A family of climbers from California traveled to Anchorage a couple days ago to begin an epic journey. The climbers have spent many months training, collecting the appropriate gear, and dreaming about their upcoming adventure. Yesterday was a busy day in Anchorage, starting with a team meeting and equipment check at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel. The team met their guide, Kurt Wedberg from California, and they spent some time picking up last minute items in Anchorage.  Today the team headed up to Talkeetna, the stepping off point for Denali expeditions. The team will participate in a mandatory National Park Service climber orientation, and if the weather cooperates and Talkeetna Air Taxi can fly, the team will weigh-in all their equipments and supplies, and load the glacier planes.  Then it’s off they go!

Let’s meet the climbers:

Patriarch Fred Simmons

Michael Simmons

Jim Simmons

We will endeavor to post updates as often as we receive them and the team will call in audio updates as often as possible. As simple as making a  call sounds from the comfort of home, it can seem a bit challenging at times while on a big, cold mountain like Denali. If the wind is howling and the snow flying, the team may not ring us, so please hold onto the old axiom, “No News is Good News.” We encourage you to post comments for the team, but please understand that it is not possible for us to regularly pass your comments along to the climbers while they are on the mountain. They will certainly appreciate your good wishes and kind thoughts once they return to “civilization” and read your posts, so please add your voice to their dispatches.