The team continues to wait for good weather at 14 camp. Henry reported that they had endured a windstorm yesterday but emerged from it none the worse for wear, and are still excited to move to high camp and get their summit bid. Hopefully as you read this they are moving up in acceptable conditions,…
For all you blog followers out there, we appreciate you tuning in to follow the expedition. Lead guide Jacob is composing the final entry and promises to post it tonight, so check back one more time. Thanks!
Lawrence called the following podcast in from 14,200′ camp. It sounds like they tood a beating in the winds on Friday night, but have emerged with healthy appetites, and continued good humor. The cook tent Lawrence refers to is a custom built, five sided structure with no floor. It looks something like a pyramid, and…
Brian got the phone tonight to call in on behalf of the NW Buttress Team. It sounds like the temperatures are quite cold, but this is an arctic, high altitude mountain, so the team is very well prepared for this. They have been traveling up the long Kahiltna Glacier and will ascend a small peak…
Jared called to let me know of another successful day of hauling loads up the upper Kahiltna. They carried loads to Kahiltna Pass in preparation for moving camp up to 10,000′ (3,048m), hopefully today. Weather looks good and cold, reported to be -15F (-26C) at night and destined to stay cold as long as the…
Henry called for our daily check-in to report that the team had taken a rest day yesterday to gather their strength, eat big meals and train up on the specific skills needed to travel up the fixed lines and along the granite-studded ridge to high camp. These skills include fixed line travel, which is the…
We got a call from Matt when he was still in the ski plane, letting us know that he and John were en route to Talkeetna, having come down off the route sans summit. I scrambled the van driver and before we knew it the team was back in town. Look for a post-trip blog…
‘Twas a lazy day for the team today, but the mustered up the energy to take a stroll to the “Edge of the World” and looked down upon the “Valley of Death.” Thanks to Jerry for such a detailed recap of the day’s events. [audio:http://mountaintripdenali2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/audio-post-2011-05-07-04-31-59.mp3|titles=Audio Post]
Matt called in on the satellite phone, reporting that the team had turned around on the route and had safely retreated back to their basecamp at the base of the route.
Jared called this evening from camp 1 to report a successful and uneventful move. Despite earlier dire reports of the travel conditions of the Kahiltna glacier this time around went very smoothly, with no problems at all. Everyone is doing great and undoubtedly zipping into their down bags with stomachs full of hot food. The…