Skip Drew Called in from Genet Basin at 14,200 feet on the West Buttress route of Denali. The team has been watching the weather forecast and planning their move to High Camp, three thousand feet above. The forecast has been a bit mixed, but seems to be improving, so they are hoping to push high…
Andrew Alexander King rang via satellite phone from 7,800 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier. The team departed early in the morning from their Base Camp at 7,200′ on a tributary glacier known as the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna. Their day began by hiking downhill, pulling heavy sleds and managing hefty backpacks as they SE…
Apologies for the broken connection when the team sang a ditty from 11,000 feet – the sateelite connection seemed to have faltered or… maybe not? Tough to say, but the crew seems in fine spirits after a challenging day of ferrying loads around the infamous Windy Corner today. They loaded up their packs and climbed…
Frank called in from Camp 3 after the team carried loads up the steep Headwall section of the West Buttress and onto the ridge above. It was a big day, climbing to close to 16,500 feet and the crew ascended the steepest climbing they have yet to encounter on the route. Here’s Frank! recording
Terry Sanders gave a call from the beautiful basin camp at 11,000′ after the team had an active rest day of sorts. They slept in, at a big breakfast and then dropped down out of camp to retrieve the cache of supplies they had buried a couple days ago at around 10,00 feet. In climber…
Kevin Dischino called in on behalf of the West Rib team. Continuing their acclimatization, they carried loads of supplies further up the West Buttress route, depositing them into a cache at about 13,500′. They climbed moderately steep terrain above their 11,000 foot camp climbing above the clouds to turn up and past a steep fin…
Sean, Callie and Blake called in from the thick, warm air of Talkeetna after descending from the summit of Denali over the past couple of days. The hike out from High Camp is no picnic, as they still have heavy packs and sleds to transport down glacier. Hauling a sled downhill can be a test…
The June 22nd Team “Big Knots” will meet in Anchorage today to go over final preparations for their climb of Denali’s West Buttress! The lofty goal of climbing Denali has been on the horizon for the team for a long time, and we are excited to welcome them to Alaska. They will be attempting the…
Mountain Trip lead guide Matt Park called in an update from Camp Two at 11,200′. The team took a bit of a down day to retrieve their cache of supplies near Kahiltna Pass. They also took the time to practice some essential skills for the upper mountain, like refreshing their crampon and ice axe technique.…
The June 9 West Buttress Team took a bit of a down day at 14-Camp after spending yesterday placing their cache above the Fixed Lines on the 16-Ridge. It sounds like the day was filled with a variety of delicious camp food! The team even got to take private makeshift tent vestibule showers, courtesy of…