May 26 Denali Team – A Recap Of The Trip Thus Far
Lead guide Ian Nicholson give a recap of the team’s progress to date. It’s pretty cool to hear an update in his words! recording
Trip Reports
May 16 Denali Team – Big Day Of Descent!
Lead guide Yoshiko Miyazaki-Back called in from the team’s Camp 1, down in the relatively thick air of 7,800′ on the main body of the Kahiltna Glacier. The team descended almost 10,000′ today, stopping for breaks at both the 14,200′ and 11,200′ camps. They had left caches of supplies as well as their garbage at…
May 26 West Buttress Team – Ian Calls From 14,200′
Lead guide Ian Nicholson called in from the big, bustling basin camp at 14,200′. The team pushed hard to reach this camp, climbing up through almost constant snow, which was unusually wet for this time of year and at the elevations through which they climbed. They did great and rolled into camp late in the…
May 29 Simmons Denali Team Calls From 11,200′
Fred Simmons called in from 11,200′ to thank everyone who is sending well wishes, good energy and prayers to Kurt Wedberg’s Sierra Mountaineering International blog. Kurt is a longtime friend of ours and a well-respected big mountain guide, with whom we are happy to be working with on this expedition. Mountain Trip has a long…
May 30 Denali Team – Short Call From 11,200′
Lead guide Scott Woolums called in a brief update from 11,200′, before passing the phone to Volker. Unfortunately, the connection was abruptly lost before we could hear anything from Volker. Better living through technology, eh? The team plans to move up to the big camp at 14,200′. They put a cache in today at about…
Denali West Rib Team – Camped at 11,200′
Jochen called in a nice post from 11,200′ today. The team has been working hard, but their original route choice was thwarted by a week of bad weather, so they are now heading up the West Buttress, seeking fun climbing, and perhaps a nice view, as they climb higher. recording
UAE Team #1 – Recap of Summit Attempt
Gerald Oxley and Major Hamad (I think!) called in a recap of the summit team’s arduous summit attempt yesterday. The summit team was slowed by a large number of climbers, and forced to turn back when one of their party was suffering from Acute Mountain Sickness. They are all back in the relatively thick air…
May 22 West Buttress Team – Snowy Day at 14,200′ (4328m)
Amy started off the conversation from the basin at 14,200′, before passing the satellite phone off to Daniel and Rob. The team was pretty much snowed in today, although they tried to push up to the ridge above them at one point. The route above camp climbs about 1400′ of moderate snow slopes before it…
Upper West Rib Team – Moved Up To 14,200′
The team has arrived at what could be considered their Advanced Base Camp, tucked in the broad basin at 14,200′. They made really good time moving up today, despite consistent and continuous snowfall the whole time they were hiking. They climbed up a sereis of moderately steep slopes before traversing along the base of the…
UAE Team 1 – Turned Back From Below The Summit
The members of the team of United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard who attempted the summit yesterday turned back at 20,000′ (6094m), as one of their team had a severe headache that was apparently beyond the team’s ability to mitigate. John Doyle, Hasan Al Naqbi, Ahmed Al Mazrouei and our guide Adam Smith are back at…