Lead Mountain Trip Guide Aaron Diamond checked in from Base Camp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahilta Glacier. The team spent a night apart, as about half the crew flew into Base Camp the other day, with the second half unable to fly after weather shut down flights. They are now reunited and chomping at the bit to head up the mountain.
The plan for tomorrow is to depart Base Camp and ski about five miles up the main Kahiltna Glacier. Base Camp is on a tributary glacier that flows down to meet the main body of ice. They’ll ski downhill for about a mile and then begin the four mile gentle uphill to a compact section of glacier at the base of a long slope known as Ski Hill. They’ll try to camp on the compact bit of glacier, as there are generally fewer crevasses there. It’s right at the mouth of the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna, and looking up the NEF valley affords a great view of Denali, when conditions permit.
Here’s Aaron!
