Trip Reports
The Mountain Trip May 24 team has returned back to 14-Camp after a retreat from High Camp in worsening conditions. Winds blew at a steady 35 miles per hour on the exposed ridgelines, with gusts reaching even higher than that. With no signs of the weather abating any time soon to allow for a summit…
Visible from over 100 miles away, rising like an icy sentinel 18,000′ (5486 m) above the surrounding tundra, Denali, “The Great One” serves as a beacon for mountaineers from around the world. Our June 9 Denali West Buttress team has answered the mountain’s siren-call, and will meet in Anchorage today to begin the preparation for…
The May 19 Denali West Buttress has made the tough decision to descend from High Camp and abandon their summit attempt after being battered by high winds, blowing snow and all around challenging conditions at 17,200′. While this choice is never easy, in the May 19 team’s case, it was the right one to make.…
Climber Ross Jobson called in an update on the May 29 West Buttress Team, who are waiting out the weather and wind at 14-Camp. The team took at rest day at 14-Camp after a big day of carrying loads to cache up the ridge at around 16,500′. It’s likely that the team will take another…
Mountain Trip lead guide Nick Aiello called in from 14,200′ on the West Buttress after the team made their descent from High Camp, forced to turn back by the weather. Unfortunately, their weather window slammed shut, and after a day in extremely high winds at camp, they made the difficult decision to descend. The team…
Climber Rob Leskun of the Mountain Trip June 5 West Buttress team called in from Camp One at 7,800′, with an update for those at home on their progress towards the summit of Denali. After flying into the Alaska Range and touching down on the Kahiltna glacier several days ago, the team has made good…
Lead Guide Brian Kramp called form the site of Team Shan’s new home for a few nights, at 14,200′ (4328 m), in the vast Genet Basin. This basin is bordered to the west by the massive West Buttress, which carves the skyline and drops down in a series of steep ice slopes and dark rocky…
Lead Guide Eli Potter called in a post that was unfortunately pretty garbled at its beginning. Please be patient, as he gives some nice detail as the call goes on, and improves in its clarity! The team awoke to a decent day at 14,200′ (4328 m), but the winds above were quite strong. While most…
Lead Guide Adam Smith called in from a windy camp at 17,200′ (5242 m). The team had no opportunity to try the summit today, as it was just too windy. They have been hanging tough, working hard and exercising exactly the right patience necessary to give them the best possible chance at the top, unfortunately,…
One of the climbers from our June 5th Denali team called in from Camp 1 at 7800′ on the Kahiltna Glacier. It was either Jorge or Arturo, so if anyone out there recognizes his voice, ayudame por favor! The team did well today, hiking the five miles in about as many hours. The glacier has…