The May 26th team made it up to high camp today! Reaching high camp at 17,200 feet is a major milestone and a huge step toward a summit attempt.

The team made the move in about five and a half hours, which is a solid pace for one of the more demanding days on Denali. The climb from 14 Camp to high camp involves working up the fixed lines, navigating the long, exposed ridge that leads to high camp, and finally arriving at 17,200 feet with all the gear needed to live and climb at altitude. It’s a committing day under any conditions, and a clean, efficient effort like today’s is something to be proud of.

What made today even more memorable was the setting. The team climbed up through a cloud inversion, finding themselves above the clouds for much of the day with the upper mountain to themselves. Cloud inversions on Denali are some of the most surreal moments of any expedition. Looking out over a sea of white clouds with the high peaks of the Alaska Range poking through is the kind of view that stays with climbers long after they come off the mountain. Add in the quiet of having that stretch of the route mostly to themselves, and it makes for a truly special day on Denali.

For now, the May 26th team is settled in at high camp, getting tents pitched and bodies fed after a strong day of climbing. The summit is in view, and the team is in a great 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.