May 10th West Buttress Final Dispatch After being stuck one day in Talkeetna we began our climb with very good weather of the lower mountain. We made good time during our cache and move days and were not held up by the weather until we reached camp 3. The day we moved from camp 2…
Patrick O’Neill calls in from Camp 14,200′ after some nights at High Camp. The team endured high winds and very cold temperatures at 17,200′ and made a decision to retreat back down to 14,200′. Due to these extreme conditions the team has decided to not make a summit push and will begin to make their…
Lead guide Matt Park called in an update from High Camp at 17,200′. Matt mentioned that the teams had a “super alpine day” on the 16-Ridge, battling wind and cold temperatures to reach Denali High Camp yesterday evening, one step closer to reaching the summit. From Camp Three, the team ascended the steep headwall above…
The May 10 Denali West Buttress Team took a weather/rest day yesterday at 14,000′ Camp (Camp 3). Rest days are great for teamwork and building camaraderie between the team members. Weather days often include multiple cups of coffee, and a little bit of hard work. Building walls is a common way to keep busy around…
Mountain Trip guide Jordan Cargill called in an update on the May 10 West Buttress team. Clear skies at 14-Camp enabled the team to set their cache at the top of the steep headwall to the 16,000′ steep ridge that the route ascends to reach High Camp at 17,200′. The team enjoyed a well-earned burrito…
Climber Eric Hunter on the May 10 Denali team called in an update after an eventful weather day of watching movies and reading books in their tents. The team is hoping for better weather on the horizon, but for now they’re holding tight in camp! Here’s Eric! recording
Patrick calls in from Camp 14,200 feet during a rest day due to poor weather. The team plans to climb the fixed lines on May 21 and cache up on the 16,000 ft ridge. This is a physically demanding day on steep terrain and important for allowing the body to acclimatize. After descending back to…
The team calls in after retrieving their cache at Windy Corner. After a restful morning and pick-up of supplies down at Windy Corner, the afternoon was spent with skills training to prepare for ascending the fixed lines. The fixed lines live roughly 1,400 feet above camp 14,200′ and entail 600 feet of steep snow climbing…
Howdy All, We are experiencing some difficulties with the audio posts called in from the field. Our IT Guy is working hard to resolve it and we hope to have them up and running again shortly. The May 7th team carried loads up the steepest part of the route yesterday. Known as the “Headwall” or…
Team member, Chris, called in from 14,000′ camp last night. The team was able to move from 11,200′ camp to 14,200′ camp yesterday in “chilly” conditions. Good thing the team has been eating well, with a high calorie mac n’ cheese dinner to keep them warm on the move. Arriving at 14,000′ camp is huge…