The May 7 Denali team’s patience has served them well & they were able to fly through clear skies into the Alaska range on May 11th – congratulations team! Check out the dispatch recording below to hear climber Ryan Cholnoky with a special shoutout to all the family & friends tuning in.

A flight into the Kahiltna Glacier is one of the most stunning rides of your life & as you can hear from Ryan the May 7 team’s ride was nothing less than incredible. Think a bird’s eye view above massive snow-covered glaciers and jagged peaks all while setting eyes on the summit of Denali for the first time. The drop-off after this 25-minute flight is where the adventure starts to get real!

The team hauled their gear to base camp at 7,200 ft (2195 m), set up their tents, and dove into a delicious ravioli feast prepared by our guides. Dense & delicious food is a necessity on the West Buttress so the motto in the camp kitchen is: thrive not survive! They will “cache”, AKA dig a deep hole, to leave extra food and supplies here for the descent at the end of the trip.

After a good night of sleep in -20 degree sleeping bags our guides in high mountain tents, the guides & climbers will wake at 5:30 AM to prepare for their first push to Camp 1 at 7,800 ft (2378 m) – we look forward to hearing an update on this first leg of their journey when they arrive!

recording