Base camp is located at 7,200 on the Southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. It can be a bustling place, with the deep drone of aircraft echoing off the surrounding walls. Here are some images to help readers get a sense of what your friends and family are experiencing on their Denali climb. …
Ryan called in from the 14,200′ camp after the team back carried the cache that they had placed at about 12,500′ a couple days ago. They now have all their food and fuel poised at 14,200′ and just need a decent weather day in order to push their next cache up onto the ridge above…
Lead guide Scott Woolums called in a brief update from 11,200′, before passing the phone to Volker. Unfortunately, the connection was abruptly lost before we could hear anything from Volker. Better living through technology, eh? The team plans to move up to the big camp at 14,200′. They put a cache in today at about…
Our guide Rene Welty called in from the 11,200′ camp to let us all know that they team made it to the beautiful basin and established themselves for the evening. She mentioned that it was HOT on the glacier today, which might sound like an oxymoron, eh? A hot glacier? It is amazing how warm…
The May 30 West Buttress team is taking advantage of a beautiful day in the Alaska Range to move up to the basin camp at 11,200′. They put in a cache of equipment yesterday and today are climbing up past that cache to establish a new camp. This system of carrying equipment and supplies to…
The May 30th Team has been working hard, and moving well. Yesterday they cached a load of equipment and supplies at 10,000 ft, and today they are moving up to Camp 2 at 11,200 ft. It’s a calm, clear day and the conditions are perfect for the team to continue their progress up the mountain.…
Lead guide Scott Woolums called in with the first audio post for our May 30th Denali Team. They choose to spend yesterday in Anchorage, rather than contribute to the backlog of climbers who have been stuck in Talkeetna for up to six days. The weather has not permitted any planes to fly between Talkeetna and…
It’s been a pretty long stretch of wind and snow in the Alaska Range for the last days, and it is expected to continue through most of the weekend. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, as the snow is expected to taper off and winds die down by late Sunday and…
Denali. “The Great One.” Mount McKinley. By any name, the behemoth that dominates south central Alaska is something to behold in awe and to treat with the utmost respect. For climbers, the mountain presents what many might consider the challenge of a lifetime, as they pit themselves against brutal winds, arctic temperatures and the thin…