Lead guide Chris called in to let us know the May 22 team has arrive in Denali Basecamp! They spend a few hours on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier where the airstrip. They used this time to practice how to tie into a rope team properly, loading up their backpacks and sleds and how to properly tie those in, and how to tie a prussik which is part of tying into a rope team. After a couple hours of sleeping under the “stars” (the sun doesn’t much set this time of year, but it may have gotten slightly darker for a bit) the team took off at 2am this morning to make their way to Camp 1 during the coolness of the day. Now that we’re getting closer to June, temps on the glacier are starting to warm up, especially at basecamp and Camp 1. Traveling at night is more comfortable than enduring the scorching sun and also ensures that snow bridges on the glacier (the snow that bridges a crevasse) are still frozen and intact for their journey.
This photo is from a 2021 team, but gives an idea what basecamp is like!
Here’s Chris!
