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.Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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!
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!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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!
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!
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