Trip Reports
The team drove up to Talkeetna yesterday and attended an orientation p[resented by the National Park Service about climbing Denali. They wandered over to the airstrip to finish arranging their mountain of baggage at the shop of Talkeetna Air Taxi, and finally, feeling completely ready to fly… they proceeded to wait. Weather at Base Camp…
The snow continues to fall on the team entrenched at 14,200′ I suspect entrenched is a fairly appropriate term, given the quantities of white that have been falling. The wind has been transporting it around, so it is something of a full-time job to keep it from piling up on the tents in conditions like…
The team is still waiting out the storm at 11,200′ (3413m). There is not much else to do in a situation like this, but to hang tough and wait. The snow has been falling steadily, at pretty much all elevations on the mountain. The winds are blowing pretty strong as well, making for challenging conditions.…
The team is at 11,200′ (3413m) sitting in the snow, watching it snow, digging snow… Cason describes camp as looking like “The Wall” in Game of Thrones (love the show, by the way!). Let’s hope no wildlings come charging into the basin! Slowing down, tuning out the noise in your brain and just sitting tight…
Duncan called in what I must describe as a brilliant glimpse into the challenge of keeping sane whilst waiting, and waiting… and waiting… for the weather to break at 14,200′. Dante wrote of a similar phenomenon, and although the descent passed through different circles, the mountains have their own version. Duncan and Co. are already…
The June 17th Team is waiting for the weather to improve so they can move up and around the steep ridge of the West Buttress known as Windy Corner. This feature can be very challenging in rough weather, so the guides do not want to push it up, unless the weather is clear enough to…
The team called in an audio post that was too garbled to understand, but they are hanging tough at the basin camp at 11,200′ (3413m). One of the climbers, Kat, developed some health issues that presented a few days back and were sufficient cause for her and the guides to decide that it was no…
The Wounded Warriors of the Warfighter Sports team are dug in at 14,200′, waiting for the weather up high to improve. Wind and snow have begun to batter the upper slopes of Denali as a series of weak weather flows pass over the mountain. Fairly heavy snow and wind are forecasted through the first half…
This morning a group of climbers from around the world will meet in Anchorage, Alaska to finalize their preparations for an attempt on the classic West Buttress Route of Denali. The team has been preparing for months, training and acquiring the highly specialized clothing and gear that their ascent requires. Today, they will meet three…
A long-time friend and one of the most experienced high altitude guides working today, Marty Schmidt, is leading a team of four climbers up the iconic West Rib route of Denali beginning today. Marty has been a fixture on Denali for decades (28 summits) and has climbed and guided Everest, K2, Cho Oyu, Kanchenchunga, and…