Mountain Trip's June 15 West Buttress Expedition

In Talkeetna

2008-07-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

I just heard from Greg Nappi from Talkeetna, part of the team is already out, and the rest will be landing in town shortly. The plan right now is to spend the day walking around Talkeetna eating too much and driving back to Anchorage tomorrow.

Coming Down

2008-07-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

Heidi called this evening from 9,800 ft on the way down to basecamp. They still have several hours of travel, but they are getting close now. They should be able to fly out to Talkeetna tomorrow for the 4th of July celebrations.

Summit on Tuesday!

2008-07-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

The team summited yesterday! It was a beautiful sunny day, but the wind was blowing pretty hard up high, and not everyone made it to the top due to the conditions. They got back late last night, and Heidi said that the guides were up until almost 3am melting snow and making sure everyone was fed and settled in before going to sleep. Heidi was just getting up this morning, and they plan to head on down after breakfast. Everyone did great yesterday, and made it to over 19,700 feet before the wind and cold forced a retreat. I'm sure they are all exhausted this morning.

I don't have details right now on who reached the top yesterday, I'll talk to Heidi again tonight and try to get names.

High Camp !7,200ft

2008-06-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

I talked to Heidi this morning from High Camp at over 17,000 feet. They are taking a rest day today after a pretty tough day yesterday, and hope to get a shot at the summit tomorrow. All of that waiting at 14,000 ft is paying off now, as the weather seems to be improving finally, and teams all over Denali are crawling out of their tents and climbing again.

They are doing excellent, and are very excited to be moving up Denali again!

14,000...

2008-06-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Just got off the phone with Heidi and the gang, still hanging tough at 14k. They woke up to some broken sky and somewhat promising weather that deteriorated into winds, and snow thru the day. This evening the winds have mellowed out, and they are very optimistic that they will be able to move up to high camp tomorrow. The upside is that they will all be very well acclimated by the time they move up, and should be strong for their summit day!

Some Photos of the Team

2008-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some images I took of the team back on the 17th of June. Sorry for the delay... :)

The crew, day 1 on the trail, just below Camp 1, with Mount Francis in the background

My apologies if I don't get the correct names lined up with the image. I took these on the spur of the moment and did not have a pen handy to make notes about who was who. If any viewers notice that I mixed folks up, please let me know and I'll make the correction. In any case, here are (I think):
Faye O'Conner, Keiran Whitefield, Rachel McGibbon and John Miltcalf (clockwise from top left)

Johanne Jacques, Tom Henson, Francois Morin and Francois LeFebvre (probably...)

Here is Michel Asselin (most likely) watching over some drying sleeping bags at their Camp 1, at the mouth of the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier (in the background). Denali is rising up at the top of the image.

Still Waiting

2008-06-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

The team continues to wait... The weather up high on the mountain has continued to be unfreiendly and they will wait for something more encouraging before heading to high camp. Today at 14,000 it was snowing pretty heavily at times, so the Mountain Trip June 15 Denali Expedition is practicing meditation and wishing the weather will change. There is still lot's of food and fuel, so nobody is suffering from anything but boredom right now.

Hope for a change tomorrow...

Waiting out the weather

2008-06-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

The team has carried loads up to the ridge at 16,400 and now they are just waiting for the winds to settle down before they head up to high camp. The weather hasn't been cooperating for the last several days up high, and our last trip had to retreat from high camp without summiting after spending 7 days at 17,000 ft.

Caitlin was still not feeling well, and descended with another Mountain Trip team, and they traded out for another guide Greg Nappi.

Carrying to the Ridge

2008-06-24T17:16:00.001-07:00

Today the group is hoping to carry a load of gear up to the ridge of the West Buttress over 16,400 ft. They were able to go back down to 13,500 yesterday and pick up all of the food and fuel that was cached below them earlier and bring it up to camp at 14k.

Everyone is doing great, Caitlin is almost completely recovered, and they are in a great position to move up to high camp in just a few more days.

14,000 ft Camp

2008-06-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Heidi called last night from the 14,000 ft camp! The team moved up yesterday and everyone is doing great. Caitlin is feeling better, and seems to have nearly recovered from her illness. They were in great spirits enjoying the new views and one step closer to the top.

11,000 feet

2008-06-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

They moved on up to 11,000 camp today, and Heidi say's they are doing great. Caitlin (asst. guide) has been fighting a possible respiratory infection, but was feeling a bit better today. She'll be able to take the day off tomorrow and get a chance to really recover.

The group is having a good time, lot's of laughter, and great weather.

Camped at 9,500

2008-06-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

Just got off the phone with Heidi, and the team moved up the glacier to the 9,500ft area and settled into camp there for night. They'll plan to keep moving on up to 11,000 ft tomorrow.

Camp 1 7,800ft

2008-06-17T19:20:00.001-07:00

The team travelled the 5+ miles up the Kahiltna glacier from base camp to Camp 1 today. They carried all of the food and fuel, so this will be one of the biggest loads of the whole trip, they only get lighter as they eat their way up the mountain.

Heading towards Talkeetna

2008-06-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

The June 15 team met yesterday in Anchorage for their team meeting, gear check, and last minute shopping. They shared a meal at the Bears Tooth ( a great local restaurant) and took care of last minute details.

This morning they met the Mountain Trip van early and headed towards Talkeetna, where they are checking in with the National Park Service, and preparing to fly into basecamp. Everyone was excited and nervous, and looking forward to getting onto the mountain today.

Welcome the Dispatch Blog for Mountain Trip's June 15, 2008 West Buttress Expedition

2008-05-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

On June 15, 2008 a team of climbers will meet in Anchorage, Alaska in order to attempt to climb to the top of North America.

The summit of Denali (Mount McKinley) is the one of the famed Seven Summits and soars 20.320 feet above sea level. This team will spend up to three weeks working their way up the mountain from a base camp located at 7,200'. Due to it's proximity to the Arctic Circle, Denali is notorious for its ferocious weather and extreme cold. For many climbers, it is the challenge of a lifetime.

The team includes:

Francois Morin from Canada
Rachel McGibbon from Canada
Francois Lefebvre from Canada
Michel Asselin from Canada
Johanne Jacques from Canada
Tom Henson from the US
Keiran Whitefield from Australia
John Mitcalf from the UK
Faye O'Conner from the US

Mountain Trip guides for the expedition will be Heidi Kloos from Ridgway, Colorado, Caitlin Hague from Anchorage, Alaska and Sara Campbell from outside Casper, Wyoming

We will post updates as they are available, however due to weather and the big mountains surrounding the team for much of the climb, communications with the team may not occur on a daily basis. Please keep in mind the axiom of "no news is good news."

We can not guarantee that any comments posted to this blog will reach the climbers on the mountain. If you do wish to pass along any news, please call or email the Mountain Trip Office at info@mountaintrip.com or +1-970-369-1153.