The June 16th Gillig team is officially on the mountain! The team flew into Basecamp this afternoon and, after getting their gear sorted, is planning to head up toward Camp 1 at some point in the middle of the night.

Traveling up the lower glacier in the overnight hours is one of the smartest approaches on Denali. As temperatures drop, the snow refreezes and the snow bridges that span the crevasses below firm up significantly. Moving during these hours is the safest way to cross the lower glacier, and it lets the team make real progress on day one while conditions are at their best.

What makes this expedition especially exciting is that the team is attempting to ski from the summit of Denali, one of the most ambitious objectives in North American ski mountaineering. Skiing Denali adds a significant layer of complexity to an already demanding climb. The team isn’t just hauling the standard expedition kit; they’re also carrying skis, skins, and ski-specific gear up the mountain, which adds weight and bulk to every carry and every camp move. Beyond the logistics, skiing from 20,310 feet demands that conditions line up in a very specific way. The snow has to be stable and skiable, the weather has to cooperate, and the team has to have the energy and acclimatization to both climb to the summit and ski back down safely. The terrain on the upper mountain is steep, exposed, and unforgiving, so the margin for error on the descent is slim. Add in the altitude, the cold, and the ever-present hazard of crevasses, and a summit ski descent becomes one of the most committing things a climber can attempt on Denali.

For now, the June 16th Gillig team is at Basecamp, getting ready for their overnight push to Camp 1. With an ambitious objective ahead and the climb officially underway, the team is off to a strong start on what promises to be an unforgettable expedition.

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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.