The team of Bob, Joe, and Joey Szalkiewicz, along with Nathan Fletcher, Kurt Wedberg and Ben Adkison reached the summit of Denali today! The team took advantage of very warm temperatures and pushed up from the 17,200′ High Camp to reach the top of North America. The warm conditions were a bit of a double…
Team Wedberg and Team Williams are making the final push to the summit! It’s a long, exhausting day of climbing, but the teams are moving well and team members are feeling good. We hope to get a call from the top, but sometimes the weather and temperatures keep them from using the satellite phone up…
Bob Szalkiewicz checked in from 14,200′ on the West Buttress of Denali. Today the team carried loads of supplies up the steepest terrain of the trip. The Headwall is a 600′ ramp of snow and ice, along which are affixed two ropes at semi-regular intervals. The climbers clipped mechanical ascenders to the fixed lines, tethering…
The team enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs (seems like they didn’t enjoy the kale :), broke camp, and headed to 14 Camp. As described in yesterday’s post, the team headed up Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, across the Polo Fields, and around Windy Corner. But today the team continued past the cache site…
Joey called in the team report tonight. It sounds like the team is in good spirits and enjoying some nice, clear weather. Today the team carried a load of equipment and supplies from Camp 2 to a cache site at 13,500′. Right out of camp the team began a steep ascent of Motorcycle Hill, which…
It was a beautiful, sunny day for the team to “backcarry”, or drop down and pick up their equipment and supplies that they cached a few days prior. Today is what we call an “active” rest day, because the cache site is not far from camp and the backcarry allows the team to stretch their…
The team carried a load of food, fuel, and a bit of extra gear to cache up to 9,500 ft today, and then returned to Camp 1 at 7,800 ft to spend another night. They are enjoying some nice weather up on Denali tonight, and sound like they are eating well and having a great…
After some weather delays in Talkeetna, the June 10th team hit the ground running after flying to the Kahiltna Glacier base camp yesterday. They are enjoying beautiful weather on Denali now and took advantage by moving on up to Camp 1 yesterday. They are settling in and about to enjoy a big dinner and get…
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…