Going Home

We are off the mountain after a week of particularly rough weather at High Camp.
Sometimes it just comes down to luck... Everyone on the team did a great job of moving up to high camp, and putting us in position to head for the summit, but Denali didn't cooperate. I think everyone felt a bit worse for wear after spending soo many days tent bound at over 17,000 feet. We finally got a couple hour lull in the wind on Thursday evening, and decided to head down before the next storm roared thru in full force. Looking at the upper mountain on our way out, we were all very happy to be down lower enjoying the views of the wind and lenticular clouds that encompassed Denali for the last several weeks.

We enjoyed a team dinner with the remnants of our crew in Anchorage on Monday night, and everyone is headed home soon.

Congratulations guys, you gave it a great shot and should feel proud of what you did. (summit rate this year is still at about %30)


Good luck to the rest of our teams, the weather has to change at some point...

Down to C2

Team Allen is at least to Camp 2 tonight. They spent last night at 14,000 and headed down the glacier this morning.

Calling it

The team has been at high camp under pretty ugly conditions, and the forecast is calling for more of the same until at least Monday. As soon as they can get a good enough break, they're going to pack up and head down.
Weather can be followed at
http://pafg.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=SXAK49PAFG&type=public

Still Hunkered

Blasts of 60 mph are hitting up high, so team Bill is waiting it out for a bit. They've built snow walls around their tents, and are enjoying the social scene of tent-life while the wind howls...

Hanging at High Camp

Still a bit windy up on top. The team has made great time going up to High Camp, so they're in no hurry to take a less-than-optimal day. If and when the summit happens, you'll be almost the first to know. It has been reportedly very windy lately, so it could be a while...

High Camp!

Team Bill Allen is now at High Camp! They said the weather has been beautiful and everyone is doing great!

14,000 ft.

Bill Allen's team is at 14,000 feet and moving to High Camp tomorrow. Everyone is doing great and getting excited to be moving up high on the mountain.
Sorry this is so brief; more details to come later.

Successful carry to 13,700!

Bill called from Camp 2 today. He said the team carried a load around Windy Corner and cached it at 13,700 feet today. Everyone did well and is excited about moving to Camp 3 tomorrow.

The weather forecast looks good with mostly cloudy conditions and mild winds for the next few days.

All's well and they're moving on up!

Bill called last night and he said that the team was camped at Camp 2 at 11,200 feet.

Everyone is doing well and is excited to keep moving up.

Welcome to the May 20th West Buttress 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 20th West Buttress Expedition