Trip Reports
The members of our May 26th Team met with our three Mountain Trip guides this morning to complete an equipment check and to discuss many things regarding their fast-approaching climb of Denali. Everyone’s kit looked really good, which is not always the case with climbers preparing for an expedition as unique as one up Denali. …
Con Severis called in with an update: the team put a cache of gear in as close to the base of the route as possible. A low snow year has left the various icefalls in the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna more devious than normal, so getting through them to gain access to the route…
The past 15 hours have been very tough for the May 8th team. They have been on the mountain for 17 days, and last night they received a pretty unfavorable sounding weather report at the evening weather broadcast. As we do with most Denali expeditions, we packed 22 days of food for this team. It…
The second group of climbers from the United Arab Emirates awoke to a whiteout this morning. Weather did not improve during the day, and snow fell which obscured the old track up the glacier to Camp 1 at 7,800 feet. The team had no choice but to remain in camp and wait for even a…
The United Arab Emirates team camped at 11,200′ had a short work day today. They dropped out of camp to retrieve the cache of supplies they had deposited at about 10,200′ a couple days earlier. The weather was not too good, but as they knew they had just a short bit to travel, they punched…
Our guide Heather Thamm called in to let us all know that the team spent the day at camp today, awaiting for a break in the weather that has been settling in on virtually the entire mountain in the past 24 hours. They are in a good position to move high and attempt the summit,…
Matt Bohne called in from the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to report that the team was unable to move today, due to very, very poor visibility. They received some snowfall, which effectively obliterated the old trail to Camp 1. The trail was not well marked, and so the team took the prudent course…
Brian called in a report from their team, which is still camped at 11,200′. They had hoped to move up to 14,200′ today, but inclement weather did not permit them to travel. They are camped in a beautiful basin, which they could not fully enjoy today, due to thick clouds that kept moving in and…
It was a real pleasure to participate in the launch of the first of two teams from the United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard, as they headed up the Kahiltna Glacier onto the flanks of Denali. We are assisting 20 climbers from the Emirates, as they continue their quest to climb Mount Everest in an ongoing…
The May 12th Team called in a post in French this evening, after making a carry up the fixed lines and onto the ridge that leads to high camp. As is all too often the case, the satellite transmission was cut off before they could complete their call. I will do my best to translate…