We’d like to welcome Joe Marinucci to Alaska!  Joe will be joining senior Mountain trip guide Rob “Durny” Durnell and Chad Peele, a guide with Aspen, CO based Alpenglow Expeditions on an attempt of the West Buttress of North America’s highest peak.   The West Buttress is a classic mountaineering challenge that climbs 13,000′ from the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to the summit of Denali.

Located within Denali National Park and Preserve, Denali (Mount McKinley) is a beacon for climbers from around the globe.  As is the case with many of our National Parks, the access for guides is closely controlled by the National Park Service (NPS) by the issuance of concession-based permits in an effort to (arguably) both ensure the highest quality of visitor services and to best preserve the resources of the region.  Mountain Trip is a long-time concessionaire of Denali NPP.

We have a history of working with select guides and guide services to help enable them to gain access to Denali, and this expedition is an example of such collaboration.  Alpenglow Expeditions contacted us to discuss the possibility of organizing an expedition, and we are helping them offer a climb to one of their repeat clients.

The team will climb up the West Buttress route over the course of the next 2-3 weeks, pitting themselves agains what can often be some of the most inhospitable weather and terrain on the planet.  Fingers crossed, they’ll encounter windows of nice weather and will be able to make their way up to the summit of North America.

Welcome the Alaska!