Well, it was a pretty epic season on the West Buttress of Denali this year! A record-breaking high-pressure system brought clear skies from the end of May through most of June, which ushered hundreds of climbers to the pearly white summit. The National Park Service reported a 70% summit rate this year, up from their…
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“The odds of summiting Denali are no better than a coin toss, but those who do it join a prestigious club–and guide service Mountain Trip has successfully helped roughly 2,000 people reach the highest point in North America during its 49-year history. Now, the Telluride-based outfitter is guiding adventurers to join an even more elite…
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Waking up slowly in my tent on the slopes on Kilimanjaro, I heard camp beginning to stir. Local guides, porters and climbers started to emerge from their tents dotting the Shira I campsite. From a variety of different directions, the common Swahili greeting “Jambo” was being tossed around. In varying degrees of pre-coffee stupor, some…
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“Ham and Eggs” By Nick Aiello-Popeo, 2017 While most visitors to the Central Alaska Range toil under heavy loads on Denali’s West Buttress, some of us prefer the relatively-smaller surrounding peaks, with their steeper faces and lighter backpacks. It was during my first trip up Denali in 2010, while flipping through a well-worn guidebook…
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The Dec. 17 Mountain Trip Aconcagua team had a great day of trekking and are now in basecamp. They woke up early this morning and crossed over the Rio Vacas on the backs of the mules, and continued up the valley to basecamp. The team is all doing great and blown away at how…
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We don’t often run trips to Mount Rainer, but we had a special father and son team and were able to get a permit to take them on the mountain. Congratulations to David and Turner for getting to the top of Mount Rainer on their way to summiting the highest peak in all 50 states!…
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The 2017 Mountain Trip Everest team is staying fit and acclimated at base camp by taking daily hikes up to nearly 19,000 ft on nearby Pumori. The weather up high on Mount Everest has continued to be difficult, winds and snow continue, but teams have pushed up to the top and the rope is now…
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The climbers are on their way to Everest base camp and spent the day enjoying the village of Namche today. They’ll spend a couple of extra days on their way up to base camp to acllimatize and enjoy the journey, and Namche is a favorite stop. They went for a hike above town to a…
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Family Ice Climbing in Colorado “You really want me to ice climb?” “C’mon Dad! I know you can do it!” cried 8-year old Izzy, tugging on her father’s hand and directing him toward the leather couch in our reception area. Grinning in the thin air of Telluride’s 8,750 foot elevation, Ernie allowed himself to be…
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I received a phone call from a climber yesterday who had been on one of our Denali expeditions this summer. While looking back at his photos from the expedition, wanted to reach out and share a story about passing around the infamous Windy Corner at around 13,400’ on the West Buttress Route. He thanked us…
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