The team pushed hard to get supplies up to the high camp on the Upper West Rib or “Riblet” today. They skied up most of the elevation gain, as the initial slopes to high camp are moderate and afford fantastic skiing opportunities. It sounds like then took some advantage of those opportunities on their descent,…
The “Riblet” team called in after a relatively short day of dropping down about 700′ below camp to retrieve the cache they left at 13,500′ a couple of days ago. They plan to move up onto the Rib tomorrow. The “Riblet” is a reference to the route these guys are attempting. There is a steep…
The team has arrived at what could be considered their Advanced Base Camp, tucked in the broad basin at 14,200′. They made really good time moving up today, despite consistent and continuous snowfall the whole time they were hiking. They climbed up a sereis of moderately steep slopes before traversing along the base of the…
The Upper Rib Team made short work of their back carry day today, skiing (while roped) down to their cache site, where they had left some supplies the day before. The team is traveling on skis, which is one potential benefit of a small, private team like this one; however, the National Park Service does…
The Upper West Rib Team checked in after a strong push up to 9,600′, which they did in one push, moving their camp up 1,800′ from their home of last night. This is called “single carrying,” when you load up all you kit and just move your camp higher up the mountain. The weather has…
The Upper Rib team hasn’t called in recently, but we have heard that they are moving well, making quick work of the lower glacier. Yesterday, the team flew to the glacier and hit the ground running. moving up to Camp 1 at the 7,800′. Today, they continued their ascent, moving up to an intermediate camp…
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…
Nothing interesting, the weather is keeping the planes from flying to basecamp. Lead guide Pi is keeping things busy, showing the team around Talkeetna and keeping the mood light with some stories from his times in the mountains.
Mountain Trip guide PI just called from Talkeetna, where the team is on a “weather hold” today. Scot went for a run, and then the team met at the Roadhouse for a yummy meal. The team is hoping for a break in the weather long enough to fly onto the glacier. Fingers crossed! Good company…
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…