: Travelcard

Is Denali a mountain for everyone? Could you give some valuable tips for people who are trying to climb it.

Lukasz: An expedition to a high mountain - without the support of commercial tourist agencies, of course - requires a lot of preparation. This includes equipment, training, permits, risk analysis, insurance, etc. The better prepared we are, the lower the risk of failure and unplanned costs. Of course, you also need the relevant experience gained on similar expeditions. This time, due to my greater experience in high mountains, in winter conditions and in expedition planning, the burden of the success of the expedition rested largely on my shoulders. Szymek and I made a good team and that is why the joy of success is even greater.

Szymon: It's certainly not for everyone, because not everyone tolerates high altitudes well. It is important that this is not the first trip to high mountains for someone. There are many beautiful lower mountains where you can test yourself, see how your body behaves at three, four or five thousand metres above sea level. Large, heavy luggage can be a reason for a failed expedition. On Denali you have to carry everything yourself.