Dear Friends and Family,

It’s been a pleasure sharing the journey up and down the West Buttress of Denali, along with a handful of riddles with the team. Year 2020 must have been a challenge for everyone, but Denali enjoyed a year of peace and has provided us with a series of opportunities to make advancement up the route with an ideal summit day of blue skies, near calm winds and temperature.

The views were also outstanding2021 continued with a lot of elevation to gain over many miles and over challenging conditions, earning every step of the way. We had a fair amount of poor visibility days, which made us appreciate outstanding views when the sky opened up to the surrounding peaks.

Many of us return to civilization with renewed appreciation for simple pleasures and convenience that we take for granted within our daily lives magnified.

In parting, I’d like to share a snapshot from the summit of Denali, and some scenes along the way that words and voice recordings cannot describe.

Congratulations to the whole team who have participated in this expedition, and on behalf of the guides and Mountain Trip, I thank all friends and family who have followed our progress and left messages. It means a lot to those on the mountain.

Kind regards,

Yoshiko Miyazaki, Mountain Trip Lead Guide