Mountain Trip guide Karl Welter called in with an update for the June 2 Denali West Buttress Team, who have now spent four nights at their camp 11,200′, unable to move higher due to weather. Often, the clouds hover at around 11,000′, just above Kahiltna Pass, making for low visibility and generally during storms, a…
Mountain Trip guide Jesse Wright called in on behalf of the May 27 Denali West Buttress team, who have been weathering the storm at 14,200′ for just under a week now. Climbing Denali often depends on the will of the mountain–not of the climbers–but the team also must keep their spirits high and stay in…
Climber Matt Howell called in from snowy 14-Camp with an update on the May 29 West Buttress team, who are staying busy and weathering the storm that has persisted for just under a week. The team finally caught a glimpse of blue sky yesterday, which bred some optimism for their chances of heading up to…
Guide Brian Kramp called in with an update on Shan’s May 28 Denali West Buttress expedition, who are eating well and resting at 14-Camp with several other Mountain Trip teams. Due to weather, they are taking another rest day at camp, staying busy fortifying their snow walls, digging out their tents and most likely, catching…
The June 5 West Buttress team put in a big day of climbing to move up from Camp One at 7,800′ to Camp Two at 11,200′, through deep fresh snow with heavy packs and sleds full of gear. Their day began at 2 a.m., and they traveled for about 8 hours uphill and breaking trail…
The Mountain Trip May 24 team has returned back to 14-Camp after a retreat from High Camp in worsening conditions. Winds blew at a steady 35 miles per hour on the exposed ridgelines, with gusts reaching even higher than that. With no signs of the weather abating any time soon to allow for a summit…
Visible from over 100 miles away, rising like an icy sentinel 18,000′ (5486 m) above the surrounding tundra, Denali, “The Great One” serves as a beacon for mountaineers from around the world. Our June 9 Denali West Buttress team has answered the mountain’s siren-call, and will meet in Anchorage today to begin the preparation for…
Climber Ross Jobson called in an update on the May 29 West Buttress Team, who are waiting out the weather and wind at 14-Camp. The team took at rest day at 14-Camp after a big day of carrying loads to cache up the ridge at around 16,500′. It’s likely that the team will take another…
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…
Climber Rob Leskun of the Mountain Trip June 5 West Buttress team called in from Camp One at 7,800′, with an update for those at home on their progress towards the summit of Denali. After flying into the Alaska Range and touching down on the Kahiltna glacier several days ago, the team has made good…