Mountain Trip lead guide Sebastian Grau called in on behalf of the May 14 Denali West Rib Expedition, who, along with three other Mountain Trip West Buttress teams, are waiting on the weather to push higher towards the summit.

Seba noted that the side of camp that gets good enough reception to make satellite phone calls is particularly cold and hit by the wind, which could explain why most of the updates for the past couple of days from 14-Camp have been relatively short and sweet.

The team has been taking short, acclimatization hikes in the area to keep fit for the ascent ahead and to spend some time away from their tents. Other teams have mentioned that temperatures have dipped down to around -35 degrees Celsius at the coldest part of the night.

Due to its nature as a highly-committed, exposed alpine route, it is even more imperative for the West Rib climbers to have good weather to push higher than 14,000′. Although the weather is far from ideal, the additional time to acclimatize at high elevation will potentially make the climb a bit easier for the team once they make the push higher on the route.

While it appears the snow will taper off by this Saturday, the winds are forecasted to steadily increase. To watch the weather on the mountain, <a href=” “>click here.</a>

Here’s Seba with a quick update: