We didn’t get a call in report from the team yesterday, but they did report that they successfully put in a cache at 10,200′ (3108m). Caching is an expedition style of climbing that allows teams to lighten their loads as well as acclimatize to the altitude. The team choses food, fuel, and gear that they won’t…
A big warm welcome to our May 26 West Buttress Denali team! We are so excited to bring this team to the arctic reaches of North America’s tallest summit, the furthest north of the seven highest summits in the world. Climbing Denali, for many, is often the culmination of several months of training and years…
Andrew called in with the report last night. The team has set up their cache at 16,200′ (4937m), and now they are just waiting for the winds on the upper mountain to calm down a bit so they can join two of our other teams at High Camp. Not too much else to report here!…
The May 18 team employed another active rest day today. They descended about 20 minutes or so from camp down to their cache at Windy Corner, dug it up, and walked about an hour back up to camp and are now fully supplied at 14,200′ (4328m). Today the team will practice using their ascenders and…
Patrick updates us from High Camp today. The team has been there for a few days now, waiting for that perfect weather window! Thus far, high winds have prevented them from a summit attempt. But it looks like Saturday will bring more favorable conditions. Sitting at High Camp is not exactly glorious. But the team…
Craig updates us from 17,200′ (5242m) last night. The team had a rest day yesterday after moving to High Camp the day before, which is a pretty big push! The team spent the day drinking lots of warm fluids, testing out some dehydrated meals, and praying for good weather. There really isn’t too much to…
Lead guide Jason Denley reports the team has successfully moved to Camp 3 at 14,200′ (4328m). The team is moving strong and doing a great job as they climb North America’s highest peak. Getting to Camp 3 is always pretty exciting. As you leave Camp 2, the terrain starts to get more challenging, the views…
The May 11 team packed up from Camp 3 yesterday. They ascended 1,000′ to the bergschrund below the fixed lines. A berschrund is where the glacier meets steep ice and sloughs dramatically away from it creating a gaping crevasse. Here, the team attached their ascender to their harness and to the rope (fixed line). They…
Guide Maddy Crowell calls in to update us from High Camp at 17,200′ (5242m). As I explained in the report yesterday, you can be ready to go for the summit but there are a lot of variables to be considered. Yesterday the team was waiting out some cold temps (a wind chill on the summit…
We really enjoyed listening to today’s update! Kudos to the performer. The May 14 team enjoyed a rest day at Camp 3. No significant updates from these folks. They are resting up and getting ready for the move to High Camp, which they should be doing today. The upper mountain is seeing some colder temps…