The May 19th team successfully made it to Denali Basecamp yesterday! Let the adventure begin!

Talkeetna sits at 348′ (106m), and this time of year winter is ending and making its transition to spring. Talkeetna sits literally at the end of the road to the Alaska Range, and has been the jumping off point for Alaska Range climbers for decades. Upon arrival, the team was briefed by the Park Service, weighed all their gear, and loaded the plane for their flight.

Leaving Talkeetna, the team flew over a vast flat expanse of braided rivers with the Alaska Range looming on the horizon. Eventually they reached the edge of the Range and the toe of the glaciers that flow out of its reaches. Granite peaks rise dramatically from the permanent ice and snow around them.

Finally landing in Basecamp is a surreal feeling. One moment you’re in a small plane weaving between some of the most dramatic mountain scenery on the planet, and the next you’re standing on the Kahiltna Glacier, surrounded on all sides by towering walls of granite and ice. The hum of the engine fades, the plane lifts off again, and suddenly the only sounds are the wind and the crunch of boots on snow. For most climbers, this is the moment the expedition truly begins — the city, the road, and the green of Talkeetna all feel a world away. There’s a lot of work ahead before the team can settle in for the night.

While at Basecamp, the team will review the skills for glacier travel, like tying into a rope team and loading backpacks and sleds, before tucking into bed early in preparation for a 4 a.m. departure. Teams leave early in the morning after the glacier has refrozen overnight and before it thaws out again in the heat of the day, because this is when snow bridges across crevasses are the most stable. It is also more comfortable to move at this time of day. At this elevation, temperatures can rise above freezing, and when the sun is beating down on you while you drag 120 lbs across 5 miles of glacier, it can feel unbearably hot.

Stay tuned for sat phone communication to be arriving over the next few days from our team! Until then we wish our climbers luck on a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

—

Family and friends are encouraged to leave comments for their loved ones on this expedition. Please keep in mind that climbers will not be able to see posts or comments until they return to Talkeetna at the end of the expedition.

Don’t forget that you can subscribe to this expedition’s Field Reports by entering your email address in the form to the right or below if viewing via mobile. That way, you never miss an update!

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.