David Wilde checked in from the sunny and warm basin of Camp 2 on Denali’s West Buttress Route. Today was a relatively easy day, with the team sleeping in before dropping down a thousand feet to retrieve the cache they buried in the snow a couple days ago. After digging it out and sorting supplies, they shouldered their packs and hiked back up to 11,200′ (3414m).
Tomorrow is going to be a much tougher day. The team will climb up Motorcycle Hill, which rises for 300 meters immediately out of camp. Above, they’ll have a series of shorter, but steeper slopes that are collectively known as Squirrel Hill. The steep West Buttress looms overhead and they’ll hike past it’s southern aspect before turning sharply to the north as they pass Windy Corner, an infamous section of the route, known for… you guessed it – wind!
Just past Windy Corner, they will bury another cache of supplies at about 13,500′ (4115m), before dropping back to Camp 2 for the night.
Here’s David –
