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Most Current Posts
Expedition Dispatches From Around The Globe!
Posts for every team can be found under the drop-down menus at the right of this page. We have organized our expeditions into Denali, International and Mount Everest categories, with further organization by their Team Meeting Date.
Click on the podcast icons to hear phone calls from our climbers and guides, so that you can better enjoy the experience through their words, not ours. Above all, have fun and dream big!
May
16
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May
16
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May
15
Max called in from the Lucky Lindy crew this evening, sounds like things are going great!
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May
15
The team loaded up their sleds and packs and made the big push up to the top of the Kahiltna Glacier this morning. They traveled about 4.5 miles up to a beautiful basin situated at bout 11,200′. This is, in many ways, the end of the approach, and the transition to the climbing part of the expedition. The terrain steepens, most climbers don crampons and grab their ice axes, and things just all around get more serious.
The camp looks off to the west, with stunning views of neighboring peaks that transform as the sun passes to the north of Denali, shifting the quality of light to hues of orange, red and pink. Massive ice cliffs border the southern edge of camp, and the climbers are afforded a nice view of the granite craggy face of the West Buttress proper. In the image below, the trail comes into the frame from the lower right and can be seen ascending to camp, up the snowy ramp of glacier from the lower left.
Looking at the basin camp of 11,200', with the massive West Buttress looming at top center
May
15
The crew flew to the glacier yesterday and initially thought that they might benefit more from slowing down and getting some rest, rather than hitting the ground running, so they slept in a bit this morning. When they awoke, temperatures were still quite cold, so they decided that they might as well get the best of both worlds- a good night’s sleep and moving on up the glacier!
They packed up their kit and loaded up their packs and sleds for the 5 mile hike to a flat spot on the huge Kahiltna Glacier located at about 7,800′. This is the traditional Camp 1 for most Denali climbers, and the views looking up the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna at the immense south face of Denali are inspiring.
Everyone did well and moved right along. They are eating dinner and looking forward to another nice night’s sleep, this one a bit higher up than the previous.
May
14
Joe Butler called in from the Tylers trip this evening with an update. They are moving right along, already in Camp 1 and having a good time!
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May
14
Jason had the honor of calling in for the April 29th West Buttress team this evening. They carried a load of gear up to the ridge yesterday, and are having a rest and recovery day today. They are ready to push up to high camp tomorrow if the weather looks good! Sounds like they are having a cold snap with a recorded temp of -30f last night… Brrrr…
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May
14
Here’s the evening dispatch from Zach and the “Lucky Lindy” team. They carried a load of gear up to about 10,400 ft today and are back in camp resting. I think Zach thought the phone was hung up and you can hear him talking at the end, it’s pretty funny, but rated PG if you want to listen.
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May
14
Well they are on their way back to Talkeetna this evening, they didn’t reach the top, but it sounds like they gave it a good shot and had a great adventure! Congratulations to all the team, nice effort, enjoy the beer in Talkeetna you’ve earned it!
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May
14
Hello and welcome followers, to the May 13th Team. Let’s meet the team!
We have climbers:
Jon Ryall from England
Stephanie Nelson from England
Scott Tippett from Colorado
Jim Arnold from Colorado
Paul Pottinger from Washington
Matthew Fuller from Canada
James Molnar from Ohio
Cindy Outlaw from California
Scott Holder from California
Our guides for this expedition are:
John Race from Leavenworth, WA
Caitlin Hague from Girdwood, AK
Dan Starr from Girdwood, AK
The team is ready to go, poised in Talkeetna for a flight to the glacier hopefully today. We’ll keep you posted, right here.
Here is a picture of the team as they took in the view from just outside Talkeetna:
The May 13th Team- looking good and ready to go!
May
14
The entire crew slept at 7,800 feet, at Camp 1 and is on the move to Base Camp. Lead guide Michael Burmeister estimates that with the weather continuing to be good, they will fly off the glacier late this afternoon, and be back in the metropolis of Talkeetna this evening.
May
14
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The team had a chilly night (20 below 0) but is enjoying a sunny day, and plans to round “Windy Corner” today to make a cache.
May
14
Sorry for the delay, but we’ve had five trips get out the door in the last few days. Our focus was on making sure each of the trips was as prepared as possible. We had dinner with the Rib team the other night and these guys will have a great time on the mountain together. Gusto Curtis and Jay Richards are both from California and will be joined by veteran Denali guide, Jared Vilhauer.
The team flew into the park yesterday, and made good time in getting to Camp 1. The plan is to move up the glacier, acclimatizing on the West Buttress route until 14,000 foot camp. From there, they will descend to the base of the Rib, and attempt their climb in Alpine style.
May
14
Zach Johnson checks in from 7,800 foot camp. All is well on the trail.
May
13
Two of our favorite friends, Isaac and Ariel Tyler are back to give Denali another go, following a bout of illness that interfered with their last attempt.
The couple got high on Denali a few years ago, but a chest infection prevented them from making a summit bid. We are so happy that they have decided to trust Mountain Trip again and they are back for another shot at the top this spring.
On May 13th, they headed up to Talkeetna, along with some newly made friends. They were hoping to fly into the Kahiltna Glacier this afternoon, but rain and clouds prevented them from making the flight.
The forecast looks favorable, so we’re hopeful that the Tylers will fly to the glacier tomorrow and begin their climb up the highest peak in North America.
Ariel (5th from the left) and Isaac (on the right), about to head north to Talkeetna!
Karen, Ariel, Isaac and Joe, with a plane buzzing te Alaska Range!
May
13
Welcome to the Lucky Lindy Denali expedition!
Those of you who know, or even better (!) have had the opportunity to climb with Doug Lindauer will completely understand the moniker that has been bestowed upon this team. We would never want to “jinx” a team, but Doug has had an uncanny aptitude to summon amazing weather for his summit day. We’ll see if his aptitude holds true in the arctic!
On Friday, May 11, 2012, a team of three climbers met in Anchorage, Alaska to finish their preparations for their attempt to climb the biggest mountain in north America – Denali.
Let’s meet the team!
Doug Lindauer, from Atlanta (by way of Austin, TX – go Longhorns!)
Kim Inwersen from Switzerland
Max Ingwersen from Switzerland
Zach Johnson from Anchorage, AK
Matt Pickeren from Bayfield, CO
The author of this post has had the opportunity to climb with Doug, and while I will attempt to maintain a proper level of gravitas, those of you who know Doug will appreciate his propensity to keep humor at the forefront under adverse circumstances. This expedition is a big step up in terns of challenge, duration and commitment. The climbers are pitting themselves against the slopes of the biggest peak on our continent, an arctic behemoth that can generate its own weather.
The Lucky Lindy Team and the Tyler Team, about to head to Talkeetna
Doug, Zach, Kim and Max, outside of Talkeetna
Doug, making friends in Talkeetna!
May
12
Angela called in with a really nice message from the basin camp at 11,200′. The team left the 7,800′ camp at around noon and made their way up glacier to the head of the Kahiltna. They made a hard right turn and climbed up into a beautiful basin to make their way to a nice camp site surrounded by icy walls, with a huge view out to the west, across the tundra.
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May
12
We received something akin to a request for an update on the climbers from the April 22 team, who have been spending time at the 14,200′ camp, waiting on their fellow teammates to join them on the descent. The previous audio post, which is beautiful and inspiring, did not mention the climbers, but their friends and family are concerned, and we want everyone to rest assured that they are safely tucked into a well-fortified camp.
Climbing on an early season Denali expedition is a special undertaking, and requires that a team exercise a higher degree of self-sufficiency than might be required of a team later in the season. As Craig painted in his verbal picture, our crew was the first team to move high on the mountain. They had little in the way of back-up, as they were a full week ahead of the National Park Service and most other climbers this season. As such, they really needed to preserve their resources, which meant that each team member, whether they went up to high camp or not, needed to do their best to support the rest of the team.
Whilst the team up at high camp has been fighting high winds and broken tents, the two climbers at the 14,200′ camp have had their own struggle, which I expect evolved as the days passed. It can be incredibly challenging to wait, day after day, in very cold and windy conditions, when all you want is to get off the mountain and go home.
There is typically a cost to any decision we make in life, and the cost to sending the two climbers down with our guide Yoshiko in marginal weather conditions would have been to weaken the resources of the remaining climbers, while also exposing the already frost-nipped fingers of one climber to potential further cold damage. In our assessment up until speaking with the team at high camp late this afternoon, we felt that the prudent course of action was not to push a descent downhill in high winds and cold temperatures, where the potential for things not going smoothly could be assured.
After speaking with Michael Burmeister at high camp a couple of hours ago, he felt that, despite having been battered by storms at 17,200′ for many days, he and fellow guide Sebastian could manage descending the route with the climbers at high camp on their own. With this knowledge in hand, Yoshiko and the two climbers at 14,200′ will begin their descent when the weather permits. Getting down off the mountain a bit sooner is no call to compromise safety, and we sincerely appreciate the time that the two climbers at high camp have spent in an effort to best support the entire team.
Hopefully, this clarifies what has been going on with the climbers at 14,200′. We’ll update again when they begin to move.
May
12
Craig Wood called in with a very eloquent audio post from high camp at 17,200′. The team has been really, really tough as they have pushed up the mountain and been pummeled with winds and bitter cold up at high camp. I really, really encourage every Denali climber to listen to this podcast, as it captures much of the sublime beauty of a Denali experience.
I have to say that I have been on a dozen satellite phone calls today, and every single one was cut off when satellites passed out of view in their orbits. Not one call has retained a signal half as long as this call. I can’t help but wonder if the mountain gods really wanted this call to go out and helped in some way.
ZOE! You’d better listen to this, as there is a nice bit in it for you.
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