Trip Reports
Welcome back to Denali, Aparna Kumar! We are pleased to climb with Aparna again this year on Denali and it’s been a busy whirlwind of a few days for the team. Aparna joins us from her home country of India, making the huge journey to Alaska on June 17th. After a bit of rest, she…
Mountain Trip Guide Chris Cullaz called in from 7,800′ on the Kahiltna Glacier. The members of our June 17, 2019 West Buttress Team met in Anchorage a couple days ago, finalized their preparations and flew onto the Sotheast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to Denali Base Camp yesterday. The team members include David Wilde, Rawan…
It’s been a busy couple of days for the team, beginning with a team meeting the morning of June 17th followed by an equipment check and a stop at the equipment store for last-minute items. The next morning, June 18th, the team headed north to Talkeetna where they checked in with the National Park Service…
This will be our 46th consecutive season guiding on Denali, and we are honored to welcome the June 17th team and all of the other climbers that have trusted us to help them test their fortitude on the highest mountain in North America. At 20,310 feet (6190 m), Denali rises a full 18,000 feet 5486…
The team elected to take a rest day at 11 Camp. Guide Tyler reports that the team used the down time to practice skills and catch up on some rest. The plan is to move to 14 Camp tomorrow, weather permitting. Here’s Tyler: recording
Lead Guide Fischer Hazen gave us a shout from the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. He, Dave Helland and MT Guide Matt Park flew in and spent the day reviewing skills such as crevasse rescue in advance of their attempt on the West Rib Route of Denali. A couple days ago, they finalized their…
Brad Foreman called in an update from High Camp! The team moved up today in a mixed bag of weather and arrived at the 17,200′ elevation in plenty of time to dig in a fortified camp. At High Camp, that means constructing walls built from blocks of snow carved from the firm surface of camp. …
Lead Guide Brian Muller called in from 11,200′, where the team is camped in a stunning basin, ringed with ice cliffs and steep snow walls. Today, the team dropped downhill to retrieve a cache they had buried in the snow at an elevation of about 10,000′ two days ago. They then shouldered their packs and…
Lead Guide Brian Kramp called in after the team carried loads up to an elevation of 13,500′ today. They put in a cache on the uphill side of the infamous Windy Corner, a feature of the West Buttress that can cause winds to increase. Today, however – the team had a good weather day! After…
Thanks to lead guide Jesse Wright for these photos!