Trip Reports

Windy at Camp 2

The team moved up to Camp 2, at 21,400+ feet last night. Bill makes a call to report that all members were feeling well, and happy to be settling into their tents to try and tune out the 60 mph. winds. Click to hear Bill! [audio:http://mteverest2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/c4fd574cce3ac9bf5fe8054f1a1067fef0767458.mp3]

Snuggled in at 10,200′

The team tried to call in yesterday, but thick cloud cover prevented transmission via their satellite phone.  They did reach our Alaska office late last night to report on their movements of the past couple of days. On Wednesday, April 20th, the team carried gear and supplies to a point at about 10,200′ (3120m), just…

Update from Camp 1

April 20-21, 2011 Camp 1, 20,300′ (6190m) Bill called this morning (tonight in Nepal, due to the time difference), to report that the team is nestled in at Camp 1 at just about 20,300′ (6190m).  They made great time moving up through the Khumbu Icefall, which is apparently in really good shape this year.  The…

Phone Call From the Glacier

Chase Franklin called in from Camp 1 on the Kahiltna Glacier last night.  the team moved about five miles up glacier to a broad plain at about 7,800′ (2380m).  The weather was pretty warm and they traveled in light fleece layers and reveled in the sun. Chase makes reference to some excitement regarding crevasses, so…

On the Glacier!

Hello Followers! The team has flown onto the Kahiltna glacier and is heading down the valley! We have heard that the weather is “splitter” blue skies, which should give them a solid few days to move out of base camp to camp one. The National Park Service is in the process of setting up their…

Our April 24th West Buttress Team

Welcome to the dispatch page for Mountain Trip’s April 24th West Buttress Expedition. Conventional wisdom holds that the “Denali climbing season” begins on May 1st.  We’re not certain how Denali reads the calender, but we have been happy to offer late April expeditions for the past six years and have enjoyed the more wild feel…

Our April 17th West Buttress Team

One of the famed Seven Summits, Denali is a challenging mountain, due to its combination of high elevation and arctic environment.  Each year, about 1300 climbers attempt to climb to its summit and roughly half succeed.  The most attempted route on the mountain is the West Buttress, first climbed by Bradford Washburn and company in…

Puja, Night Shots, and Heading Up!

April 19, 2011 7:19 pm Everest BC Before ever setting foot on Everest, or other Himalayan peaks for that matter, it is customary for the Sherpa staff and climbing members to celebrate a “Puja,” an offering to the mountain in exchange for safe travel and good weather for the teams. We celebrated our Puja in…

Camp 1 Pumori

We’re posting from 18,600′ while on an acclimatization hike we’re taking to Camp 1 on neighboring Pumori (7145m) today. It’s a bit cloudy and windy, so we aren’t getting the great views of Everest, but it feels good to get the legs and lungs working. We’ll hang out up here for a half hour or…

Playing on the ice

Base Camp, April 16 -Bill Allen We woke to the usual beautiful blue skies this morning here at base camp. After another delicious breakfast, we went into the ice a few hundred feet from camp to practice some ice climbing and rappelling in anticipation of heading up through the icefall in just a couple of…