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Mt. McKinley: Jones & Team - Basecamp is the Spot

Posted by: Tyler Jones, Eric Frank, Logan Randolph | June 18, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'

The word “team” is what we are; the confidence and style this team has possessed has been outstanding. Team Jones/Frank/Randolph is excited to be in base camp on the Southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier.

We woke up a number of times through last night to gusty winds and white-out conditions at 11k camp. The guides choice was to wait the weather out.  Denali was again giving our group another challenge. The team solved this one with some rest and a long pancake breakfast.

An afternoon clearing provided motivation for an evening walk, our final walk that provided everything from blowing snow to pristine clear skies. The sunset reeled us in toward the north face of Mt. Hunter lit in the soft evening light completing our final push to Kahiltna Basecamp at 7,800 ft.

While conditions look prime at base camp and it looks like we will fly out tomorrow, we don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch. You never know what Denali, or as we have called her “De-Gnarly,” has in store for us.

Laying here in our sleeping bags in the thick, moist air, it’s tough to imagine that we were at 20,320 feet just the day before yesterday.

The crew is ready to celebrate our safe and successful summit with the loved ones that allowed us to be in Alaska for this journey. Thank you family and friends for the support. This journey to the top of North America and back has been a long and never to be forgotten experience. We look forward to recalling our time spent in the mountains with a dinner out wearing sandals and shorts along with being back on turf with trees, rivers, and just plain dirt in Talkeetna.

RMI Guide Tyler Jones

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