The May 16th team had a productive day on the mountain, back-carrying their cache from Kahiltna Pass and bringing all their supplies safely back to camp. With those loads now consolidated, the team has everything they need in one place and is well-positioned to keep moving up the mountain.

Back-carry days are a key part of the expedition-style rhythm on Denali. The team heads down to the cache site, digs the supplies out of the snow, repacks them into sleds and packs, and hauls everything back up to camp. While the loads are heavy on the return leg, the route is familiar territory the team has already covered, which makes the day feel more manageable than a brand-new push. It’s also a chance for climbers to settle into the rhythm of moving as a team on the rope and to build on the skills they’ve been refining since they stepped onto the glacier.

Word from the team is that everyone is doing well overall. Some climbers are feeling stronger than ever after a few days on the mountain, while others are working through the natural learning curve that comes with technical glacier travel. That’s completely normal for this stage of an expedition. The lower mountain is, in many ways, where the team’s foundational skills get tested and dialed in. Guides will often use these early days to fine-tune technique and make sure every climber is set up for success on the more demanding terrain higher up. It’s the kind of attention to detail that pays off when the climbing gets harder and the conditions get more serious.

With the back-carry behind them, the team will turn their focus to acclimatizing, recovering, and preparing for the next move higher on the mountain. We’ll have more to share as the team continues working their way up the route.

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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.