The May 17th team took another rest day at 14 Camp today, with plans to make the move up to high camp tomorrow. The team is eyeing a summit attempt in the coming days, and the extra rest puts them in a strong position to take advantage of the next good weather window.

The decision to take another rest day at 14 is a smart, strategic call. Spending extra time at 14,200 feet gives the body more time to adapt to the altitude before pushing to high camp at 17,200 feet. The more acclimatized the team is before the move, the better positioned they’ll be once they step into the thinner air higher up. Summit day on Denali is one of the longest and most demanding days of any expedition, and every advantage that builds going into it matters.

Tomorrow’s move from 14 to high camp will take the team up the fixed lines, along the long ridge above, and finally into camp at 17,200 feet. It’s a committing day of climbing on some of the most exposed terrain of the West Buttress, but the team has put in the work to get here and is in a great spot to make the move.

For now, the May 17th team is at 14 Camp, resting up and getting ready for a big day tomorrow. The upper mountain is in view, and the team is well-positioned for the next phase of the climb.

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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.