Heading to Base Camp

We got a call from Kevin and the boys tonight on the way to base camp. They called from Camp 1 at 7,800 ft and were going to take a break there for a bit before continuing down the final stretch. They be spending the night at base camp tonight, and hoping to fly out to Talkeetna in the morning in time for breakfast at the Road House restaurant.

Starting to Descend

Just received a call from a very tired sounding Kevin Koprek at 14,200'. The call was short and kinda broken up. Sometimes communication from the mountain is tough because you have clouds and mountain ridges blocking the satellites. These satellites are also moving through the sky and can quickly disappear. However, I was able to catch that the team is going to continue their descent tomorrow and they are hoping to be in base camp by Sunday morning. All these plans are, of course, weather dependent.

We will post once we hear more about what happened higher up on the mountain. The last few days have been snowy and cloudy. Whatever the team did I am sure it was a grand adventure. We are just happy to hear that the whole team is safe and on their way home.

Hoping for good weather at 17,000' and above

Kevin and Bill made it to 17,000' camp today. They are poised and ready for a summit attempt as early as tomorrow morning. It has been snowy and cloudy on the mountain for a few days and they are eagerly hoping for a good weather window to make an attempt at Denali's summit. They will join another Mountain Trip team that is also at 17,000'.

We all wish them the best of luck and safety in their summit attempt and the rest of their time on the mountain. Send good energy their way.

Catching up

Here's a picture of the team before they flew to basecamp, all ready to load up the plane and get moving.

We join the group about halfway through their expedition to climb Denali's Cassin ridge. The team has been calling in a few times a week and we've been following their progress here at the Mountain Trip office, so this blog will be updated when they call in. As is the case with all groups in the field, no news is good news, but when we know more you will know more.

The team has moved up the West Buttress route and are waiting out some inclement weather at 14,000' camp. As of yesterday MT guide Kevin Koprek has reported that after examining the route and dealing with some foot problems, the team has changed their objective from the Cassin ridge to climbing the South and North summits of Denali via the West Buttress route. Often on an expedition the climbers are forced to reevaluate objectives in the face of changing circumstance, and it sounded like the group was satisfied to move up to high camp at 17,000' on the Buttress to give the summit a shot from there.

14 camp received about a foot of snow the night before last, so the expedition is hanging tight to let snow conditions stabilize overhead before moving to high camp. Stay tuned....