The team met one another today in Anchorage. I’ve not gotten a report as to how everything went, which means that everyone’s kit looked good, with no significant omissions. Denali requires a certain amount of specific clothing and equipment that you don;t need for most other mountains. Sometimes you don’t need it all on Denali,…
I just spoke with lead guide Dave Staeheliearlier this afternoon, who reported that the guides had all the food and equipment packed for our April 24th team. Tomorrow, they will meet the climbers at the iconic Earth Bed and Breakfast, near downtown Anchorage. Tomorrow is a pretty full day that will begin with a team…
We heard from the team this morning and they are still socked in at Kahiltna Pass. It is what we call 0/0 visibility, or living inside a ping pong ball, with whiteout in every direction. Spirits are high, however; and they dined on a chicken and pasta dinner and stuffed themselves with blueberry pancakes, so…
The team tried to call in yesterday, but thick cloud cover prevented transmission via their satellite phone. They did reach our Alaska office late last night to report on their movements of the past couple of days. On Wednesday, April 20th, the team carried gear and supplies to a point at about 10,200′ (3120m), just…
Chase Franklin called in from Camp 1 on the Kahiltna Glacier last night. the team moved about five miles up glacier to a broad plain at about 7,800′ (2380m). The weather was pretty warm and they traveled in light fleece layers and reveled in the sun. Chase makes reference to some excitement regarding crevasses, so…
Hello Followers! The team has flown onto the Kahiltna glacier and is heading down the valley! We have heard that the weather is “splitter” blue skies, which should give them a solid few days to move out of base camp to camp one. The National Park Service is in the process of setting up their…
Welcome to the dispatch page for Mountain Trip’s April 24th West Buttress Expedition. Conventional wisdom holds that the “Denali climbing season” begins on May 1st. We’re not certain how Denali reads the calender, but we have been happy to offer late April expeditions for the past six years and have enjoyed the more wild feel…
One of the famed Seven Summits, Denali is a challenging mountain, due to its combination of high elevation and arctic environment. Each year, about 1300 climbers attempt to climb to its summit and roughly half succeed. The most attempted route on the mountain is the West Buttress, first climbed by Bradford Washburn and company in…
This is the start of all posts from the Alaska expeditions.