Kevin called in this afternoon from 14k camp and says “all is well”. They did a back carry today and picked up the gear they’d cached at 13,500 ft a couple of days ago. Everyone did great and it is a beautiful day as they are making a bit of lunch and enjoying a leisurely…
Jacob called in this morning from 9,800 ft on the Kahiltna glacier at the top of “Ski Hill”. They got up early again this morning and moved camp up the glacier. They’ll spend tonight there and move up to 11,000 ft tomorrow. Everybody is doing great and they are moving right along so…
The June 12th crew moved up to the 14,000 ft camp on June 22nd. Everyone is doing great and they are having good time. It was a bit windy on their move around “Windy Corner”, but that is pretty typical as they climb around the buttress at around 13,500 ft. They’ve settled into…
Hello, This is lead guide Michael Burmeister bringing you the final blog post for the May 31st West Buttress expedition. First of all, I just want to say thanks to all the team members for their help, patience, and perseverance. An additional thanks to assistant guides Jared Vilhauer and Sean McManamy for all their expertise…
The team slept a few hours last night, and were moving by 2am this morning on their way up to Camp 1. They traveled up the lower Kahiltna glacier for about 5 miles and gained just a few hundred feet from base camp at 7,200 ft to Camp 1 at 7,800 ft. They had a…
A group of four climbers will meet this morning in Anchorage, Alaska in preparation for an attempt to climb to the summit of Denali via its classic West Buttress route. This is the third year that Mountain Trip has offered a Denali climb where the climbers can travel on skis and actually have the opportunity…
The team spent the night in Talkeetna last night, but were able to fly in to base camp this morning. The weather was beautiful up at base camp this morning, clear skies and views of the mountain looming above. They took a final picture before hopping in the ski planes to go to base camp.…
The sun is shining up at base camp this morning and the planes are coming in right now. They will be back in Talkeetna by noon, and plan to be in Anchorage tonight.
Karen called in last night from the June 12 expedition after a day of watching the snow fall. They had intended to carry a load of gear/food/etc. up to about 13,500 ft yesterday, cache it, and return to the 11,000ft camp for the night. Instead they watched the snow pile up and watched the wind…
Our June 19th West Buttress team hoped to fly onto the glacier yesterday, but was stymied by inclement weather. The team met in Anchorage on the morning of the 19th for a team meeting and a comprehensive gear check. It was a pretty busy day and they made the rounds of the local climbing shops…