The June 16th Snyder team back-carried from their cache below 14 Camp today, bringing the rest of their supplies up the route and consolidating their gear at camp. With everything now in one place, the team is set up well to focus on the next phase of their Denali ski expedition.
Back-carrying is a steady part of the expedition rhythm on Denali. The team heads down to where the cache was buried, digs out the supplies, repacks everything into sleds and packs, and hauls it all back up to camp. The loads are heavy on the return leg, but the route is familiar ground at this point, which makes the day feel more manageable than a brand-new push higher.
With the back-carry done, the team also turned their attention to one of the finer details of camp life: building out their snow walls. Snow walls serve a few important purposes at 14 Camp, providing wind protection for tents and the kitchen, and a little bit of privacy for the camp bathroom setup. After weeks on a glacier with no trees or rocks to duck behind, a well-built snow wall around the bathroom is one of the small luxuries that makes life at altitude a little more comfortable. It’s the kind of camp project that’s equal parts practical and morale-boosting.
For now, the June 16th Snyder team is settled in at 14 Camp with another solid day behind them, gear consolidated and camp dialed in. With the upper mountain in view, the ski expedition is rolling right along.
14 Camp at 14,200
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