The June 10th team made their descent from high camp down to 14 Camp this afternoon, beginning the journey off the mountain after their successful summit. The plan for now is to spend the night at 14 Camp and reassess in the morning.
With weather moving in tomorrow, the team is taking a thoughtful, flexible approach to the next leg of their descent. Rather than rush down into worsening conditions, the team is considering staying put at 14 Camp until the worst of the weather passes before continuing the long walk back to Basecamp. Patience like this is one of the hallmarks of responsible climbing on Denali. The mountain rarely lets a team move on a strict schedule, and waiting out a storm in the relative comfort of an established camp is almost always the smarter call than pushing into bad weather on the lower glacier.
14 Camp is a good place to wait out incoming weather. The team can rest, recover from summit day, stay warm and fed, and keep an eye on the forecast while they wait for a window to make the rest of their descent. After the big effort of reaching the summit and climbing back down to 14, a day or two of rest before the final push to Basecamp isn’t the worst thing in the world.
For now, the June 10th team is settled in at 14 Camp, resting up and watching the weather. We’re so proud of everything this team has accomplished, and we’ll be excited to welcome them off the mountain once conditions allow.
Mountain Trip teams coming down the fixed lines
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