The May 8th team left Basecamp (7,200′) and arrived at Camp 1 (7,800′) a couple of days ago. Even though this doesn’t seem like a lot of elevation gain, this is often considered one of the hardest days of the trip. Only on this day and the last day do you have to carry everything you have brought with you on the glacier.

After leaving Basecamp, the team descended down the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna for about 600′ until it flowed into the main body of the Kahiltna Glacier. This hill is known as Heartbreak Hill, it will be the last elevation they have to gain on the final day of their return journey. From the base of this hill they began to climb through undulating terrain for 5.5 miles gaining 1,200′. Camp 1 rests at the base of Ski Hill. Ski Hill rises 1,000′ above camp. The compression of the glacier as it flows over this terrain convexity and meets the flatter glacier below creates a compression zone, closing the gaping crevasses and providing a nice place to set up camp.

The following day the team was able to begin caching: hauling sled loads full of food and equipment up towards Kahiltna Pass, about halfway between Camp 1 and Camp 2, in order to “cache” it in the snow. This “cache and carry” method of ascent is very common on Denali because it serves two strategic functions to improve the expedition’s success.

Mountain Trip guides digging a cache hole.

First, it allows the expedition to minimize the amount of weight that they have to carry in their sleds and backpacks as they ascend the mountain (carrying 22 days worth of food and gear all at once is too heavy and exhausting). Second, having the expedition team take multiple trips up and down the mountain between camps can help expedition members better acclimatize by climbing incrementally higher in elevation but sleeping at a lower elevation for multiple nights.

Keep up the good work, team!