Gigi’s Legacy Team—Clarification
Guide Joda called in to clarify that the team is climbing the West Buttress route. He inadvertently stated the West Rib in his previous report. Here’s Joda: recording
Trip Reports
June 13 Denali Team Moved to 7800′
Matthew called in from 7,800′ on the Kahiltna Glacier, after the team carried loads up to about 10,000′ on the glacier. They are getting early morning starts, to both avoid the heat of the day and also to travel over the glacier when it is at its most frozen state. The weather has not been…
Gigi’s Legacy Denali Team – Moved To 11,200′
Assistant guide Joda Hankins called in from one of my favorite camps, the basin at 11,200′. Bob and the guide team moved up today and have settled in to their new home for the next few nights. The climb up from 7,800′ ascends the first significant hill of the route, known as Ski Hill. This…
Denali June 9 Team Ri-Ward Moves to 14,200′
Lead guide Eric Larson called in on behalf of Team Ri-Ward, for their teammate, Rich Ward. Today, they moved up to the big camp at 14,200′ in challenging conditions. It “snowed and blowed” as they climbed up from their previous encampment at 11,200′, but the nasty weather was interspersed with breaks of blue sky, so…
Upper West Rib Team is Back In Anchorage
Lead guide Peter Inglis called in from the comfort of one of our vans, as he was being driven back to Anchorage, following the team’s descent from their 16,300′ High Camp on the Upper West Rib route of Denali. The team had a great time and enjoyed some spectacular scenery, but were denied the chance…
June 11 Denali Team China is ai 11,200′
Brian Muller and one of our friends from across the Pacific called in from the beautiful basin camp at 11,200′ to update us on the progress of our group of climbers from China. They moved up to this camp yesterday and today took a relatively easy day, when they dropped down 300m to retrieve the…
May 30 Denali Team – Back At Base Camp And Ready To Fly!
Ryan called in from the thick air of the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier! The team rallied through the Alaskan night to descend all the way back to Base Camp. They are awaiting a ski plane to land and should all be off the glacier in just a couple of hours. Congratulations to the…
May 30th Team Descending
Shaira from the May 30th Team called in a progress report. After a summit day yesterday, the team is working its way back to base camp. The team is being “hosted” along the way by other Mountain Trip teams, as they stop to rest, rehydrate and caffeinate, which is a nice feeling after a big…
Denali June 5th Japan 8 8 Team Backcarried to 14,200′
The team dropped back down to their cache of supplies at 13,500′ today, and carried everything back to camp today. They now have full stores of food and fuel, so they are now fully provisioned for the second half of their ascent. If the weather allows, the plan for tomorrow is to ascend the steepest…
June 5 “Alpenglow” Expedition – Rest Day at 14K
Today was a planned rest and acclimatization day for the team. Climbing a mountain as high as Denali requires climbers to be disciplined and methodical in their rate of ascent. Fit climbers could pretty easily just keep on moving up the mountain day after day, but the decreasing barometric pressure at each higher elevation can…