A quick descent

After a quick push down from 11k the expedition called me this morning from the base of ski hill at 7,800′.  They moved down the Kahiltna quickly and marched right up heartbreak hill to basecamp and were on a flight out to Talkeetna around 2pm.  We sent a fellow guide to pick everyone up and…

Launch

The team showed up in Talkeetna under dismal skies and expectations of waiting out the clouds at the local brewery, but fortunately lead guide Jared Vilhauer knows enough to get everything ready to go no matter what the weather looks to be doing, as there are many miles between Talkeetna and the southeast fork of…

Call from Richard Q.?

Hello! We got a call from Richard, I believe, giving us the run-down of their experience today. Chilly temperatures (-10 to -20 degrees F) and snow have them snuggled in their tents right now, but getting ready for some skill building on the fixed lines. [audio:http://mountaintripdenali2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/audio-post-2011-05-05-03-31-03.mp3|titles=Audio Post]

A hello from Matt Barela

Matt called in this evening to report a good day of climbing up onto the Southwest ridge of peak 11,300′ (3,444m).  They are camped at the second col and report that all is going great, both climbers feel strong and willing. The above picture was taken just outside of downtown Talkeetna on the day they…

It’s cold up there

No doubts- high camp is a cold place to be, and the team members are undoubtedly wearing all of their down clothing and zippering their sleeping bags shut tight, and drinking lots of hot drinks to combat the chill.  Jacob led a rope team up to Denali pass to prepare the slope for a summit…

Backcarry

Staeheli and company took a short walk down the trail yesterday to pick up a cache of gear at 13,500′ (4111m) to prepare to carry most of that gear and food to 16,000′ (4865m).  Henry reported conditions as ‘very cold’, even in direct sunlight.  The plan for today was to take a rest day to…

Audio Beat Niederer May 3rd

Hello followers! Guten Morgen alles! We have a call from Beat Niederer in both English and German (und Deutsch) ! The gist from Team Staeheli is that they visited their cache at 13,000 and then came back to 14,000′ camp. Windy corner was reported to be windy and cold.  Have a listen! [audio:http://mountaintripdenali2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/audio-post-2011-05-04-03-52-15.mp3|titles=Audio Post]