Climber Scott Wheeler called in for the May 22 Denali West Buttress team, who made the difficult decision to turn back from High Camp at 17,500′ and abandon their summit bid due to bad and worsening weather up high. They have now been on the mountain for over 19 days, most of which they have…
Mountain Trip lead guide Nick Aiello called in from 14,200′ on the West Buttress after the team made their descent from High Camp, forced to turn back by the weather. Unfortunately, their weather window slammed shut, and after a day in extremely high winds at camp, they made the difficult decision to descend. The team…
The May 22nd Team enjoyed a rest day at High Camp. Team members rested, relaxed, and hydrated after the move up to 17,200′. It sounds like it was a bit windy and the team spent some time fortifying camp by building snow walls around their tents. The plan is to attempt to summit tomorrow. Fingers…
Great climbing, great weather, great spirits for the May 22 Denali West Buttress Team! Climber Tim Spencer called in to update those following along at home that the team has reached High Camp at 17,200′, their final stop before the summit at 20,320′. Although their legs are tired from the ascent, they seem eager to…
Climber Jake Wheeler called in an update on the Mountain Trip May 22 West Buttress Expedition on Denali. It seems as if teams had a bit of trouble calling in last night, as many of the updates were either cut short, unintelligible, or did not come through at all. We can make out that the…
Climber Scott Wheeler called in an update on the May 22 Denali West Buttress team, who have progressed up to 14,200′ on the route and set up camp. The team has been fortunate enough to spend the last few days climbing in relatively warm (around 32 degrees Fahrenheit) weather, with clear skies and sunshine. They…
The climbers on our May 22 West Buttress team had a big day yesterday, packing up their camp at 11,200′ and moving everything up around Windy Corner to establish themselves at the huge Genet Basin camp often called “14 Camp.” This is their third camp of the expedition, and this elevation is an important one…
Abe Wheeler checked in after the team carried loads of supplies up and around the infamous, Windy Corner, to cache at an elevation of 13,500′ today. The day began with a climb right out of camp up the steepest slope they have yet encountered on the route, Motorcycle Hill. This thousand foot climb led them…
Anna Wheeler called in from the beautiful basin camp at 11,200′ this evening. The weather in the morning had been really rough, but later in the day, it cleared and became downright hot and sunny! The challenge for the team was that by the time things cleared and warmed, they had already made the decision…
Climber Tim Spencer called in a report for the Mountain Trip May 22 Denali West Buttress Expedition, who took a much-needed rest day at Camp 3 after officially spending one week on the route. The spent the day refueling with good food, shoveling out their tents, catching up on reading, and getting to know the…