The May 28th team had a strong day on the mountain, getting a cache in around Windy Corner! It’s a significant milestone on the West Buttress and a key step toward moving up to 14 Camp.

Windy Corner sits at around 13,500 feet and is one of the more notorious sections of the route. It earns its name by funneling wind off the upper mountain, and conditions there can shift quickly. Today the team caught it on a hot day, which is its own kind of challenge. When the sun beats down on the glacier and the wind isn’t there to cool things off, the climbing can feel surprisingly warm despite the elevation. Hauling loads in hot conditions takes a lot out of climbers, but the team handled it well and got their supplies staged higher up the route.

With the cache now in place, the team is set up for a move to 14 Camp tomorrow. That move covers the ground the team has now traveled with a load, and it’ll be a familiar push through Windy Corner before continuing up the route to 14,200 feet. Going into a move day with the route already in hand and supplies pre-positioned makes the day more manageable and lets the team focus on the climb.

For now, the May 28th team is back at camp with another productive day behind them. With Windy Corner behind them and 14 Camp on the horizon, the team is in a strong position heading into the next phase of the climb.

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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.