Trip Reports
The May 18 Deanli West Buttress team had a big day today, with 7-8 hours of heading up the fixed lines to ascend the steep headwall that leads to the impressive 16,000′ ridge above Camp Three. When on the route, this is certainly when one gets the sense that the serious climbing has begun. Pushing…
The May 23 team finally is coming out of the “ping pong ball”–a term common to Alaskan mountaineering, when you find yourself in a disorienting whiteout for an extended period of time, making travel nearly impossible. They have spent a day hunkered down in their tents, getting some extra rest to prepare them for the…
It sounded like Jesse Wright on the satellite phone, relaying the news that our May 27th team packed up camp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and made the ~5 mile trek to the site of their first camp on the West Buttress route of Denali. Conditions were mixed, with difficult visibility at…
Climber Matt Zelasko called in an update on the May 18th West Buttress team at Camp Three, just above 14,000′. The team is weathering a storm very well, with some extra downtime, reading, movies, hanging out in their Hilleberg kitchen tent, and of course extra snacks. As soon as a weather window allows, the team…
Lead guide Yoshiko Miyazaki called in an update from Camp Two at 11,200′ on the May 23 team. Unfortunately, her reception wasn’t the best, so some of the message is a bit unclear. Camp Two sits in a glacial basin of sorts, with high mountain walls on virtually all sides, so often it can be…
Meet the May 27th Denali West Buttress Team! Composed of lead-guide Jesse Wright and assistant guides Ty Guarino and Robert Caldwell. Climbers include Greg, Terry, Leif and Ning. Denali rises up to 20,310 feet (6190 m). Due to its location so close to the Arctic Circle, conditions can often be very winter-like well into the…
Mountain Trip Lead Guide Yoshiko Miyazaki called in from our May 23rd team’s Camp 2. The team packed up camp from their previous encampment on the Kahiltna Glacier at 7,800′, shouldered heavy packs, clipped themselves to loaded sleds and started hiking up the long “Ski Hill” in very blustery wind this morning. Ski Hill rises…
Lead guide Jesse Wright calls in from basecamp to introduce the whole team! They were able to grab a short weather window and fly in to basecamp on the Kahiltna Glacier with Talkeetna Air Taxi. Everyone is very excited to be on the glacier and looking forward to moving to Camp 1 tomorrow. Moving to…
Matt and Cameron call in from Camp 14,200′. After picking up their cache lower on the mountain, the team spent the day practicing specific skills for higher up on the mountain. The fixed lines live above their camp with 800ft of steep snow climbing protected by fixed ropes where you attach yourself with an ascending…
The May 25 Team moved to Camp 1 at 7800′ yesterday. This day consists of a single carry, meaning the team carries all the gear for the entire trip (about 110lbs per person!) to their first camp which is about 5.5 miles and 1000′ of elevation gain. Climbers say that this is often one of…