WELCOME JUNE 11 DENALI WEST BUTTRESS TEAM!

A team of climbers from around the world met in Anchorage yesterday for a Team Meeting and equipment check. The team spent the day finalizing packing and picking up last minute supplies. Early this morning the guide team will collect the climbers and journey three hours north to the small town of Talkeetna, where they will check in with the National Park Service and sit through a mandatory climber briefing. Then it’s off to check in with our air taxi service, Talkeetna Air Taxi, including weighing-in all of the expedition gear. It’s a busy couple of days for climbers and I think everyone breathes a sigh of relief when the plane finally takes off and Talkeetna quickly recedes.

Let’s meet the climbers!

James, from the US

Julian, from England

and Luiz, from Brazil.

Two climbers preferred to not be named in their trip reports.

The trip will be led by Mountain Trip guide Kristin Arnold, who will be assisted by Nicole Lawton and Cory Schmidt. The team will  call in audio updates whenever possible to let us know of their progress and position on the mountain, but keep in mind that NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS.

Feel free to leave comments of encouragement for your loved ones on the trip, but keep in mind that climbers wont be able to read comments until they return to the relative civilization of Talkeetna after their trip has ended. Again, please keep in mind that NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS. From certain places on the route, satellite phone connection is hard to establish, namely at Camp Two at 11,200′ or during severe storms. Other times, the team will be traveling on a different schedule to avoid the heat of the day, or will be too tired to call in after a particularly strenuous day on the route.

Best of luck to the guides and climbers! We will post photos from the team as soon as we receive them!