Lead Guide Joe Butler called in after the team took an active rest day yesterday and a full rest day today. The team slept in yesterday, as there was no reason to awaken before the sun came around the mountain and warmed their tents. They had a big breakfast and dropped back to the uphill…
The team packed up camp and began to move up the mountain, but after a bit of a hike, they decided to turn back to camp, as they could see strong winds screaming spindrift across a long section of route known as the Polo Fields. It was a cold morning, so they took their time…
Jeremy Cordelier gave us an update in French for all you Francophiles out there! Rusty Schlessman gave us the English summary as well! The team moved up to Camp 2 today, climbing about 2400′ (730 m) up the Kahiltna Glacier over the course of 4.5 miles (7.24 km). They climbed above the start of the…
Mountain Trip guide Nicole Lawton called in from Camp 2 on Denali’s West Buttress route. She has reunited with the team, after making a quick lap to Base Camp yesterday, helping a climber catch a flight out of the Alaska Range. The team did a “backcarry” today, meaning they dropped down to the site of…
Paul Kreiner called in from 7,800′ (2377 m) on the Kahiltna Glacier, the site of the team’s fist camp on their way up the West Buttress route of Denali. The team departed Base Camp in foggy conditions and traveled about five miles (8 km) up the vast glacier. This was a tough hike, as they…
Erich called in from 14,200′. The team has been keeping an eye on the weather, waiting for a window in which they can push up to High Camp at 17,200′ and then a summit push. Today, they went for a hike to aide in the acclimatization process. They climbed up onto the upper part of…
Seba Grau called from the basin camp at 11,200′ this evening. The team carried loads up another 2300′ and cached their supplies on the uphill side of a feature known as Windy Corner. This is a steep ridge of rock that drops down to the glacier and can channel wind around in a fashion that…
Paul called in from the Warfighter Sports/DSUSA team this evening from Camp 3 on Denali at 14,200 ft. They climbed from the 11,000 ft camp today, so it was a big move with big packs today. The route from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on the West Buttress Route ascends more steeply up “Motorcycle Hill”…
The team had a great day on the mountain, carrying a load of fuel, food, and some gear up to 10,200 ft from camp at 7,800 ft. They dug a deep pit in the snow and cached the extra food and fuel to pick up in a couple of days, and then returned to Camp…
The May 9 team moved up to Camp 3 at 14,200 ft today! It was a beautiful day, but a bit windy around “Windy Corner” unsurprisingly. It’s a big climb from the 11,000 ft camp to Camp 3, climbing some increasingly steeper terrain, roped up and using crampons as they ascend “Motorcycle Hill” and “Windy…