Trip Reports
Bob Szalkiewicz checked in from 14,200′ on the West Buttress of Denali. Today the team carried loads of supplies up the steepest terrain of the trip. The Headwall is a 600′ ramp of snow and ice, along which are affixed two ropes at semi-regular intervals. The climbers clipped mechanical ascenders to the fixed lines, tethering…
Lead Guide Rob “Durny” Durnell called in from the team’s Camp 2, located at 11,200′. The team has been busy and traveling on a night schedule, to avoid the heat of the day. On Wednesday Thale decided to return to Base Camp, so Durny and Jeff hiked back down the glacier to accompany her the…
Lloyd Hales called in a hello to his England based friends and family from amidst a snow storm at the 14,200′ camp. Today was hot, which seems to have resulted in afternoon clouds building to the point of dumping snow! The team is doing well and eager to move up to a new location, with…
Jacqueline Heller called in a nice update from Camp 1, located at 7,800′ on the broad Kahiltna Glacier. It sounds like they had a great day, hiking up glacier in the shade that constitutes nighttime on Denali just two days before the summer solstice. They departed at about 1 am, and hiked down the Southeast…
Duncan called in after the team took a rest day at 11,200′. They have been moving quickly up the mountain, and it was time to take an acclimatization day, to allow their bodies to better adapt to the thinning air of these higher elevations. It was a day of swapping stories, lounging around and apparent…
Gary Falk called in an update for him and Roger. The two of them apparently had to enlist some help to drop down below the broad and bustling 14,200′ camp, so as to satisfy a Park Service regulation that prohibits 1:1 guiding below 14,000′. They found someone to go for the hike with them, and…
The team is moving and feeling well, and they took advantage of another beautiful day to move a load of equipment and supplies to a cache site at 13, 500′. Immediately out of camp the team began to ascend Motorcycle Hill, which gains approximately 1000′, then they tackled Squirrel Hill before cresting onto the relatively…
It was a beautiful, but hot, day today on the upper mountain, and the team took advantage of the nice weather and cached a load of food and personal equipment at 16,400′. The team started the day with a steep ascent immediately out of camp. After approximately 1400′ of elevation gain, the team began their…
The team has been laying low the past few days, resting and recovering from their summit attempt a few days ago in which they were turned around by weather at the Football Field (19,500′). But they dug deep and found some hidden reserves and give it another go. They were rewarded with perfect weather, and…
Congratulations to Eugene Harrington, Terry Kelleher, Albert Connaughton, and Jonathan Cain for reaching the summit of Denali on June 18th. The team’s patience and good decision making paid off, and they enjoyed a spectacular summit day. The team is back at High Camp, safe and sound, and elated with their achievement. If you have been…