Eric Larson called to give us the update from 14,200′ (4328m). They moved up to this camp yesterday and brought the remainder of their loads up today. They plan to carry supplies up to their high camp on the Upper Rib tomorrow. There are no tracks heading in that direction, so they’ll have some work…
The West Rib team made a quick move from 11 to 14 camp, moving very strongly despite a stiff wind coming around Windy Corner. Everyone reports feeling strong and motivated. The plan is to backcarry their gear today and prepare to head up the fixed lines to 16,000′ tomorrow.
Eric Larson’s team is resting at 11,000′ on the West Buttress route. Eric’s strategy is to acclimatize the team on the more traditional West Buttress route before descending to the start of the West Rib. This allows teams to travel efficiently on the lower West Rib without having to wait to acclimatize properly, which adds…
Eric Larson’s team is resting at 11,000′ on the West Buttress route. Eric’s strategy is to acclimatize the team on the more traditional West Buttress route before descending to the start of the West Rib. This allows teams to travel efficiently on the lower West Rib without having to wait to acclimatize properly, which adds…
Eric called from the beautiful basin camp at 11,200′. They had a leisurely day yesterday and did a backcarry, meaning that they dropped back down to the cache that they left two days ago at about 10,300′. This involved dropping down out of camp for about a 20 minute hike and digging up the food…
Eric Larson called a few minutes ago to report that he and the West Rib team are all back at camp at 7,800′ after “making a carry” of supplies to a spot near the top of the Kahiltna Glacier at about 10,300′. The team flew onto the glacier on Sunday, May 14th and moved their…
Welcome to the expedition dispatch blog for our 2011 Denali West Rib expedition. Denali, or Mount McKinley, is a challenge by any standard and the vast majority of its climbers are more than happy to attempt the West Buttress route, by far the most possible and accessible of all the routes to its summit. Other…