In Talkeetna!

The whole team was able to fly from the Kahiltna Glacier basecamp to Talkeetna today!  They got to town in time to enjoy some food, get showers, and are now on their way back to Anchorage for some more overeating.  

It's good to have them back to civilization, congratulations to all.

Base Camp!

The team left 14,000 camp last night to head on down to basecamp.  They waited until night to travel to allow the lower glacier to freeze and make the traveling easier.  They should be in basecamp pretty soon this morning, and hope to fly to Talkeetna right away.  The weather isn't looking that great for the planes right now, but hopefully they'll get a break later in the day, and be out for burgers, beers, and showers.

Summit on Sunday!

They made it to the summit yesterday!  Joe Butler (guide) just called from the 14,000 camp where they will spend the night tonight.  They were able to summit yesterday on a pretty nice day, and got up this morning and started the big descent.  They should be to basecamp by tomorrow, and fly out to Talkeetna by Wednesday.  

Don wasn't feeling good on summit day, and stayed in High Camp w/ another Mt Trip team, but the rest of them were able to get to the top.  Nice Job everyone, sorry for the bad luck for Don.

No News Yet...

They haven't called to check in yet, but I'm betting that means that all went well yesterday, and they are just sleeping in.  I always get a call when things don't go to plan, but guides forget to call when things go good.  

I'll update as soon as I hear from them.

Going for the Summit!

Joe Butler just called on the Sat phone from high camp, as they were finishing breakfast, and getting ready to head for the summit.  It is a nice day up there, and everyone is feeling great.   Wish them all luck today, and I'll post this evening when I hear news from Denali.

High Camp 17,200ft

I talked to Peter this morning, and the team made it to high camp yesterday as planned.   They all did great, but were a bit too tired to try for the summit this morning.   After a day of rest and acclimating they hope to get a shot at the summit tomorrow.  

Hope for good weather.

Moving up to High Camp on the 4th of July

I just got off the phone with Peter from 14,000 camp.   They are packing up and heading up to 17k right now.  Everyone is doing great and eating too much and having a pretty good time.  I've got a couple of personal messages that some climbers wanted to pass on.

Ben say's" he misses Dreyeretjie"

Mandy sends her love to her kids.

Arthur missing Jarik.

Jason "Love you all"

14,000...

They were able to carry a load and cache it at 16,400 ft yesterday.  Today was a rest day and they are ready to move up to high camp tomorrow if the weather cooperates!  

Jeff is going to come down with another MT Trip group who summited a couple of days ago.  He is fine, just coming down.  Not to worry.

14,000 ft Camp

Joe Butler called last night on the satellite phone, the June 22nd team is doing great at Camp 3.  They were able to move up on Monday, and yesterday they went back down to 13,500ft to pick up the food and fuel that they had cached earlier.  They are moving right along, and have benefited from improving weather on Denali, and across Alaska.  They will spend at least 4 nights at this camp resting and acclimating before moving on up to high camp on the West Buttress at 17,200ft.  

This time of year on Denali it get's pretty quiet, but we've got 3 other Mt Trip groups at 14,ooo ft so they have plenty of company, and it sounds like they are all having a great time.   Yesterday was reported to be one of the nicest days of the season at 14k, sunny, warm, and no winds.

14,000 ft Camp

I don't expect to hear from this team until this evening, but they should be at the 14,000 ft camp by then.   They were planning to move up today, and the weather seems to be cooperating for them.  

I'll update this when they call, but didn't want anyone getting too worried about not hearing an update before you go to bed on the East Coast.   

Camp 2 11,000 ft

The team moved on up the glacier to Camp 2 at 11,000 ft today.   They are moving along great, and making good time.  Tomorrow they will drop back down about 500 vertical to pick up the cache they left yesterday at Kahiltna Pass.  This will be their first chance to sleep in and have an "easy" day, usually just a couple of hours of work.   This gives them a chance to acclimate and recover a bit  before the next big push up to 14,000 camp.

Camp 1 7,800ft

Peter Inglis called via Sat Phone last night, and they were all settled in at camp 1 and doing great. The weather has continued to be a bit snowy and unsettled on Denali, but the high winds are only hitting the top of the peak, so they able to keep on climbing down on the lower glacier.

On the Glacier!

The team met in Anchorage Sunday for their team meeting and gear check.  Monday morning they drove up to Talkeetna, checked in with the Park Service, and flew onto the glacier.  Everyone was excited, and a bit nervous heading up towards the mountain, but I'm sure they are settling in to life on the glacier by now.  

They planned to get up very early today and move 5 miles up the Kahiltna Glacier to camp 1.

Welcome the Dispatch Blog for Mountain Trip's June 22, 2008 West Buttress Expedition

On June 22, 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 bacse 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 includes:

Jeff Arle from the US
Mandy Ramsden from South Africa
Jason Vlantis from South Africa
Ben Swart from South Africa
Donald O'Connor from South Africa
Arthur Marsden from South Africa

Mountain Trip guides for the expedition will be Peter Inglis from Telluride, Colorado and Joe Butler 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.