Sleeping and eating in Anchorage

This is Chris Kerrick, one of the guides on our exceptional adventure. Please understand that I am recovering from a late, late night last night. It was our last night together and our guests demanded from the guides endless toasts and speeches. Many of you whom have been following our trip may get to see some of the video footage taken at Orso's restaurant. Anush has a keen ability to capture people on video while they are at their worst. I would like to thank George for paying the bill last night. Your short speech is one that I will always remember. Thanks again.
This was my sixteenth trip on Denali and I feel that in many ways it was the most successful trip which I have been a part of. In the beginning we were 12 people from all over the world and at the end we were a team whom worked hard and cared for one another. I have never had so much help setting up camp, building the kitchen and snow walls. It is my hope that these trips inspire our guests to further explore life.
Thanks for following our climb on Denali,
Chris kerrick

Everybody's in Anchorage

They flew off the mountain this afternoon, and I brought them back to Anchorage this evening. A bunch of happy, sunburned faces.

God job everyone!

Trying to fly

The crew is all assembled at what is known as the "upper airstrip." The traditional strip was too soft and mushy for the pilots to want to attempt a landing, so the team hiked to the back up strip, located a half hour and several hundred feet higher. They are hoping to fly out today, but clouds have been moving in and out of the Range, so we are not certain if they will have a chance to fly or not.

We call this the "hurry up and wait" program. You need to hurry up to the upper strip and get yourselves ready for the air taxi, but you just might have to wait a while. Tempering your enthusiasm is crucial at this juncture. Rumor has it that some of the lads cached some beverages, which might help pass the time.

Be patient, hope for light winds to blow those clouds out, and stay tuned...

Coming Home

Chris called from Camp 3 this evening while as they were picking up some gear, and continuing down the mountain. They'll rest for a while along the way, but it's a pretty quick descent and they plan to be in base camp tomorrow.

Summit of Denali!!

Chris just called from the Summit of Denali at about 8:15pm AK time. They were enjoying a pretty nice evening up there, and the rest of the team was busy snapping pictures, and trying to catch there breath at 20,320 ft. They did great today, and will be heading back down to high camp in just a few minutes, the top of Denali isn't a place to dilly dally. George and Anush had to turn around with Peter, a guide from the other Mountain Trip team at around 19,000 ft. They are doing fine, it just wasn't their day to reach the top. It's the longest day of the trip, and everything has to be right to make it to the top. George and Anush are safely back in camp, so that's a success as well.

They'll begin the relatively quick descent to basecamp tomorrow, and be down in just a couple of days!

Congratulations.

Here's a link to a video that Todd took from the summit of Denali in 2007. It's a stunning place.

High Camp

The crew took a day to rest and acclimate today. They spent a few hours this afternoon digging in, and building walls with snow blocks to protect them from the wind. It was a bit windy today, not bad, but enought to encourage them to fortify their camp in case it picks up. This is a pretty common form of entertainment and exercise at high camp. Chris is pretty a meticulous wall builder, so they've probably got the best walls and squarest snow blocks in camp. They'll be watching the weather closely tomorrow (Tuesday) and hope to get a shot at the summit.

High Camp!

They made it to high camp today at 17,200 ft. It's a big day, and a pretty strenuous climb to get up there, so everyone is a bit tired tonight, but doing great. They'll plan on taking a rest day tomorrow, they'll need to be feeling strong and rested before the final push on up to the summit. They are excited to have made it up to high camp, now they just need one nice day to reach the summit.

The last 1000 ft of climbing up the ridge to reach high camp is some of the most beautiful on the West Buttress route. Here's a picture of the ridge looking back from camp, if you click on the image you can see climbers on the route.


Here's a picture of high camp, with the trail leading to Denali pass, and on to the summit in the back.

Carrying Loads to 16,200 ft

The team carried a load of food and fuel up to the W. Buttress ridge leading to high camp yesterday to stock their cache and prepare to move on up. It was a windy day (of course) but they got the job done, and will take a well deserved rest/acclimitization day today (Saturday). They may catch some luck with the weather, the forecast is looking OK after this weekend. They'll spend another day or 2 at Camp 3 to get acclimated, and then push on up to high camp, and then to the summit. It can all happen pretty quickly at this point if they get some good weather.
The climbing above Camp 3 gets a bit steeper and more technical. Here is a picture of some climbers climbing up the final 600 ft to the W. Buttress ridge. For this last steep pitch they will clip onto a permanently anchored "fixed line" for additional security. This is one of the more strenuous sections on the route. Everyone did great on the carry yesterday, and they're looking forward to a bit of rest before the final push up to high camp and the summit.

Backcarry

Today the team slept in, ate a big French Toast breakfast, and then went down to 13,500 ft to pick up their cache. It was a light day by Denali standards, and they were back in camp after just a couple of hours. Tomorrow they'll hope to carry some a load up high again if the weather cooperates.

Camp 3/14,200 ft

They moved up to Camp 3 at 14,200 ft today. It was a beautiful day in the Alaska Range finally after a prolonged stretch of bad weather. Lot's of activity on the mountain today, teams moving up, and the first good summit day in almost 2 weeks. Another Mt Trip group was able to summit in beautiful weather today. Chris's crew moved up to Camp 3 on this relatively warm and windless day. They made pretty good time moving up, and were settled in for soup and dinner when he called at 7:30 pm AK time(Wednesday).

Everyone was doing great, but feeling a bit winded at this new altitude. They'll spend at least 4 nights at this camp acclimating, and caching gear in preparation for the move to high camp and the summit push.

Here's a view of Camp 3 from above. It's quite a tent city during the middle of the climbing season on Denali. Mt Hunter is the big peak in the back.

Nice Weather Finally

Reports from the mountain this morning are that the weather has finally improved, and it is the nicest day in almost 2 weeks. Expect that everyone will be moving on up to 14k today!

Carrying Loads around Windy Corner

Chris called this evening in great spirits after they were able to do a bit of climbing today and carried loads up around Windy Corner. The conditions were pretty tough, with some pretty strong winds still, but they were able to get thru and get the cache up. Everybody did great today, and they were back to camp in about 5 1/2 hours(which is pretty good time).

They all seem to be enjoying the trip, and Chris said it's been a fun group.

They could move to Camp 3 tomorrow if the weather lets them.

Another day at 11,000 ft

They were stuck again yesterday (Monday) in a storm that seemed to be letting up a bit in the evening. Chris has high hopes of being able to carry a load today up to about 13,500 ft up around Windy Corner. They are in good company at Camp 2, with another Mt Trip group, and several other teams waiting out the weather together.

Here is a view of the upper route that I was able to get from a plane recently. The climbing route comes from the lower left corner(12,000 ft) working up to the right, around the rock buttress (Windy Corner) and up into the basin in the middle of the picture (14,200/Camp 3)

11,000ft/3,350m Camp 2

Chris called last night from Camp 2 at 11,000 ft. They moved up to camp on Friday, and yesterday made a back carry down to pick up their cache of food and fuel from about 10,000 ft on the glacier below. Yesterday was a pretty short day, and they were able to sleep in a bit before setting off to get their work done. Sebastian spent most of the morning with the sewing kit repairing a tear in the kitchen tent that occurred when they were taking it down from the previous camp. They were able to sew it all up, and they are back in business with their comfy kitchen, and social scene.
It has been a snowy and windy trip so far, but they've been able to continue on up the mountain. Today they are hoping to carry a load of food and fuel up around "Windy Corner" to make a cache and prepare to move up to the next camp. This is often a spot where you just can't travel in bad weather, so hopefully they'll get a nice day today.

Camped at 10,000 ft

The team moved up the glacier, but didn't get all the way to their planned stopping point at 11,000 ft today. They set up camp at around 10,000 ft and plan to move up to 11,200 ft tomorrow.

Loads up to 10,200 ft

The team pushed thru the snow and wind today, and were able to carry a load of food and fuel up to 10,200 ft right below Kahiltna Pass. They cached the gear there (dug a hole in the snow and buried the gear marked with a wand) and returned to Camp 1. The plan for tomorrow will be to pack up camp and move all the way up to Camp 2 at 11,200 ft. Chris said everyone was doing great today, even under some challenging weather conditions. The snow and wind has picked up tonight a bit, and they were finishing dinner when they called at around 8:00 pm.

At Camp 1

Chris called via Sat phone this evening (6:45 pm Alaska time) from Camp 1 at 7,800 ft on the Kahiltna glacier. They got up this morning at 3:30 am and were on the trail by about 7 am. They reached camp 1 by about 1:30 this afternoon, so they are moving along great. The loads only get lighter from here...

They had a beautiful warm day today, and are enjoying some soup, and starting their dinner right now.

Flew in on Monday

The team all met for the first time on Sunday in Anchorage. The guides have been packing food and getting the equipment together for several days, and are as excited as anyone to get the show on the road, and begin the climbing. Nobody lost any baggage on the flights to Alaska, so they are off to a good start.

The crew flew in during another beautiful day in Alaska yesterday(monday). They got up this morning and started the hard work of hauling all of the food, fuel, tents, climbing gear, clothes, books, and iPods for 21 days up the glacier. The first day is the heaviest of the whole trip, as they move up the mountain from Camp 1 they'll begin to carry loads in 2 trips to move up to the higher camps.

Welcome to Mountain Trip's May 24, 2009 West Buttress Expedition

In the far north lies one of the most magnificent ranges of mountains in the world. The Alaska Range stretches 400 miles across southcentral Alaska. It is a wild place, covered in glaciers and punctuated by rugged peaks. The crown of the range is Denali, at 20,320 feet (6194 m), the highest peak in North America. Located so close to the Arctic circle, Denali can present some of the most challenging and rugged conditions of any mountain on earth.

Each year a relatively few climbers from around the world migrate to test themselves on the slopes of Denali. Mountain Trip has been assisting these climbers achieve their Denali dreams since 1976. We love what we do and are happy to help provide you a taste of what these climbers are experiencing by updating their progress in this blog. Following the expedition, we will post numerous photos from the expedition, so please keep checking in.

On May 24, 2009, a team of climbers will arrive in Anchorage. They will be accompanied by three Mountain Trip guides:

Chris Kerrick from Tacoma, WA
Caitlin Hague from Anchorage, AK
Sebastian Grau from Santiago, Chile

The climbers are:

Peter Kinloch from the UK
Aljosa Hribar from the UK
Pascal Pinz from the UK
Richard Kenworthy from the UK
George Seehaver from Canada
Ansi Genis from South Africa
Manoel Morgado from Brazil
Andrea Cardona from Guatemala
Anush Elangovan from San Francisco, CA

Please keep in mind that communication from the big mountains can be challenging and occasionally intermittent. We will post updates as often as possible, but please keep in mind the old adage, "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!" when it comes to communications from the Range.

Also, please be advised that while we will attempt to pass comments along to the climbers, this is not always possible. The intent of this dispatch blog is to keep you up to date on your friends' and loved ones' progress while on the expedition, and to give you an opportunity to express your support of their dreams. We are certain they will love to read all of your comments when they get back to civilization, so please do post comments.