Mountain Trip guide Fischer Hazen called in an update for the June 5 West Buttress team, who are camped at 11,200′ on the route keeping busy during a persistent low pressure system that has brought heavy snow and low visibility to the range. Yesterday, the team “back carried” from their camp down to Kahiltna Pass…
DetailsMountain Trip guide Taylor Pyle called in an update on Shan’s May 28 Denali West Buttress team, who are camped at 14,200′ for their fourth day now, waiting on better weather conditions to move up the route. The team has served as a sort of welcome committee to other Mountain Trip teams, both those arriving…
DetailsClimber Scott Wheeler called in for the May 22 Denali West Buttress team, who made the difficult decision to turn back from High Camp at 17,500′ and abandon their summit bid due to bad and worsening weather up high. They have now been on the mountain for over 19 days, most of which they have…
DetailsMountain Trip guide Karl Welter called in with an update for the June 2 Denali West Buttress Team, who have now spent four nights at their camp 11,200′, unable to move higher due to weather. Often, the clouds hover at around 11,000′, just above Kahiltna Pass, making for low visibility and generally during storms, a…
DetailsMountain Trip guide Jesse Wright called in on behalf of the May 27 Denali West Buttress team, who have been weathering the storm at 14,200′ for just under a week now. Climbing Denali often depends on the will of the mountain–not of the climbers–but the team also must keep their spirits high and stay in…
DetailsClimber Matt Howell called in from snowy 14-Camp with an update on the May 29 West Buttress team, who are staying busy and weathering the storm that has persisted for just under a week. The team finally caught a glimpse of blue sky yesterday, which bred some optimism for their chances of heading up to…
DetailsGuide Brian Kramp called in with an update on Shan’s May 28 Denali West Buttress expedition, who are eating well and resting at 14-Camp with several other Mountain Trip teams. Due to weather, they are taking another rest day at camp, staying busy fortifying their snow walls, digging out their tents and most likely, catching…
DetailsThe June 5 West Buttress team put in a big day of climbing to move up from Camp One at 7,800′ to Camp Two at 11,200′, through deep fresh snow with heavy packs and sleds full of gear. Their day began at 2 a.m., and they traveled for about 8 hours uphill and breaking trail…
DetailsThe Mountain Trip May 24 team has returned back to 14-Camp after a retreat from High Camp in worsening conditions. Winds blew at a steady 35 miles per hour on the exposed ridgelines, with gusts reaching even higher than that. With no signs of the weather abating any time soon to allow for a summit…
DetailsVisible from over 100 miles away, rising like an icy sentinel 18,000′ (5486 m) above the surrounding tundra, Denali, “The Great One” serves as a beacon for mountaineers from around the world. Our June 9 Denali West Buttress team has answered the mountain’s siren-call, and will meet in Anchorage today to begin the preparation for…
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