The wait is over for the May 17th team! After days of sitting tight in Talkeetna watching the skies, the team finally caught their window today and made the flight onto the glacier. Even better, they didn’t stop there.

Once on the snow at Basecamp, the team made the call to keep moving rather than settle in for the night. Camp got unloaded, gear got organized, and by the afternoon they were on the rope and headed toward Camp 1. It’s the kind of decision that takes advantage of a hard-won weather window and starts clawing back some of the time lost during the extended hold in town. Pushing straight through to Camp 1 on day one is no small effort, but it puts the team in a much better position to keep building momentum if the weather continues to cooperate.

As of this evening, we haven’t heard from the team — and honestly, that tracks. After flying onto the glacier, breaking down loads at Basecamp, and roping up for a long pull toward Camp 1, the priority once tents are pitched is usually a hot meal and a sleeping bag, not the satellite phone. We’re expecting a check-in tomorrow once the team has had time to rest and reset for whatever comes next.

For the May 17th team, this is exactly the kind of day they’ve been waiting for. After all the patience and uncertainty of the past several days, the mountain finally gave them an opening, and they took it.

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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.