Trip Reports
What an interesting and peculiar trip. First, this trip was a bit of a dream trip for me. Three returning climbers that I have had a lot of fun with over the years and a returning guide who was on the last couple trips with me. Days before the trip start date, Joda my co-worker,…
Lead Guide Scott Woolums called in with an update on the May 30 West Buttress Expedition. The team is still at Camp 3 at 14,200′, with their cache all set on the ridge to High Camp for when they move higher. The team went for a short hike towards the West Rib Route for some…
Yftah Sheffer, a climber on the Mountain Trip June 11 Denali Team called in with an update on their progress on the West Buttress Route. The team had a smooth, scenic flight from Talkeetna to Denali Base Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier. They went over a few glacier travel skills, rigged up sleds and packs,…
Lead Guide Ben Adkison called in with an update on the June 5 team’s progress up the West Buttress Route. They’ve made speedy progress to Camp 3 at 14,200′, and were fortunate enough (once again) to not experience any wind around the infamous Windy Corner. The team cached at 13,500′ a couple of days ago,…
Mountain Trip lead guide Jacob Schmitz called in with an update on the June 1 Denali West Buttress Expedition. The team is still at Camp 3 at 14,200′. A large wind event is forecasted for today, with 50 to 75 mph winds at 17,000′, which Jacob said (and we agree) “is not very fun” at…
Dave Ladd, a client on the June 5 Denali West Buttress Expedition He said that the team enjoyed the Mountain Trip classic, Denali Sandwiches (toasted “everything” bagel with cream cheese and fried pork sausage, mmm, mmm!) at “Karl’s Jr.,” which we’re assuming means that guide Karl Welter was head chef for the day. The team…
Lead guide Scott Woolums says good morning from sunny 14,200′! The May 30 Denali West Buttress team is resting at Camp 3 after caching extra food and supplies below High Camp. They are waiting on a team member to regain their strength and feel up to the steep push up to High Camp, which is…
Lead Guide Constantine Sevaris called in to report that he and the members of our May 28th Denali team pushed hard yesterday and climbed up to High Camp at 17,200 feet on the West Buttress of Denali! It sounds like conditions were tough for part of the way, with wind and snow making travel challenging…
Mountain Trip appreciates the trust and support of our climbers and another team of adventurers have chosen to join us in Anchorage today, to finalize their preparations to attempt the West Buttress route on North America’s highest peak – Denali, which soars to an elevation of 20,310 feet, a full 18,000′ above the surrounding landscape.…
Our guide Karl Welter called in from Camp 2 on the West Buttress, located in a stunning basin at the elevation of 11,200′. The team slept in this morning, ate a big breakfast and then dropped downhill to the site of their cache from a couple days ago. They are double carrying their way up…