The May 26th team took a rest day at 14 Camp today, taking the time to recover and acclimatize before looking ahead to the next push higher. After the work it took to cache at the top of the fixed lines, a day spent resting, hydrating, and eating well is exactly what the team needs heading into the upper mountain phase of the climb.

Rest days at 14 Camp also serve a strategic purpose. 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.

The plan for the move to high camp is still being worked out. The team’s guides will be keeping a close eye on the weather tomorrow and making the call when the conditions and the team are aligned. Timing the move to high camp with a favorable window is one of the most important decisions of the expedition, and the guides are doing exactly what they should be: staying flexible and ready to move when the mountain says go.

For now, the May 26th team is at 14 Camp, taking it easy and getting ready for whatever comes next. The upper mountain is in view, and the team is in a strong spot heading into 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.