Trip Reports

June 2 Team Arrives at Denali Basecamp

Lead guide Ty Guarino let us know that the team successfully made it to Denali Basecamp yesterday! Let the adventure begin! Talkeetna sits at 348′ (106m). This time of year it is full spring there, everything is lush and green. Talkeetna sits literally at the end of the road to the Alaska Range. It has…

May 29 Team Backcarries to 10,200′

Michael updates us after some snow camp cheesecake! Teams on Denali are experiencing warm and sunny weather in this extended high pressure system. Today the team left Camp 2 at 11,200′ (3413m) and descended to their cache site at 10,200′ (3108m). They dug up their supplies, loaded them into their packs, and marched back up…

May 27 Team Moves to Camp 3

Corell calls in to report the team has moved up to Camp 3! Getting to Camp 3 is always an exciting and somewhat pivotal point of the expedition. Many climbers congregate here (there is likely somewhere around 200 people at this camp right now) as they wait for their opportunity to move to High Camp…

May 29 Team Moves to Camp 2

Yesterday the team packed up camp at Camp 1 (7,800′ 2377m) and lugged all their gear first up Ski Hill which rises about 1,200′ above Camp 1. From here the team experiences some rolling terrain back up their cache site at 10,200′ (3108m). They continue climbing past the cache site up another hill into a…

May 27 Team Caches at Windy Corner

The team enjoyed beautiful weather up to the cache at 13,500′ (4114m). At this point, the team will leave their snowshoes behind and mount their crampons. This is where the West Buttress route starts to get more interesting. Leaving Camp 2 the team first ascends Motorcycle Hill (named after the equally steep hills motorcyclists are…

May 22 Team Moves to High Camp

The team was able to climb up the fixed lines yesterday and move camp to High Camp at 17,200′ (5242m). Hopefully the team only has to spend 3 nights here, but it will depend on the weather and how the team is feeling. The team might be taking a rest day today, as most teams…