Climber Tom Grafitti called in with a fantastic audio dispatch from 14,200′ (or 4328m in non-freedom units) to report that the team made the push up to Camp 3, picking up their cache along the way! 

Here’s Tom: Audio Recording

We love to hear Tom’s enthusiasm and are excited that the team had such great weather to make this move. It sounds like everyone is in high spirits and happy to be at 14-Camp.

14-Camp, a small city of climbers during peak season.

Making it to 14,200′ is a huge milestone for expeditions ascending the West Buttress Route on Denali. It’s where the “walking” ends, and the “climbing” begins. Much of their expedition thus far has been approaching the West Buttress via the Kahiltna Glacier, but now they are positioned directly below the Headwall which leads up to the 16,000′ Ridge and takes climbers to the final camp before the Summit!

Camp 3 is what some folks call “Advanced Basecamp” on Denali because this glacial plateau will transform into a small city of expeditions and climbing groups waiting for their “weather window” to launch an attempt at the summit.

The 14,200′ Camp is situated in a big flat bowl of terrain which allows expedition members to move safely unroped between camps, creating a very social atmosphere as climbers get to wander through camp and strike up conversations with other expedition teams. In this half-a-square-mile stretch of snow, you’re likely to hear dozens of different languages from all over the world. It’s a great time for our international team members to find their compatriots and spend some quality time speaking their native tongue. It’s also a time for our various teams to come together and strategize for how to approach the remaining part of the climb.

Help us congratulate the June 9th Team for making it to Camp 3 by leaving a comment below!