Lead guide Matt Park updates us from Camp 3 yesterday. After summiting, the team returned to High Camp and tucked in for the night. This morning they woke up, packed up camp, and descended back to Camp 3. They set up a temporary stay in Camp 3 and took some time for a much needed…
Congratulations to the members of our May 11th West Buttress team, who are standing on the summit of Denali! Strong work team!!! We don’t have a lot of details at the moment, but the team made good time ascending over 3000 feet from their High Camp at 17,200 feet. They departed camp just before 9:30…
Guide Jesse Yon lets us know the team has weathered another day at High Camp! That puts them at 3 days in the tough conditions of 17,200′ (5242m). But the team is strong and ready for the next push of the trip! They were able to take a break from the tent life as our…
Craig updates us from 17,200′ (5242m) last night. The team had a rest day yesterday after moving to High Camp the day before, which is a pretty big push! The team spent the day drinking lots of warm fluids, testing out some dehydrated meals, and praying for good weather. There really isn’t too much to…
The May 11 team packed up from Camp 3 yesterday. They ascended 1,000′ to the bergschrund below the fixed lines. A berschrund is where the glacier meets steep ice and sloughs dramatically away from it creating a gaping crevasse. Here, the team attached their ascender to their harness and to the rope (fixed line). They…
Guide Chloe Slack called in for the May 11 team last night. The team took a well deserved rest day at Camp 3. Chloe reports the team is good, feeling strong, and has had good weather. Rest days at Camp 3 are used to practice technical skills, such as how to ascend the fixed lines…
The May 11 team headed up the fixed lines yesterday to what we call the “16 Ridge” (simply because it is a ridge of the mountain at 16,000′). Just above the saddle of this ridge at 16,200′ (4937m) the team dug in their last cache. This views from up here are phenomanal and I’m sure…
The May 11 team had an active rest day today as they returned to Windy Corner at 13,200′ (4023m) to retrieve their cache. They are now fully supplied at Camp 3. The team has been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather, time to bust out those Hawaiian shirts! They plan to cache at 16,200′ (4937m) tomorrow.…
Nadia Khoso called in from the West Buttress expedition’s new digs in the broad Genet Basin at 14,200 feet. The team retraced their steps from yesterday’s carry to their cache site, collected some of their gear, and climbed another 700 feet up to the site of their Camp 3. The team did really well today,…
Derek Mahon Called in a very nice and descriptive post from the team’s camp in the small basin at 11,000 feet. The May 14 West Buttress expedition is back in camp after a really good day of carrying loads of supplies to a cache spot about 2500 feet above camp. The day started out with…