The May 9th team spent today at Camp 2 running through skills drills, making the most of another day held in place by weather. Rather than let a long stretch of tent time go to waste, the team turned the day into an opportunity to sharpen the techniques they’ll lean on higher up the mountain. Skills such as moving efficiently in crampons, clipping and unclipping themselves through carabiners, and ascender use on the fixed lines. Practicing these skills in camp keeps them dialed in and ready to go when the window finally opens, and just as importantly, it gives the team something purposeful to focus on after several days of waiting.

There’s no getting around it: being stuck at in camp for an extended period is one of the harder parts of a Denali expedition. Tent days sound peaceful on paper, but day after day of being confined to a small nylon space, watching the same weather patterns roll through, and waiting for something to change can wear on even the most seasoned climbers. The summit feels both close and impossibly far. Cabin fever creeps in and small annoyances can start to feel bigger than they are. This is where the experience of a good guide and the strength of a team really matter — keeping spirits up, finding things to laugh about, and reminding each other that patience on this mountain is what gets people to the top safely. A skills day is exactly the kind of thing that helps reset that mental space: a chance to move the body, work together, and feel productive again.

Looking ahead, the team is hoping to push around the corner and cache higher up the route in the coming days, weather permitting. If the forecast cooperates, it will be a welcome change of scenery and a much-needed step forward after several days of staying put.

Listen in to the May 9th team discuss how they are staying busy!

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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.