Random photos from the climb

Looking up at the West Buttress and Camp 2 from about 10,500'

Windy Corner living up to its name

The team taking fixed line practice very seriously!

Looking up at the Headwall and fixed lines from Camp 3
(high camp is at left just beyond the ridgeline)

Sara with high camp and Mount Foraker behind her

The Team in the Cook Tent

(from left to right): Heidi, Matt, Todd, Sara, JR (Jesse)and Peter at bottom

(from left to right): JR, Ray, John, Wayne, Garrison and Lisa
**Thanks Benoit, for taking these photos!

Safe and Sound and back in Town!

The team descended from High Camp on the 14th and spent the night at 14,200'. They walked down to Base Camp the following day.

The lower glacier was fairly exciting with numerous crevasses that were covered by thin, weak bridges. No one took any big crevasse falls, but several climbers poked in to their knees or waist. The evening light was magical as the peaks that they had been looking down on from above just days earlier were bathed in orange and pink and towered above the weary crew.

Friday morning dawed beautiful and they boarded an Otter aircraft for a jaw-dropping flight out to Talkeetna. Burgers, halibut and a beer or two were consumed in an effort to catch up on some of the calories that were consumed by summit day and the descent.

Everyone is now making their way home.

I had the good fortune to climb alongside this team and would like to extend my heartfelt thanks for their exceptionally good attitudes and energy. They really came together as a team and worked great together.

I will add some photos and perhaps some depth to some of the posts in a few days.

Best,

Todd

Successful Summit!

Team Heidi had a bluebird of a day to summit. I think everyone made it (no reports to the contrary) to the top of the continent! They spent the night at High Camp, and headed down the glacier today.

High Camp!

Team Heidi is at High Camp, near 17,000 feet. They may try for a summit day today.

Still waiting

Forecast is for more big winds until at least Monday...
Reading books, making coffee, eating, sleeping....

At Camp 3

The team is at Camp 3; 14,000 feet. They made a carry to 15,700 and everyone is doing great. The weather has been snowy and windy for a few days, but they had a mostly clear and gusty day today. High winds are predicted (60 mph. blasts) through Friday.

At Camp 2

Team Heidi is at Camp 2 after making a carry around Windy Corner. Tomorrow they'll be moving to 14,000ft. I think they had burritos for dinner.

Camp One

Team Heidi is at Camp One tonight after carrying to 10,000 ft. Everyone is doing great. In fact, there was a birthday celebration for James on the glacier. Woo Hoo!

Welcome to our May 27th Denali Expedition

When the trees begin to bud in the lower 48, a certain breed of climber begins to feel the tug to head north. The siren song of Alaska rings down and makes some of us long for a surreal landscape in which we feel very, very small.

The Alaska Range is a magical place and the crown jewel of the north is Denali. At 20,320 feet high, Denali is the highest mountain on the North American continent and is a beacon for climbers who wish to test their strength and perseverance by attempting to ascend "The Great One".

Mountain Trip began helping climbers achieve their Denali ambitions in 1976. We love what we do. We take great pride in believing that we do the best job of guiding Denali and we work very hard to continually earn the trust that our climbers place in us.

Welcome to the dispatch page for our May 27th West Buttress Expedition.