High Camp !7,200ft

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.