The May 11th group of Denali hopefulls, Mountain Trip’s second Denali expedition of the season, has just successfully arrived at Base Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier. Lead guide Joe Butler called in to headquarters on behalf of his group, which includes Bob Baker, who has taken several trips on Denali with Mountain Trip over the years.

Joe said they had a great flight in from Talkeetna via the Air Taxi, with a few clouds shrouding the rugged peaks of the Alaska Range.

Joe remarked (with either delight or chagrin, we can’t quite tell) that the team had enjoyed their “last salad for the next 21 days” at Base Camp, along with tortellini and fresh garlic bread.

They seem pretty excited about enjoying a good hearty meal, hanging out at camp, and getting to know one another before they embark on the journey to summit Denali. As today is expected to be warm on the glacier (by arctic standards) after a couple of days of storms, the team tucked in early last night and planned to make an alpine start at about 3 a.m. The weather is supposed to stay sunny and clear through Monday.

Best of luck to the May 11 Team and other climbers beginning their ascent to the highest point of North America. As always, we wish everyone a safe and enjoyable climb.

Listen to the update from Joe below: