Trip Reports
Lead Guide Yoshiko Miyazaki checked in from our May 23rd West Buttress expedition’s Camp 3. They are having a bit of weather right now, with winds higher up on the mountain being outside of the range of what is acceptable, especially given the very cold temperatures up high. Patience and tenacity are required for an…
Mountain Trip guide Kakiko called in the evening expedition dispatch for the May 30 team from their new home at 14,200 ft in Camp 3 on the West Buttress of Denali! They had a nice day moving up and were greeted by a couple of other Mountain Trip teams as they arrived and settled into…
This update doesn’t come through until about 20 seconds in, and unfortunately becomes unclear once again after that. We’re making the assumption that this call was from the May 27th team, who spent the day ascending the steep fixed lines above 14-Camp to cache on the ridge. This puts them in a good position to…
The May 27 West Buttress team moved up to Camp Three this morning! Reaching 14,000′ on the route is a big milestone for climbers. The views out over the entire Alaska Range from their vantage point are truly awe-inspiring. The team will spend at least three days at 14-Camp, spending time acclimatizing to the thinner…
Lead guide Brian Muller called in an update on the June 3 West Buttress Team, back at Camp One at 7,800′. The team is making quick work of the lower glacier, traveling on an early morning schedule. Yesterday, the team set their first cache site of the trip, a cornerstone of expedition climbing. They will…
Yoshiko called in from the May 23rd team as they are on hold at Camp 3 today. They spent the day fortifying camp and enjoying some good food as they are waiting out a bit of weather before pushing up to high camp. The forecast is calling for a couple of days of wind and…
In just a couple of short weeks, the June 22nd Team “Big Knots” will assemble in Alaska to head into the stunningly beautiful Alaska Range, with the big goal of climbing Denali’s West Buttress Route! The team has another big goal–to raise funds for Polaris Alaskan Malamute rescue efforts. We will do a full “Meet…
Our 47th Denali season is well underway with quite a few teams on the mountain. We would like to welcome the latest expedition, the June 6 Denali West Buttress Team, to Alaska! For many mountaineers, climbing Denali is a massive dream, a lifelong goal, and the culmination of months (or years) of training and preparation.…
Lead Mountain Trip guide Yoshiko Miyazaki called in an update on the May 23 team, who successfully cached up on the 16-Ridge above the fixed lines up the steep headwall above 14,200′ camp. With their cache in place, the team just has to wait for a good weather window to move up to High Camp…
Guide Robert Caldwell called in an update on the May 27 West Buttress team, who spent the day backcarrying below Camp Three at 14,200′ to retrieve their cache near Windy Corner. After returning to camp, the team spent the rest of the day practicing skills essential for the upper mountain–like ascending a fixed line and…