Huge news from the upper mountain — the May 19th team has summited Denali! The lead guide and summit team reached the top of North America this evening and have started their descent. As of 10:40 PM, the team had made it down to the top of Pig Hill and was continuing the long journey back to high camp. We could not be more thrilled.

Summit day on Denali is one of the longest and most demanding days of climbing anywhere in the world. From high camp at 17,200 feet, climbers face thousands of feet of elevation gain, brutal cold, thin air, and exposed terrain on the way to the 20,310-foot summit. The day can run anywhere from 12 to 16 hours of climbing, and every step demands focus, strength, and grit. Standing on top of Denali is the kind of achievement that climbers train for years to attempt, and the May 19th team earned every single step of it.

What makes today even more meaningful is everything that came before it. This team navigated weather delays, hauled heavy loads through the lower glacier, pushed through Windy Corner, worked the fixed lines, climbed the ridge, and made the committing move to high camp. They supported each other through long days, rested smart when it counted, and stayed focused all the way to the top.

One of the team’s climbers came down off the mountain earlier and is now safely in Talkeetna for the night, doing well and resting up. She’s planning to stick around in town to greet the rest of the team when they fly off the mountain in the coming days, which is going to be a great reunion.

For now, the rest of the team is making their way back down to high camp to rest after one of the biggest days of their lives. We’re absolutely stoked for every member of the May 19th team. Congratulations to the climbers and guides on a hard-earned and incredible summit on Denali!

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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.