The May 19th team has officially arrived in Talkeetna and joined the lineup of teams waiting on the weather to fly. With storm systems continuing to hold over the Alaska Range, the team is settling into the rhythm of pre-expedition life on the ground rather than on the glacier.

There’s a familiar checklist that every team works through after pulling into Talkeetna, and the order it gets tackled in depends largely on when each team is scheduled to meet with the National Park Service (NPS). A required step in the registration process is the pre-climb orientation, where one of the NPS climbing rangers walks the team through current conditions on Denali and the latest nuances on the glacier. Alongside the orientation, the team also has to unload, organize, and weigh every piece of equipment and supply they’ll bring onto the mountain — a meticulous process that ensures the planes can be loaded properly and nothing critical gets left behind. With all of that done, the only thing left to do is wait for the call to fly.

The flight onto the glacier might sound straightforward, but it’s actually one of the first major logistical hurdles of any Denali expedition. The flight covers about 45 miles in a small single-engine plane, with travel time running anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes depending on conditions. Denali, sometimes called the “Great Massif,” is so massive that it generates its own weather patterns, and the airspace around it can shift quickly. It’s not unusual for Talkeetna to be sunny and clear while the glacier itself is socked in and unflyable. The bush pilots who fly this route are some of the most skilled in the world, so when they call a delay, it’s a strong signal that conditions are genuinely difficult.

With so many MTA teams now stacked up in Talkeetna waiting for the weather to break, the guides have come up with a creative way to make the most of the extra time. Aili mentioned that the MTA crews are planning a BBQ to start putting their trip food to good use. It’s a fun, community-style approach to a long weather hold and a great way to keep morale up across all of the teams currently grounded in town. There’s something especially Alaskan about a backyard BBQ between climbers killing time before stepping onto one of the most iconic mountains in the world.

For now, the May 19th team is keeping a close eye on the forecast, getting acquainted with town life, and staying ready for the call to fly. We’re hoping the skies cooperate soon!

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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.