The storm has passed, but the mountain is still not giving climbers a good opportunity to move high. It was still very, very cold today, with morning temperatures of -25F inside the climbers’ tents. Winds still blew plumes of snow off the ridge above the 14,200′ camp, so the West Rib team sat tight in…
We have just gotten word that the Mountain Trip May 24 West Buttress Team has loaded up all of their gear onto a Talkeetna Air Taxi plane, and is patiently awaiting the weather call before they fly in to Denali Base Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier. From their they will begin their ascent of the…
Mountain Trip lead guide Adam Smith called in for the May 19 West Buttress team, who are currently camped out at 11,200′ on Denali. Adam and two climbers (Aparna and Linda) put in a tough day hiking back down to retrieve their cache at around 10,500′ in whiteout conditions, breaking trail through deep snow while carrying…
Mountain Trip climber Eric Greene called in with an evening update on the May 15 Denali West Buttress Expedition, who, along with three other Mountain Trip teams, are holding strong at 14-Camp and doing their best to stay busy and stay out of the cold. High winds and blowing snow, brought in by the southwest…
Mountain Trip guide Brett Baekey called in with an update on the May 22 West Buttress Team from the snowy Kahiltna Glacier. Despite the storm, the team was able to make good progress from Base Camp up to Camp 1 at 7,800′ shortly after arriving the night before. Since Camp 1 and Base Camp often…
Mountain Trip lead guide Dan Starr called in a quick update on the May 13 Denali West Buttress team, who, like three other Mountain Trip teams, are waiting for a weather window to move to High Camp and make their summit bid. The team spent the day reinforcing their latrine, building snow walls to block…
The Mountain Trip May 11 team called in their report, once again from 14-Camp, noting with a great sense of humor that they are “still alive.” They are now on their fourth rest day at camp, trying their best to keep their spirits high, stay healthy and entertained and keep warm in the midst of…
It sounds like the wind is howling at 14 Camp, so the May 13 Team rested and relaxed today. The snow walls the team built yesterday have held up well and are protecting the their tents from from the wind. But as the weather rages on, the team is cozy in camp and Lead Guide…
Mountain Trip Climber Linda Wohlgemuth called in on behalf of the May 19 Denali West Buttress Expedition, who took a weather and rest day at Camp 2 at 11,200′, waiting on better conditions and visibility to make the trek up to Camp 3 above 14,000′. Like many of the groups on the mountain, the May…
Mountain Trip guide Nicole Lawton called in on behalf of the May 11 Denali West Buttress Expedition, who “enjoyed” a rest day at Camp 3 at 14,200′, waiting out high winds and blowing snow. The team has begun to really dig into the material that they brought along for entertainment, including listening to extensive recorded live…