Josh Garner shared the following, on behalf of the guide team of our May 26, 2014 Denali West Buttress Expedition:

All the team is back in Anchorage now, catching up on everything from sleep to fresh food to phone calls. The descent from 14 Camp to Base Camp went smoothly and the team made really great time. It’s a shame really, our team was so strong….if only Denali could have let down her guard for a few days, perhaps we could’ve snuck to the top.

But the journey was incredible, and our smiles are wide! We made new friendships and strengthened old ones. We took in the experience and are richer for it. We’ll be back…

This is about as dark as it gets on Denali right now. The team descended from 14,200′ in the alpenglow of the midnight sun, after Denali simply refused to let the team have a sufficient break in the weather to make a bid for the summit.