May 16th Team

The May 16th team is now on an impressive five-day stretch in Talkeetna, patiently waiting out the storm that has settled in over the Alaska Range. Five days on the ground is a long stay by any measure, but it’s far from unheard of during the Denali season — storm systems in this part of the world don’t tend to be in a rush, and when a low-pressure system parks itself over the Range, there’s not much to do but wait it out.

The team has been making the most of their extended stay. Talkeetna may be small, but it has a way of filling time in unexpected ways. There are coffee shops to settle into, a few good restaurants to rotate through, and no shortage of fellow climbers passing through with their own stories about waiting on the weather. It’s also been a great chance to rest, eat well, and arrive at the glacier in even better shape than when they touched down. After months of training and preparation, a few extra days of recovery and good food is not the worst thing in the world.

There’s also a quiet upside to a long delay: by the time the team finally lands on the glacier, they’ll be ready in every sense of the word. Gear has been packed, repacked, and triple-checked. Systems have been drilled. Climbers have had time to settle into the rhythm of expedition life before the expedition has even truly started. The mountain hasn’t gone anywhere, and when the window finally opens, the May 16th team will be more than ready to take it.

For now, the team is staying loose, staying patient, and keeping an eye on the forecast. Here’s hoping the weather turns soon and they can finally trade the streets of Talkeetna for the snow of the Kahiltna!

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Interested in more information about conditions and happenings on Denali? Be sure to also check out the Denali National Park’s Denali Dispatches Blog where they post weekly Field Reports.