Back down to Talkeetna

They are all off the mountain!  They flew from basecamp today to the relative civilization of Talkeetna.  They were met by the Mountain Trip van in Talkeetna and are back in Anchorage this evening.

Summit!

The team reached the summit yesterday!  They got the nice weather that they needed and were able to get to the top.  It's a big day and a lot of work, so congratulations to everyone.

The descended today to the 14,000 ft camp where they shared dinner with the other Mountain Trip groups who are still on their way up.  Tomorrow they will head down to basecamp, and should be in Talkeetna soon after.  

Waiting out the storm...

The team is still at high camp, but the weather isn't cooperating.   The wind has picked up for the last couple of days preventing them from any shot at the summit.  They had great weather luck up until now, so hopefully that will continue, and they'll get a summit day soon.  For now they have plenty of supplies, so they'll be reading their books and getting to know their tent mates very well.  

Wish them luck with the weather.

Everyones at High Camp!

Heidi called in from high camp at 17,000 ft tonight and everyone is doing great.   They all made it up, and were settling in for dinner when they called.   It was another beautiful day on Denali, but it looks like they may get a bit of weather coming up.  

Heidi and Carrie both wanted me to pass on birthday wishes for their fathers, and there were a bunch of yells in the background to wish a happy mothers day to all the moms.  

They will plan on taking a rest day tomorrow, and then hope to get a good day to go to the summit!

Moving up to 17??

The team has been at the 14,000 camp acclimating, and carrying loads for several days now.  They are planning to move up to high camp at 17,000 feet today, so we hope to get a call tommorow saying that they are all moved in.  From there they will most likely take a well deserved rest day before going for the summit.  

We'll update as soon as we get the call from high camp.

All moved in at Camp 3 14,000ft

Heidi and company called this morning from 14,000 ft.    They moved up yesterday and set up their camp where they will be for at least 3-4 nights before continuing up.   Everyone is doing great and they made good time on their move.  This morning they were able to sleep in until the sun hit their tents and had a big relaxing breakfast before getting to work.  Their job today was to go back downhill about 700 vertical feet to pick up a cache of food and fuel and bring it up to their new camp.  

At 11,000 ft/Camp 2

The team has carried a load up to 13,500 feet, around windy corner, and they are waiting for a bit of a weather break to move up to Camp 3. They were ready to move yesterday, but some wind and weather encouraged them to stay put. We hope to hear from Heidi and the team today that they were able to move on up to the 14,000 ft camp.

Zach and Lianne on the Sourdough expedition made it to the summit yesterday, and were the first people to stand on top of Denali this year!!

Moving to Camp 2

Heidi and her crew made a carry to about 10,200' yesterday and packed up camp to move to Camp 2 at 11,200' today. The weather was a mixed bag, and was pretty chilly, but they've been spoiled by warm temps for the last couple of days, so they pushed on through.

Everyone is doing well and moving right along. tomorrow is an easy day, when they will drop back down to 10,200' and pick up their cache of supplies that they buried in the snow yesterday. They dig a deep pit and bury all their food and supplies, so the ravens (sky rats) can't dig up their kit. Ravens are pretty tenacious in th Alaska Range and will dig down two feet or more to get at climbers' goodies.

Camp 2 is located in a bowl with stunning views of Mount Foraker and Kahiltna Dome. This particular camp catches some truly sublime evening light and bathes the climbers in pink and orange alpenglow.

Denali Basecamp

Looking at the North Buttress of Mount hunter from Denali Basecamp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Note the ski plane at lower right.

Baggage delays, but they're on the glacier!

One of our international climbers experienced some separation anxiety when his bags didn't arrive on the same flight as he did. The team rallied around him and agreed to hold off on driving to Talkeetna for a day to allow his bags to catch up with him. Sure enough, his bags showed up and the team drove up to Talkeetna yesterday for the requisite briefing with the National Park Service. They then changed into their glacier clothes and hopped aboard Talkeetna Air Taxi's ski planes for the 45 minute flight to basecamp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier.

The flight to Basecamp is breathtaking, and not just because you take off at 700feet and land at 7,200 feet. The low lying area to the south of Denali is currently covered in snow, punctuated by frozen lakes and criss-crossed with the tracks of the ubiquitous snow machines the Alaskans rely upon during the long winter. You fly over the relatively low elevation Peter's Hills and then the terrain begins to rise, as you enter the Alaska Range. If the weather is good, you have great views of the 9,000' South Face of your objective, Denali.

The landing at Basecamp is equally exciting, as you descend toward an improbable looking stretch of snow, surrounded by jagged peaks and dominated by the mile high North Buttress of Mount Hunter. The team was busy putting camp in at BC and rigging their sleds for today's departure to Camp 1.

We'll keep you posted!

Welcome to the Expedition Update Blog

On April 27, 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 will include:

Tom Ceglia from Durango, Colorado
Roy Clegg from South Africa
Carrie Gibson from the UK
James Haydock from the UK

Mountain Trip guides for the expedition will be Heidi Kloos from Ridgway, Colorado and Zach Johnson from Anchorage, Alaska.

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.

Enjoy the posts!