The May 11th team has found themselves pinned down yet again by the weather. After a successful cache day around Windy Corner yesterday, the team will wait once more before making the move up to 14 Camp.
It’s the nature of climbing on Denali. Just when momentum starts to build, the mountain reminds everyone who’s really in charge. Windy Corner, the section of the route the team navigated yesterday, isn’t called that for nothing. Sitting at around 13,500 feet, it’s a notoriously exposed stretch that funnels wind off the upper mountain and can become impassable in poor conditions. Pushing through it on a marginal day isn’t an option, and the team and their guides made the right call by holding off until the weather opens up again.
The good news is that yesterday’s cache puts the team in a strong position when the window finally arrives. Their supplies are already waiting just below 14 Camp, which means tomorrow’s move (or whenever the move happens) will be lighter, faster, and more efficient than it would have been otherwise. In the meantime, the team is settling back into the rhythm of life at Camp 2: hot meals, plenty of rest, hydration, and continued acclimatization at altitude. None of it feels glamorous, but every hour spent at 11,200 feet is one more hour the body has to adapt for what lies ahead on the upper mountain.
For now, it’s another waiting game. The team is staying patient, staying ready, and keeping an eye on the forecast for the next opening.
Take a listen to a brief dispatch from the May 11th Team!
—
Family and friends are encouraged to leave comments for their loved ones on this expedition. Please keep in mind that climbers will not be able to see posts or comments until they return to Talkeetna at the end of the expedition.
Don’t forget that you can subscribe to this expedition’s Field Reports by entering your email address in the form to the right or below if viewing via mobile. That way, you never miss an update!
Interested in more information about conditions and happenings on Denali? Be sure to also check out the Denali National Park’s Denali Dispatches Blog where they post weekly Field Reports.
