Trip Reports
The June 18 team is in high spirits after a full day of rest at Camp 2 11,200 ft (3413 m) following their “back carry” exercise yesterday. This means the team passed a buried cache of gear on the way to the next camp to keep their loads lighter as they enter higher elevations and…
Mountain Trip lead guide, Harrison Lewis got on the radio from the group tent at Denali basecamp 7,200 ft (2194 m) to report that the June 23 team has officially arrived on the West Buttress route. The expedition is off to a great start with a fortunate break in weather that allowed our climbers to…
The June 21 Team called in to let us all know that they have successfully climbed from Denali base camp 7,200 ft (2194 m) to Camp 1 7,800 ft (2377 m). From the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, the crew departed base camp, dropped down the infamous Heartbreak Hill, and onto the glacier itself.…
The June 18 Team is excited to report that they are out of the rain and have made it to Camp 2 11,200 ft (3413 m)! While they would have normally arrived here a bit earlier in the trip weather has continued to trend towards challenging and stormy. Camp 2 is known for its gorgeous…
Lead Guide Kyle Horner called in from the airstrip in Talkeetna, Alaska to let us know that the weather just wasn’t giving up its grip on the Alaska Range. This is frustrating for climbers trying to get into the Range, but it’s kind of crushing for climbers who are trying to get back out to…
Our final welcome, to the last team of our Denali season the June 21 team! We are so excited to be along for this journey to North America’s highest peak. We know that for many Denali is a lifelong goal, and the culmination of many months of training, and years spent in the mountains. So we…
Constance called in a dispatch in French, which we, unfortunately, do not speak very well. If anyone could please post a translation into the comments, we’d sure appreciate it!! The team spent the day at Camp 1 being rained on intermittently. The weather has been incredibly difficult, with low visibility and rain. We have occasionally…
Mountain Trip lead guide, Jacob Schmitz, called in an update for the June 10 team last night as a foot and a half of fresh snow was falling above Camp 2 11,200 ft (3414 m). The team has been unable to make their move back up to Windy Corner 13,000 ft (3962 m) and onto…
To quote the famous Robert Service poem, “There are strange things done under the midnight sun…” Our Rapid Ascent Team called in from a very, very snowy 14,200 foot camp, where they are ruminating about the niceties of life not inside a ping pong ball. Today’s update let us all know that they carried a…
Dodging rain showers and pushing through generally poor conditions, the June 18 Team ascended to 10,200′ to leave a cache of equipment and supplies, then descended back to Camp 1. This system of “cache and carry” has two purposes: it helps climbers acclimatize and it allows climbers to lighten their loads between camps. It’s a…