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.