Lead guide Kristin Arnold called in a final update for the June 11 team, who are back in Anchorage after their expedition up the West Buttress! They are likely enjoying being back in civilization, complete with warm showers, fresh produce, greenery and iced beverages. The team descended from 14-camp all the way to Denali base…
Congratulations to the June 11th Team for reaching the summit of Denali! It was hard work and the team endured through difficult weather conditions, but they kept their pace and made good decisions and today Julian and Kristin stood on the summit. It sounds like they had the summit to themselves—awesome. We’ll post more information…
It was a cold, windy day on the upper mountain but the team was able to move to High Camp at 17,200′. They retraced their steps up the Headwall, made their way carefully along the beautiful ridgeline above the Genet basin, passed their cache site, and arrived at High Camp. It’s definitely some of the…
Today the crew made a big push up the steepest part of the West Buttress route, carrying loads of equipment and supplies to a cache site 16,400′. They started out early, climbing moderate snow slopes for approximately 1,400′ above 14 Camp. At roughly 15,600′, they reached the Headwall, a steep ice and snow slope that…
The team spent a good chunk of the day practicing skills that they will use on the upper mountain, right out of 14 Camp. It was also a day for the team to rest, relax, and hydrate before heading tomorrow to altitudes exceeding 16,400′. The physical exertion combined with the thin air at high altitude…
Ryan called in for the June 11 Denali West Buttress at Camp Three at 14,200′! The team plans on being at 14-Camp for another couple of days to acclimate to the thinner air of the upper mountain, rest up for their summit bid, and refresh mountaineering skills that will be essential as the route becomes…
Climber Teri called in an update on the June 11 West Buttress team who, despite snow and wind, were able to move up to Camp Two at 11,200′ and cache at 13,500′ to put them in good position to move to Camp Three at 14,200′ today. The spirits on the team seem very high! Here’s…
Today the team attempted to move from Camp 1 (7800′) to 11 Camp (11,200′). However, the storm system that has been sitting over the Alaska range for the past week has dumped so much snow that travel was too difficult, and the team retreated back to Camp 1. Veteran Mountain Trip guides are reporting more…
Mountain Trip guide Nicole Lawton called in from a snowy Camp 1 at 7,800′. A significant storm as taken up residence over Denali in recent days, and the June 11th team stayed in camp as the snow fell on the Kahiltna Glacier. The forecasters refer to it as a “tropical storm,” which seems a bit…
Teri called in from the June 11 Denali team today with the evening expedition update from Camp 1 (7,800 ft). Today they carried a load of food, fuel, and some extra equipment up to around 10,000 ft on the upper Kahiltna Glacier where they buried it in the snow and will pick it up in…