Here we are, back in sunny Anchorage sipping beer, eating good food and relaxing with our feet up. It hard to believe that we were standing on top of Denali 72 hours ago. The contrast is incredible, green grass and air so thick you can chew it vs. ice, snow and granite as far as you can see. Looking back on one of our most successful trips into the Alaska Range has been really fun. We shared lots of laughs, had the fortune to successfully climb Denali and most importantly we all returned home safe and injury free. We would be remiss to ignore the hours spent in the wind tunnel up high on the West Rib, or the physical and mental strain we were required to push through to keep moving while exhausted. But hey, that is why we do this. We love climbing and we love the mountains. We thrive on building those partnerships that can only be developed by throwing yourself wholeheartedly at a route with two amazing climbing partners. We are happy to say that we all remained friends after the trip, in fact we are way closer than we were 3 weeks ago. Here’s to more adventures together in the future, whether back in the range or closer to home.

We want to wish a large congratulations to Dave Helland. He showed incredible grit and is a darn savvy climber himself. We were lucky to have the opportunity to explore a large portion of the upper mountain on this trip. Our conditions were on all ends of the spectrum from climbing blue ice on the West Rib to walking on the Kahiltna glacier and from high winds and tent bound days to “gloveless” weather and no crowds on the summit of Denali. Dave you crushed it.

Happy climbing, and Dave don’t forget all these experiences on a “glassiere” (outrageous french accent)!

Fischer and Matt