Adam Smith Checks In From 14,200′

Adam called in a podcast from camp at 14,200′ (4328m).  They spent the day fortifying their camp with snow walls, as high winds buffeted the team.  It sounds like what we would call “full-on” conditions, requiring multiple layers of clothing and facemasks to protect their noses and cheeks from the bite of the wind. Building…

A changing dynamic

As so often happens on Denali expeditions, two guests from Joe Butler’s team have decided to descend to basecamp.  Art and Bob hitched a ride with two Mountain Trip rope teams and are now either in the air from basecamp or already in Talkeetna.  The rest of the group forges on, with plans to carry…

Rest day yesterday

Jared called yesterday evening to report a successful rest day, which wasn’t completely restful as they had to relocate camp to get out of a snowy area which was burying the tents in spindrift blown from the other side of the ridge.  Sometimes 20′ makes a big difference, so Jared, Sean and the team worked…

Backcarry

Zach called in this morning to report that he had arranged for one of his clients to descend to basecamp with a Mountain Trip team.  Hideko is now in safely in Talkeetna, most likely looking to change out of mountain clothes and make some phone calls.  The rest of the team took a short walk…

Move to 7,800′

A light snow accompanied the expedition as they moved up the Kahiltna glacier from basecamp to camp 1.  Dave reported great conditions for glacier travel, with very little wind and enough clouds to take the edge off the sun, which can be very intense even at this time of year.  Their plan tomorrow is to…

Holding at basecamp

Yesterday brought nasty weather to the range so Dave Ahrens took the day to teach  camp building skills, the foundation of a successful trip into the range.  Their plan still remains the same- when the weather breaks they will head up the glacier to camp 1 at 7,800′.