MCKINLEY ARCHIVED DISPATCHES

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2007 Dispatches

Dave Hahn, June 27th Mount McKinley Expedition

July 17, 2007 :
Dave Hahn's expedition was able to fly off the mountain today.

July 16, 2007 (12:00 PDT) :
Dave Hahn and his team have had to abandon the climb due to poor weather and avalanche conditions. Their high point was 17,000'. The group has left the 14,000' camp and is moving toward base camp. The weather is currently clear, and if it remains so (clear and cold) they will cross the lower Kahiltna glacier tonight and arrive at Base Camp in the morning. Hopefully the weather will cooperate when they need the pilots to fly them off!

July 15, 2007 (4:56  p.m. PST) :
This is Dave at 14,000' on Mount McKinley. We weren't able to move camp today due to high avalanche danger on the slopes above. There is a cloud cap on top of the mountain but the weather is nice today and we are hoping that it will warm up enough to stabilize the snow. We have spent as long as we can here so unfortunately we will be heading down. We want to pickup our cache on the West Buttress and plan to start descending tomorrow morning. Everyone is doing fine, bye for now.

July 14, 2007 (2:30  p.m. PST) :
This is Dave Hahn from 14,000'. We woke up to a big cloud cap on the mountain so we are staying at 14,000' today. We will see how the weather is tomorrow in hopes of moving camp to 17,000'. We are one of two groups left on Denali for the 2007 season. All for now and will check in tomorrow.

July 13, 2007 (3:17  p.m. PST) :
Since we did not get any new snow overnight, we attempted to go to 17,000'. The cloud cap that was on the upper mountain moved down and we had to return to 14,000' and re-establish our camp. We are sitting tight at 14,000' for now.

July 12, 2007 (12:42  p.m. PST) :
We are still at 14,000' but are happy to report sunny skies. There is a cap on the upper mountain and new snow on the slopes around us. We will check in tomorrow.

July 11, 2007 (4:00 p.m. PST) :
Hey this is Dave in a snow storm at 14,000' on Mount McKinley. Our trip is quite comfortable at camp and there is just one other team here at this time. We don't have much visibility today and it is snowing heavily. We hope to move up to the 17,000' camp in the next few days if weather allows. We'll check in again soon.

July 10, 2007 (3:30 p.m. PST) :
Hello this is Dave Hahn. We carried to 16,300' yesterday and are taking a rest day today. We hope to move to 17,000' in the next few days but we will wait to see what the weather has in store. We have four new inches of snow and it is still snowing lightly. We can see blue sky in the distance so we are hopeful that the weather will be changing for the better. There are not many groups left at 14,000'. We will check in again soon.

July 9, 2007 (1:00 p.m. PST) :
This is Dave Hahn checking in from 15,000’ on Mount McKinley. The weather is glorious! It’s the first clear day in over a week! We are in the process of carrying a cache to 16,000’ on the West Buttress, and our group is resting and waiting our turn on the fixed line that extends from 15,000’ to the crest of the West Buttress. We plan to return to camp at 14,000’ tonight and take a rest day tomorrow.

July 8, 2007 (message) :
The team is camped at 14,000’, having arrived yesterday from our previous campsite at 11,000’. Today we are doing a back-carry to retrieve our cache at 13,000’. This is an easy, enjoyable day on the route and more great acclimatization for everyone. The weather is still unsettled and it has snowed quite a bit on the upper mountain. Our job for the next few days is to acclimate, place a cache on the West Buttress, and move camp to 17,000’ when conditions look good. I will check back later.

July 7, 2007 (11:30 a.m. PDT) :
(Message from John Race) Given the improving weather today, we expect Dave Hahn’s June 27 expedition is once again attempting to move from 11,000’ to Genet Basin. Yesterday their plans were thwarted by inclement weather and they remained in camp.

July 6, 2007 (1:30 p.m. PDT) :
(Message from John Race) The Dave Hahn-led party was planning to move camp from 11,000’ to this elevation today. The route in between our camp is marked with small red flags (‘wands”) so visibility shouldn’t be an issue. There is no sign of them yet, but parties can move whenever they want, in the 24-hour daylight this time of year. And of course we don’t know what the weather is like at their elevation. Hopefully we will welcome their party into 14,000’ camp soon.

July 5, 2007 (3:00 p.m. PST) :
We had a rest day at 11,000' today. Our plan for tomorrow is to move to 14,000'. Everyone is doing well and the weather is cloudy and calm. All for now.

July 4, 2007 (1:30 p.m. PST) :
Hello this is Dave calling from Windy Corner at 13,500'. We carried today to 13,700' to leave our cache. We are currently at 13,500' making our way back down to our 11,000' camp. There are cumulus clouds moving in and the weather looks worse up top. Everyone is doing great.

July 3, 2007 (7:12 p.m. PDT message) :
Hi this is Dave Hahn checking in from Mount McKinley. We are camped at 11,000' tonight. We moved up from 9,500' this morning in beautiful conditions. We left our former camp at 6:40 a.m. and arrived at 11,000' around 9:00 a.m. It was really pretty, clear and calm on our way up. We built camp here at 11,000 and almost have the place to ourselves. Another team arrived this afternoon along with a thunderstorm. It is now 6:00 p.m. and we are listening to the thunder and have snow coming down on us. Interesting weather. We'll talk to you soon.

July 2, 2007 (3:40 p.m.) :
We moved from 8,000' to 9,500' today. Everything is going well and it actually turned out to be a nice day weather wise.

July 1, 2007 (2:10 p.m.) :
We were up at 3 a.m. this morning and walking by 5:30 to our 8,000' camp.  We arrived in camp at 9:30 a.m. The weather is cloudy but we did get a little clearing during the night which firmed up the snow for easier walking.

June 29, 2007 (1:40 p.m. message) :
This is Dave Hahn on Mount McKinley. It was mid-afternoon before we all got on the mountain yesterday. Beautiful conditions up here, wonderful weather. We set up camp here at basecamp and are spending the day training and reviewing crevasse rescue techniques. We are getting set to leave basecamp tonight and head up the glacier in the cool part of the day and aiming for camp close to 8,000' tomorrow. Forecast is still for good weather and we hope to enjoy a little bit of it. All for now.


Greg Collins, June 20th Mount McKinley Expedition

July 11, 2007 :
(Per Dave Hahn): The Collins' expedition flew off the mountain this evening.

July 10, 2007 :
(Per Dave Hahn): Greg Collins' Team has reached basecamp. Weather has not been clear enough to fly them off but they are ready and waiting for a the bush pilots to pick them up.

July 9, 2007 :
(Per Dave Hahn): Greg Collins and his party descended from 17,000’ yesterday, unable to out-wait the uncooperative weather any longer. After resting a few hours at 14,000’ they have headed down glacier, bound for base camp.

July 7, 2007 (10:10 a.m. PDT) :
Greetings from High Camp on Denali, where our intrepid group is preparing to spend Night # 8 at 17,000’. The group is doing well and everyone is keeping their spirits up. It continues to storm out of the northwest, with snow and blowing wind. Life at this elevation is significantly different than lower on the mountain. That was most evident upon our initial arrival; every movement was an effort! Now, this inclement weather is actually working to our benefit (in a way) by allowing our bodies to acclimate. When the weather allows, we’ll make our summit bid. That’s it for now.”

July 6, 2007 (1:30 p.m. PDT) :
(Message from John Race) There is no progress to report from the Greg Collins party at High Camp. Undoubtedly they are playing the same waiting game we are, and hoping that high pressure will move in and dominate Denali’s weather.

July 5, 2007 :
We are still sitting tight at 17,200' with winds out of the Northeast.

July 4, 2007 (11:10 a.m.) :
Hi this is Greg Collins checking in from Mount McKinley. We have just spent our fifth night at our 17,200' camp and are still waiting out the weather. There was a thunderstorm last night which brought strong winds and new snow to camp and on the upper mountain. Everyone is doing well and we are hopeful that the weather will clear so we can make our summit attempt. We will check in again soon.

July 2, 2007 (4:04 p.m.) :
We are camped at 17,000’ and everyone here is doing well. Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating, so we are waiting it out until we’re able to attempt the summit.

July 1, 2007 (2:04 p.m.) :
The weather did not cooperate today and we are sitting in our tents at 17,200' waiting out the storm. All is well and we hope the weather will give us a summit window soon.

June 30, 2007 (10:30 p.m. message) :
We reached 17,000’ high camp on 6/30 and will try for the summit on 7/1 if the good weather holds. [per Greg's phone message]

June 30, 2007 (10:00 a.m.) :
Peter Anderson reported that Greg Collins' group made a carry and left a cache on the West Buttress two days ago. His party took an acclimatization day yesterday and is hopefully moving camp to 17,000’ today.

June 27, 2007 (10:21 p.m. message) :
Peter Anderson reported that Greg Collins has arrived at 14,000’ and everyone in their party is doing well. One of their guides, Jake Beren, celebrated his birthday yesterday (no doubt his wish is for the weather to stabilize and turn warmer!).

June 27, 2007 :
Hello. We are currently at 14,200' Camp and are taking a well deserved rest day. We will wait to see what the weather is like the next few days. We need to make a back carry to retrieve our gear and also need to cache gear up higher for our move to 17,000'. The sky is overcast and the forecast is calling for snow. Everyone is doing well and we'll hope for good weather. and we will check in again soon.

June 25, 2007 :
Greg's group flew from Talkeetna to the Kahiltna Glacier on Friday, June 22nd. Everyone is doing well. We will have more information on their progress once the group reaches the 14,000' camp.


Peter Anderson, June 13th Mount McKinley Expedition

July 2, 2007 (5:30 p.m. message) :
Hello, this is Peter Anderson. Yesterday we descended from 14,000’ to the base of ski hill at 7,800’ and camped next to Dave Hahn’s group. We awoke at 2 a.m. and continued our descent to Basecamp which took about 4 hours. The normal landing area was too broken for the bush pilot to land so we walked an additional ˝ hour to the new air strip. It was a very efficient team departure from the mountain and the weather closed in just as our last team members was flown off. It is currently raining in Talkeenta. We are all looking forward to food, drink and sleep. Everyone is happy, health and done! :
 

June 30, 2007 :
Peter Anderson is at 14,000’ and the group is descending toward base camp.

June 30, 2007 (10:00 a.m.) :
This is Peter Anderson checking in from 17,000’ on June 30. Yesterday we reached the summit of Mt McKinley at 8:40 p.m. on what proved to be a marathon 16-hour roundtrip climb. Everyone is safe at high camp and we’re planning to begin our descent of the West Buttress later today. If the weather holds, we should arrive back at Base Camp within a few days and fly off.

June 27, 2007 (10:21 p.m. message) :
We’re calling from high camp at 17,200’ on Denali! It is very unseasonably cold here, but everyone was successful on our move today from 14,000’. It took us 9 ˝ hours of climbing, and conditions were most pleasant. We had a light wind, five to ten mph, and firm snow for making our ascent of the routes namesake, the West Buttress. However, weather conditions changed immediately upon arrival at high camp, where we were greeted by increased wind and blowing snow. We established camp and rewarded our tired crew with dinner and hot drinks served in bed. We might try for the summit tomorrow (6/28) but that will be dictated (like everything is) by the weather. Until our next dispatch this is Peter Anderson signing off.

June 27, 2007 :
Greg Collin's notified RMI today that Peter Anderson's group made the move to 17,200' Camp today and will be looking for good weather to make their summit attempt in the next few days.

June 25, 2007 :
Our group is still waiting out the weather at 14,000’. Although conditions are not horrific at this elevation, it is dramatically worse at 16,000’ and above. We can see streamers of clouds blowing 50 mph all day on the upper mountain. We are much better off camped here, than 17,000’. In fact, all parties have vacated 17,000’ and there is currently nobody at high camp (except ravens!). No one has made the summit for quite some time. Still, we are hoping the weather will settle and allow us to try. It snowed between two and six inches the last 24 hours. Everyone in the party is in good spirits. Yesterday, the “Second Annual International Ice Axe Horseshoes Competition” was held at 14,000’…RMI won! That’s it for now. We will try to give an update in another couple of days.

June 23, 2007 (1:30 p.m. PDT) :
Our group remains camped at 14,000’ waiting out the unsettled weather. It has snowed 10” the past two days, but the weather pattern seems to be improving overall. Inbetween reoccurring fog banks, lenticular clouds are visible on Denali’s upper slopes…an indication of change, possibly for the better! We will climb to 17,000’ high camp in the next day or two if the weather stabilizes. The group celebrated summer Solstice yesterday and everyone is doing well. We can smell smoke from a 50,000 acre wildfire burning thousands of feet below. The light is eerily beautiful and cooler weather is mellowing the fires. That is all to report; we’ll check back in a day or two from now.

June 21, 2007 (3:30 p.m. PDT) :
Our team reached camp in Genet Basin (14,000’) yesterday evening after making the long move from 11,000’. Everyone is doing well and spirits are high. Today we ‘back-carried’ to retrieve the cache we placed at 13,200’ so this was a relatively short, easy day. We’re sitting pretty at 14,000’ as the weather rolls in… We’ll stay here the next few days, but hopefully carry loads to cache at 16,000’ on the West Buttress. Everyone is well; all is good.

June 19, 2007 (4:10 p.m. PDT) :
(Reported by Casey's expedition.) Peter carried to 13,000' today and is expected to move up to 14,000' tomorrow.

June 16, 2007 (12:00 p.m. PDT) :
Per Chad Peele's expedition Peter's group has moved camp to 9,500' and all is well.

June 14, 2007 :
Our group flew on the mountain today (reported by Olivia).

June 12th (5:00 p.m. PDT) :
Everyone arrived in Anchorage today and we are loading the shuttle bus for the drive to Talkeetna. We will check in again soon.


Chad Peele, May 30th Mount McKinley Expedition

June 16, 2007 (12:00 p.m. PDT) :
The expedition members are flying off the mountain now after a 100% summit success. Congratulations!

June 15, 2007 (6:15 p.m. PDT) :
Casey reported that Chad's group descended today and are headed to the airstrip. They should make it there by tonight or tomorrow morning.

June 14, 2007 :
SUMMIT! Casey reported that Chad's group summited with 100% making it to the top.

June 12, 2007 (5:35 p.m. PDT) :
Olivia reported that Chad's group is enjoying a rest day at 17,000' and is hoping to make their summit attempt tomorrow.

June 11, 2007 (12:45 p.m. PDT) :
Olivia reported that Chad's group made a carry to the crest of the West Buttress yesterday (16,200') and is resting today at 14,000'. Their plan is to move up to the 17,000’ high camp tomorrow.

June 10, 2007 (2:00 p.m. PST) :
Olivia Cussen reported that Chad's group has reached 14,000'. The winds are high and the weather is overcast with precipitation. They will sit tight and hope for better weather in the next few days so they can make a carry.

June 5, 2007 (4:48 p.m. PST) :
John Race reported that Chad's expedition was at 11,000' yesterday.

May 31, 2007 :
Chad’s group flew onto the mountain.


Olivia Cussen, May 23rd Mount McKinley Expedition

June 14, 2007 :
Our group flew off the mountain today.

June 13, 2007 (9:00 a.m. PDT) :
We are currently at 17,000’ and will be starting our descent today. We returned to camp around 11:30 p.m. Alaska time last night after a 10 + hour round trip climb from 17,000 to the summit and back. Everyone is doing well and we plan to descend to 11,000’ today before stopping for a few hours rest. We hope to reach the Kahiltna Glacier tomorrow morning and be flown off the mountain and into Talkeetna sometime tomorrow afternoon.

June 12, 2007 (5:35 p.m. PDT) :
SUMMIT! Hi this is Olivia calling from the summit of Mount McKinley. We finally had a break in the weather and made our summit attempt. Our team did well and the weather is great. All of our patience and waiting out the weather at the 14,000' camp finally paid off (12 days!). We will be descending shortly and will check in again soon.

June 11, 2007 (12:45 p.m. PDT) :
We climbed to high camp from 14,000’ yesterday in beautiful weather and are now are 17,000’. We are taking a rest / acclimatization day at high camp today. Our plan is to attempt the summit tomorrow. However, the weather remains unsettled.

June 9, 2007 (2:00 p.m. PST) :
We are still camped at 14,000' and just holding tight. The weather is not cooperating and the winds are very high. Everyone is doing well and in good spirits but we are ready to leave this camp, hopefully still heading up.

June 5, 2007 (4:48 p.m. PST) :
We are at 14,000' holding tight. It is super windy up high. The wind is dying down slowly and today was the worst of it. We are ready to move up as soon as the weather breaks.

June 3, 2007 (12:00 p.m. PST) :
John Race reports Olivia's expedition is dug-in at the 14,000’ level, waiting for a break in the weather to make the move to high camp. Everyone is doing well.

June 2, 2007 (1:49 p.m. PST) :
We are at 14,000' and taking a rest day today. The weather is nice right now but may be changing soon.

June 1, 2007 (12:30 p.m. PST) :
John Race reported that Olivia’s group will be making a carry to 16,200’ today and then returning to their 14,200’ camp tonight. They will likely take a rest day tomorrow.

May 30, 2007 (12:30 PST) :
John Race reported that Olivia's group was camped at 11,000' last night, they made a carry yesterday to 13,500' and are planning to move to the 14,000' camp today, weather permitting. Everyone is doing well.

May 27, 2007 (5:00 p.m. PST):
Jon Shea reported that Olivia's team was camped at 10,200' yesterday and was planning to move to 11,000' today. They plan to talk with Olivia again to night.

May 24, 2007 :
Our group was flown on to the mountain late this afternoon. Everyone is doing well.

May 23, 2007 :
Everything is going well. Everyone arrived safely and we are in Talkeetna, all packed and ready to fly on Mount McKinley tomorrow, weather permitting .


Jon Shea, May 16th Mount McKinley Expedition

June 3, 2007 (7:00 p.m. PST) :
We are off the hill. Everyone is safe and sound. We are heading to the hotel in Talkeetna for hot showers and then dinner. See you soon.

June 2, 2007 (1:49 p.m. PST) :
Olivia Cussen reported that Jon Shea's team was leaving 14,000' and descending down to the airstrip.

June 1, 2007 (12:30 p.m. PST) :
We made our summit attempt yesterday and reached the top of the West Rib at 19,600’ before poor visibility, high winds and cold temperatures turned our group around. We are planning to descend today to 14,000 and continue down on Saturday, hopefully reaching the airstrip on Sunday morning.

May 30, 2007 (12:30 PDT) :
John Race reported that Jon Shea's team is also at 17,000'. They are working around camp today to help secure the walls to protect the tents from the 25-30 mph winds. Everyone is doing well and just wait for the weather to cooperate.

May 27, 2007 (5:06 p.m. PST) :
Hi, this is Jon Shea. Our group is at 14,000' with some new snow falling. We made a carry today to 16,200' where we cached some of our gear. Since the weather report does not look too good the next few days, we are planning to use some rest days. We hope to move to high camp by Wednesday, weather permitting. Everyone is doing well and we are all excited to get to high camp.

May 24, 2007 (5:06 p.m. PST) :
(John Race relayed this info.) Jon Shea’s team arrived at the 14,000' camp soon after John Race's expedition .

May 24, 2007 :
(John Race relayed this info.) Jon Shea’s team rested today at 11,000’. They will plan to carry to 13,500’ tomorrow.

May 21, 2007 :
(Jon was able to communicate with John Lucia’s group at 17,200', and John relayed this info.) Our group made a carry yesterday. Everyone is doing well. Depending on the weather we may move to 11,000’ or take a rest day today.

May 19, 2007 :
(Jon communicated with John Lucia’s team at 17,200’ and Lucia relayed this information). The flying weather improved and the party flew to Base Camp on May 19, organized their loads, and moved up-glacier to 7,800’ where Camp I was established at the base of “Ski Hill.”


Mike Walter, May 9th Mount McKinley Expedition

May 25, 2007 :
We were flown off the mountain today and are back in Talkeenta. See you soon.

May 24, 2007 :
We will be descending to 11,000' today.  After resting for about six hours, we will continue down to the airstrip and should be there by tomorrow.

May 23, 2007 :
SUMMIT!

May 22, 2007 :
We are still sitting tight at 17,000’. The weather has been miserable with 30 mph winds and poor visibility. The weather cleared this afternoon and we are hoping it will stay clear long enough for us to make a summit attempt.

May 21, 2007 :
Our group is currently at 17,000' and we may make a summit attempt today. We are waiting a little longer to see what the weather has in store for us.

May 19, 2007 (9:45 p.m. PST) :
(John Lucia relayed this info.) The expedition carried loads to the top of the fixed lines (16,200’) and returned to camp in Genet Basin at 14,200'. Sunday the team will either take a rest day or move to high camp at 17,200’.

May 19, 2007 :
(Mike was able to communicate with John Lucia’s group at 17,200’, and John relayed this info.) We are at our 14,200' camp today. Yesterday, we picked up our cache at 13,500'. Today we may make a carry or take a rest day. With the current weather, we will probably stay here to rest and acclimatize.

May 18, 2007 :
(Mike was able to communicate with John Lucia’s group at 17,200’, and John relayed this info.) Apparently there was a lot of new snow down on the lower mountain (4 to 5 new feet), but our team plowed through it to get to the 14,200' camp. We got there late yesterday afternoon, and we will return to 13,500’ to retrieve our cache today. A typical strategy is to place a cache at 13,500’ en route to 14,200', and then return to pick it up once the camp at 14,200’ is established. We plan on some rest now that we are established in the Genet Basin.

May 13, 2007 :
Mike's group flew to Kahiltna base on May 10th. The group spent a few days at 7,800' waiting out a snow storm. The group is currently at 9,500'. Everyone is doing well. Communication will be sporadic until the group reaches 14,000' and there is better cell phone reception.


John Lucia, May 2nd Mount McKinley Expedition

May 24, 2007 :
(John Race relayed this info.) John Lucia’s team is off the mountain.

May 21, 2007 :
SUMMIT – Our group reached the summit of Mount McKinley at 6 p.m. yesterday evening. Everyone did very well. We are moving a bit slow this morning at our 17,000 camp, but we do plan to descend to the 14,000’ camp later today. See you soon.

May 19, 2007 (9:45 p.m. PST) :
If conditions permit, we plan to make our summit attempt on Sunday, May 20th. We will have an update for you on our next report...

May 19, 2007 :
We are staying at camp today and will rest for our summit attempt. The temperatures are dipping below zero at night, it is clear but windy. Everyone is doing well and we hope to make the top in the next few days.

May 18, 2007 :
We moved to our High Camp at 17,200’. The winds weren’t all that strong, but it was cold, and we were happy to get our tents up and crawl into our bags. We’ve battened down the hatches for the day, just trying to deal with the biting cold. We hope to give the summit a shot as soon as we’ve regrouped. Stay tuned!

May 17, 2007  (11:35 a.m. PST) :
Hello from McKinley. In the next hour we will be moving to 17,200'. It is very cold but the wind mellows during the day. We will check in tomorrow from High Camp.

May 16, 2007 :
Today is a rest day at 14,000’. Yesterday we carried loads to the top of the fixed rope, 16,200’. We were the only party that carried yesterday and had the route all to ourselves (today the other groups are making carries, and the ropes are traffic-jammed). Snow conditions were excellent because of all the snow the big storm dumped last week. We will move to high camp tomorrow, if weather and conditions allow.

May 14, 2007 :
Our group is resting at 14,000'. We plan to carry to 16,200 - 16,800 either today or tomorrow. The weather has not been very clear and when it does clear the winds are strong. We will hold tight here for better weather, our group is doing well, resting and acclimatizing.

May 13, 2007 :
Our group is acclimatizing and resting at 14,000'. High winds and unsettled weather between here and the summit will dictate our schedule. At this time, we will stay here and wait it out for a few more days. Our group needs the rest and will benefit from staying additional at 14,000'. Once the weather improves we will be ready to make our next move.

May 7, 2007 (10:59 a.m. PST) :
Hi, this is John from our 11,000' camp. Saturday we carried to 11,000' breaking trail through knee-deep snow.  We then set up camp there on Sunday. The weather is good in the higher elevations and bad down below. We are glad to be out of the bad weather and enjoying a rest day today.

May 4, 2007 (message 9:40 p.m. PST):
Hi this is John. We moved from to 9,200’ feet today and establish camp. It took us about 5 ˝ hours to reach our new camp. The weather is nice and warm but not too hot. We will check in again soon.

May 2, 2007 (message 11:04 p.m. PST):
Hi. This is John calling from Alaska. After breakfast we went to the airstrip and were flown on to the Kahiltna Glacier by late morning. We packed our sleds and after lunch made the 5 ˝ hour trip to the base of Ski Hill where we established our first camp. The weather today was beautiful and everyone is doing well. We will check in again soon.

 

2006 McKinley Dispatches

 

Sorsdahl Expedition: May 8th, 2006 - Summit

Knoff Expedition: May 15th, 2006 - Summit

Okita Expedition: May 22nd, 2006 - Summit

Race Expedition: May 29th - Summit

Cussen Expedition: May 29th - Summit

Ward Expedition: June 5th - 18,500'

Wedberg Expedition: June 5th - Summit

Lindner Expedition: June 12th - Summit

Horst Expedition: June 12th - Summit

Anderson Expedition: June 19th - Summit

Hahn Expedition: June 26th - Summit

2005 McKinley Dispatches

Dave Hahn's 2005 Expedition

Dave Hahn, McKinley June 26th Expedition Lead Guide

  • June 26th, 2006:
    We are meeting with the National Park Service today.

  • June 28th, 2006:
    We flew onto the airstrip yesterday afternoon around 4 p.m., we climbed until 9:30 and established our camp. The weather is beautiful with blue skies and lots of sunshine. We are planning to review our basic techniques today and train with our avalanche beacons. We will have an early dinner and get some sleep before getting up at 3:00 a.m. to start our night climbing schedule.

  • June 29th, 2006:
    Hello from Mount McKinley. We are currently at the base of Ski Hill (8,000’). We started from base this morning at about 4:30 a.m. and arrived at 10:00 a.m. It was snowing last night around dinner time and still snowing when we went to bed. It must have quit shortly there after because when we woke up at 1:30 a.m. it was cloudy and overcast with about a ˝ inch of new snow. The group did well moving to camp today and it seems that the extra day at base paid off for everyone. There is only one other group at the 8,000’ camp and we are enjoying having the mountain to ourselves. We will check in again soon. .

  • June 30th, 2006:
    We are taking a rest day at 7,800' today. Everyone is doing well. It began snowing in the middle of the night, wet and heavy snow. There was 6 - 8 inches accumulated as of this morning. The weather seems to have calmed a bit now, but there is still a lot of moisture in the air.

  • July 1st, 2006:
    We awoke this morning at 4:30 a.m. in the clouds. We moved from 8,000' to 9,500' and were happy to be out of the clouds with sunny skies. We can see to the south end of the Alaska Range but the summit of McKinley is in the clouds and looks windy. Everyone is feeling well and we are happy that the weather is getting better.

  • July 2nd, 2006:
    Our team is now at 11,000'. At 5:00 a.m. we had clear, blue skies. The clouds started rolling in about 7:50 a.m. with light snow. It is still snowing now as we are setting up our tents. All is well and the weather should get better. If it does, we will make a carry tomorrow.

  • July 3rd, 2006:
    We are still at 11,000' we were hoping to make a carry today around Windy Corner but the weather had a different plan. So we are happy to take a rest day today. It began snowing yesterday evening and continued overnight. The accumulation is only about 4 inches and the visability is very poor. We will try to carry tomorrow if the weather allows.

  • July 4th, 2006:
    We are making our carry today to 15,500'. We are currently at Windy Corner, once we cache our gear we will return to 11,000' and spend another night. Everyone is doing well and we will check in again soon.

  • July 5th, 2006:
    We are back up at Windy Corner (13,300') and will be making our way to 14,000' where we will establish camp. The storm has let up, it is cloudy but the winds are calm and no precipitation currently. We will check in again soon.

  • July 6th, 2006:
    Hello from 14,200' on Mount McKinley. The weather is nice with brilliant sunshine today as we are above the clouds. We had a good breakfast of bacon and eggs this morning and will be climbing back down to 13,500' to retrieve our cache. We plan to make a carry tomorrow to the West Buttress (16,200').

  • July 7th, 2006:
    We awoke to 3-4 inches of new snow this morning at 14,200'. It is still cloudy and snowing this afternoon. Once we get a break in the weather we will carry to 16,000'. Everyone is feeling good and ready for our next challenge.

  • July 8th, 2006 (8:47 p.m. PDT message):
    We are back at 14,200' after carrying to 16,200' today. It was kind of rough going- lots of new snow. We did make it up there, breaking trail the entire time. The weather did cooperate as it was very calm, blue skies, sunshine and beautiful views all around. Everyone did quite well. We are not sure just yet what we are going to do tomorrow. We'll check in on Sunday.

  • July 9th, 2006:
    We’re calling in while on a rest day at our 14,200' camp. The weather is absolutely beautiful, no clouds, calm winds, and morale is very high. Tomorrow, we’ll be moving to our high camp at 17,200'. We might go for the summit on Tuesday, July 11, depending on weather and how the group feels. We’ll call in again once we’re tucked in at high camp.

  • July 10th, 2006 (8:24 p.m. PDT message):
    We moved from 14,200' today in wonderful conditions. We left our camp at about 10:30 a.m. and got into high camp about 3:50 p.m. Everyone did really well. We dug in and got our camp set up. We have high hopes for tomorrow. Hoping everyone will have a good shot at the top. The weather is looking good but we'll see what we get. We'll talk to you tomorrow but it may be in an evening message since is could be a big day.

  • July 11th, 2006 (3:15 PDT):
    SUMMIT DAY! We are making our summit attempt today and are currently at 19,500' and still ascending. We have everyone in our group still climbing with us. It is a beautiful summer day with perfect conditions, warm temperatures and no winds. We should be on the summit in 1 1/2 hours and will leave a message at the office to confirm our successful ascent.

  • July 12th, 2006 (12:15 a.m. PDT message):
    We are back at high camp. The weather stayed beautiful all day and we are having dinner at 11 p.m. in the sunlight. 100% of our group reached the summit today. Everyone is doing well.

  • July 12th, 2006 (11:22 a.m. PDT):
    We are packing up camp at 17,000' and are heading down the mountain. Everything is going well. The weather is nice and sunny with no winds.

  • July 13th, 2006 (4:43 p.m. PDT message):
    We're at 11,000'. We got here last night and set up camp. We are waiting out the day and hoping to go to the airstrip tonight when things get a little colder and the glacier freezes up. Everything is going well here.  It's a snowstorm, little wind and a bit cloudy.

  • July 14th, 2006 (12:25 p.m. PDT):
    We stayed at 11,000' again last night and waited out a snow storm. It is cloudy today as we descend to 7,800'. We probably will not be able to fly today. Three teams, which includes ours, are still on the mountain.

  • July 16th, 2006 (3:25 p.m. PDT):
    We have been at 7,800' waiting for the weather to stabilize and to descend to the airstrip. A snowstorm has brought in at least 2 more feet of snow since Friday night. It will take about four hours travel time from 7,800'. We will check in again tomorrow evening.

  • July 17th, 2006 (4:38 p.m. PDT message):
    We are on the march, still in the clouds but there are some signs of hope. With a little luck, we will be at the airstrip in about three hours.

  • July 18th, 2006:
    The team was able to fly off of Mount McKinley last night. Most of the equipment is still on the mountain.
    Update on equipment: The equipment was flown off the mountain a couple of days later.

 

Peter Anderson, McKinley June 19th Expedition Lead Guide

  • June 20th, 2006:
    We flew on the mountain today and will check in soon.

  • June 22nd, 2006 (6:00 a.m. message):
    Good morning from Alaska. We flew onto the glacier two nights ago in a small window of good weather. We began night climbing yesterday and reached 7,700' where we have currently established camp. We awoke this morning with the intent of moving to our next camp but poor visibility, winds and snow are going to keep us here today. We hope to climb tonight if the weather allows. Everyone is doing well and we will check in again soon.

  • June 23rd, 2006 (10:00 p.m. PDT message):
    We have just moved to 9,800' and everyone is doing well. We received six inches of new snow last night at camp. The storm system seemed to be clearing out so we decided to move up. We are planning to move Saturday morning to the 11,000' camp. We will keep you posted on our progress.

  • June 24th, 2006:
    We are calling from our camp at 11,200'. All is well and we are enjoying quesadillas right now. We will be hitting the sack early and carrying to 13,400' tomorrow.

  • June 25th, 2006 (6:14 p.m. PDT message):
    We carried to 13,400' today and are back at 11,000'.

  • June 26th, 2006:
    Today we are resting and training on running belays. We received close to a foot of snow last night with partly cloudy skies this afternoon. The plan is to move to 14,000' tomorrow and will check in once we are settled into our camp.

  • June 27th, 2006:
    We started out towards 14,000' but weren't able to make it all the way. We returned to 11,000' and will spend another night here before attempting to reach 14,000' again tomorrow.

  • June 28th, 2006:
    We moved to our 14,000' camp today and everyone did well. We will back carry to 13,500' tomorrow (June 29th).

  • June 29th, 2006 (10:45 p.m. PDT message):
    We did a back carry today to retrieve our cache. We are planning to take a rest day tomorrow (June 30). Everyone is doing well. We will check in again soon.

  • June 30th, 2006 (2:00 p.m. PDT):
    We are taking a rest day at 14,000' today. The weather has been stormy and we awoke to over a foot of new snow. It seems to have cleared a little and there is blue sky right now. Our plan is to carry to 16,000' tomorrow if the weather allows.

  • July 1st, 2006:
    The cloud cap over the summit of Mount McKinley has descended upon us at our 14,000' camp. We are going to wait for a better weather opportunity to make a carry up to 16,000'. The group is doing well as we wait it out at 14,000'.

  • July 2nd, 2006:
    It was windy up high today. We are hanging at 14,000' and everyone is happy and healthy.

  • July 3rd, 2006:
    We are calling from our 14,200' camp. We have been here for six days and have been unable to make our carry to 16,200' yet due to weather. Everyday around 6 p.m. the clouds roll in and it begins to snow. Six to eight inches of snow have fallen recently. Currently, it is sunny and high lenticulars are forming. No teams have been able to move up or down for several days.

  • July 4th, 2006:
    We attempted to move to high camp today but turned around at 15,000' due to avalanche danger. We will be staying at 14,000' tonight. The winds are 20-30 mph. If conditions improve we will attempt our move again tomorrow.

  • July 6th, 2006 (2:00 a.m. PDT message):
    We have finally made it out of the 14,000' vortex and moved our camp to 17,200' today. It was a spectacular day of climbing on the West Buttress. We are hoping to make our summit attempt tomorrow in the late morning. We will check in again soon.

  • July 7th, 2006 (4:05 a.m. PDT message):
    SUMMIT! We have just returned back to our 17,000' camp after a successful summit attempt. It was a long, hard day, taking just under 14 hours round trip. Winds on the summit were 20 mph it was snowing and visibility was in and out all day. The wind chill on the summit put the temperature below zero so we are all very happy to be back in our tents now. We plan to descend to 14,000' later today and will check in again soon.

  • July 7th, 2006 (2:20 PDT):
    We are currently at 17,000' with a foot of new snow. We are packing up camp and will descend to 14,000' tonight. We plan to leave early tomorrow morning and descend to 7,600' where we will spend our final night (hopefully). If weather allows we will be flying off the mountain on Sunday.

  • July 8th, 2006 (7:06 p.m. PDT message):
    We made it down safely last night to 14,000' camp where we rendezvoused with Dave Hahn's expedition. Currently, we are one hour from the 7,600' camp to spend the night and get up early to make it to the landing strip around 8:00 a.m. for a pick up from Hudson Air Service. All's well and hope to talk to you midday tomorrow from Talkeetna.

  • July 9th, 2006:
    We flew off the mountain at 9:00 this morning. The flight was beautiful with clear skies and amazing views. Everyone is back to Talkeetna, safe and sound.

 

Mike Horst, McKinley June 12th Custom Expedition Lead Guide

  • June 12th, 2006:
    We will be meeting with the National Park Service today and getting our equipment ready to (hopefully) fly on June 13th.

  • June 13th, 2006:
    We flew on the mountain today and will check in soon.

  • June 15th, 2006:
    We moved to 7,600' yesterday and plan on making camp at 9,400' today. We are enjoying the nice weather on the mountain today.

  • June 20th, 2006:
    We are at 14,000' and will rest today. Everyone is doing well and we plan to carry to 16,200' tomorrow. 

  • June 22nd, 2006:
    We did not carry to 16,200' today as the weather is not very cooperative. We are hanging out at our 14,000' camp for the day.

  • June 24th, 2006 (10:00 p.m. PDT message):
    The weather has improved and we were able to move to the 17,000' camp today. Everyone is doing well and we are ready to make our summit attempt weather permitting.

  • June 25th, 2006 (6:15 p.m. PDT message from Rob Lindner)
    We had a rest day today and are hoping for a clearing in the next couple of days to make our summit attempt.

  • June 27th, 2006
    SUMMIT! We reached the summit of Mount McKinley on Monday, June 26th at 7:15 p.m. with all of our team members. The weather was perfect with blue sky and no wind. Our climbing time was 12 1/2 hours round trip from our 17,000' camp. We haven't checked in for a few days so I will fill you in on our days prior to the summit attempt. On June 23rd we rested at 14,000', we moved to 17,000 on June 24th and then took a rest day on the 25th. We are planning to descend to 11,000' this afternoon and spend the night. We will make our way to the airstrip by tomorrow (6/28) morning. If the weather permits we will fly back to Talkeetna tomorrow afternoon. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to getting back to Talkeetna.

  • June 27th, 2006
    The group arrived at the airstrip early this morning. Hudson Air Service is planning to transport them back to Talkeetna today. The weather looks good for flying.

 

Rob Lindner, McKinley June 12th Expedition Lead Guide

  • June 12th, 2006:
    We will be meeting with the National Park Service today and getting our equipment ready to (hopefully) fly on June 13th.

  • June 13th, 2006:
    We are loading our equipment onto the plane now and expect to leave shortly for Kahiltna Base. The plan is to stay at 7,600' tomorrow.

  • June 15th, 2006:
    We carried to 10,000' and plan to move to 11,000' tomorrow. We are enjoying blue skies today.

  • June 20th, 2006:
    We set up camp at 14,000' yesterday and back carried today to pick up our cache. All is well on the mountain and everyone is happy and healthy.

  • June 22nd, 2006 (2:21 pm message):
    Yesterday we moved a load to 16,200'. Today we are taking a well-deserved rest day. The team's spirits are high. If the weather will allow, tomorrow we will move to 17,000', which will put us in position to summit. We hope to be at high camp over the weekend since a high-pressure system is moving in bringing low winds and good weather for a summit bid.

  • June 23rd, 2006 (10:00 pm message from Peter Anderson)
    Our team moved today to 17,000' the weather is improving and we are looking forward to making our summit attempt in the next few days.

  • June 25th, 2006 (6:35 pm message):
    I am calling from 14,000' with an update. We were able to make our summit attempt on Saturday and succeeded at 5:30 pm! Everyone's ecstatic to have made the summit. The weather was beautiful and winds were about 10-15 mph. We are now digging up our cache at 14,000' and on our way down. Our hope is to fly out with Hudson Air Service in the next couple of days. Hope all's well and we'll be in touch shortly. .

  • June 28th, 2006:
    The group was flown off the mountain by Hudson Air Service on Tuesday, June 27th and is currently in Talkeetna.

 

Jeff Ward, McKinley June 5th Expedition Lead Guide

  • June 6th, 2006:
    We flew on the mountain today. We were able to fly before a storm came in. It doesn't look like a big system but it would not have allowed us to fly. Our group does not have a satellite phone so you may not hear from us until we reach the 14,000' camp. We will check in as soon as we can.

  • June 8th, 2006 (10:00 p.m. PDT message):
    Hello. It is Thursday June 8th and we are at 9,300'. Everyone is is doing well. We flew onto the glacier on Tuesday, moved to 7,600' on Wednesday. Weather is a little windy with some snow and seems colder than usual. We are planning to move to 11,000' tomorrow (Friday). Phone reception is usually pretty poor at 11,000' so it maybe a few days before we can call in again.

  • June 10th, 2006 (10:00 p.m. PDT message):
    We were able to move to 11,000' on Friday and have been experiencing some pretty stormy weather. We will be staying here until the weather improves.

  • June 14th, 2006:
    Hello from 14,000’. We finally were able to move our camp from 11,000’ to 14,000’ yesterday. It was the first good weather day since the start of the trip. We are having sausage and eggs for breakfast and then will do a back carry to 13,500’ to pick up our cache which should take approximately two hours round trip. If the weather is nice tomorrow we will make a carry to 16,200’. We had several rest days at 11,000’ so everyone is feeling well and ready to keep moving up.

  • June 16th, 2006:
    We are at 14,000’ and will carry to 16,000' tomorrow. We have had the best weather of the whole trip today. The weather was +3 degrees F and we did an experiment today getting the temperature up to 123 degrees F in the tent! We plan on moving to 17,000' tomorrow and if the weather is good, we will try for the summit Sunday or Monday. We will check in again as soon as we can.

  • June 21st, 2006 (7:00 p.m. message) :
    Hello. We are on our way back to the airstrip without reaching the summit. We made several attempts but were not able to get above Denali Pass due to weather and high winds. Everyone is doing well. We are planning to be in Talkeetna on Thursday.

  • June 22nd, 2006:
    We are back at the airstrip and will be flying out as soon as the weather permits.

 

Kurt Wedberg, McKinley June 5th Custom Expedition Lead Guide

  • June 6th, 2006:
    We flew on the mountain today.

  • June 10th, 2006:
    Hello from 9,500'. We are stuck in a storm today at camp but here is the progress from our last few days: We moved to 7,900' on 6/7, carried to 9,400' on 6/8 and then moved to our current camp yesterday. We will be hunkered down in camp and hope the weather will change soon.

  • June 11th, 2006:
    We are moving to 11,000' today. The weather has cleared enough to move but it is cloudy higher on the mountain. We can see a cap on Mount Hunter and Foraker. Since we will not have phone coverage until 14,000', here is our tentative itinerary as long as the weather cooperates: 6/12- rest day; 6/13- carry to 13,500' and sleep at 11,000'; 6/14- move to 14,000'; 6/15- back carry to 13,500' to pick up our cache and stay 14,000'. We are all doing great and will call in again from 14,000'.

  • June 15th, 2006:
    Hello from 14,000'! The itinerary I gave you on the 11th worked out perfectly. Today we will be back carrying to 13,500', which will be about a 2-hour hike. The weather is nice with a few high clouds. Here's the plan for the next few days: 6/16- carry to 16,200'; 6/17- rest day; 6/18- move to 17,200'; 6/19- rest day; and 6/20- if the weather cooperates, to the summit! Everyone is happy, healthy and enjoying the expedition.

  • June 18th, 2006:
    We are still at 14,000' and plan on moving to 17,000' tomorrow. The weather is stormy but guides and clients are excellent.

  • June 20th, 2006:
    We are currently at 17,000' waiting for good weather and then it will be to the summit!

  • June 22nd, 2006:
    If the weather cooperates, we will be going for the summit tomorrow. We will check in when we have phone coverage.

  • June 23rd, 2006 (10:00 p.m. message via Peter Anderson)
    Summit! Kurt Wedberg's team reached the summit of Mount McKinley on June 23rd. They were at the football field (19,000') descending from a successful summit bid when Peter Anderson spoke with them via VHF radio.

  • June 25th, 2006 (message from Hudson Air Service):
    The team flew off the mountain today.

 

John Race, McKinley May 29th Custom Expedition Lead Guide

  • May 29th, 2006:
    We have arrived in Talkeetna, organized our gear and met with the Park Service. The weather is nice with some high clouds and we anticipate flying to the Kahiltna Glacier tomorrow (Tuesday).

  • May 30th, 2006:
    We are planning to fly onto the glacier this morning. The weather is clear now but they are expecting a small system to roll through this afternoon. We plan to camp at the airstrip this evening and shift to a night climbing schedule with our first move around 2 a.m. to the NE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at approximately 7,800'.

  • June 2nd, 2006:
    Since the weather did not cooperate until yesterday, we flew on the mountain June 1st.  We cached some gear at 10,300' and are camped at 7,800'. It took us two days to get to 7,800' with the new snow accumulation. The group is in good spirits and we look forward to moving up to 10,300' tomorrow. 

  • June 4th, 2006:
    Today we plan to pickup our cache at 10,200' and bring it back to camp at 11,000'.  Tomorrow we hope to carry through Windy Corner and leave a cache at 13,500'. After that we hope to move camp to 14,000', weather permitting. Everyone is doing well and the weather is nice although it looks windy up high.  

  • June 5th, 2006:
    I am calling from Windy Corner at approximately 13,000'. We cached on the uphill side of the Corner and are returning to camp at 11,000'. The plan is to move camp to 14,000' tomorrow. The weather is perfect with no wind and not a cloud in sight in the entire Alaska Range. The team wanted to tell everyone at home "Hi" and that we are all happy and healthy.  

  • June 6th, 2006:
    We rolled in to the 14,200' camp today. We met up with Brent Okita's expedition as they descended from the summit and picked up their cache. We hope to be on top soon as well. Everyone is doing great and we will check in again soon.  

  • June 7th, 2006:
    We had a rest day at 14,200' today. The weather is pleasant and snowing lightly. Our plan for tomorrow is to carry up to 16,200' and stay at our current camp tomorrow night. 

  • June 8th, 2006 (7:00 p.m. PDT message):
    We carried to 16,200' today. We are in some pretty fickle weather so we are planning to take a rest day tomorrow. We are hoping for a descent weather pattern so we can move up and then make our summit attempt. We will keep you posted.

  • June 10th, 2006 (6:00 p.m.):
    We are calling from our 14,200 camp. We are in a bit of a storm with some pretty high winds. We built walls around our tents for protection and have been playing Scrabble to pass the time. We hope to move to 16,200' tomorrow if the weather allows.

  • June 12th, 2006 (6:00 p.m. message):
    We have just reached 17,000' and will be setting up camp. It was a hard day and took us 7 - 8 hours to get to camp today. The group feels strong and we are hoping for good weather in the next few days to make our summit attempt.

  • June 14th, 2006 (10:15 a.m.):
    We are leaving for our summit attempt in 20 minutes. We see a cloud cap over the summit with a little wind but the weather is pretty warm at 15 degrees F. We will try to update later this afternoon.

  • June 14th, 2006 (5:00 p.m.):
    We are currently at the Football Field (about 18,000') going for the summit. We expect to summit in two more hours and will check in once we have returned back to camp. Our update will be on the website tomorrow morning.

  • June 14th, 2006 (7:00 p.m. PDT message):
    Summit!! We reached the summit of Mount McKinley today, Wednesday June 14th, it is currently 6:00 p.m. RMI guide Dave Conlan turned around at about 19,200' feet with one of the climbers. We had a pretty good day. It was quite windy in places and snowing with low visibility. However, it is really nice on the summit right now. We will be heading back to camp at 17,000' and will check in again soon.

  • June 15th, 2006 (9:35 a.m. PDT message):
    We are back at our 17,000' camp. The round-trip from the summit was 12 hours and we plan on descending to 11,000' today. We will be at the airstrip tomorrow and hope to get a flight out then, but the forecast is for snow. See you all soon!

  • June 17th, 2006:
    We all flew off the mountain today. We had a lot of rain at the Kahiltna Base yesterday and are glad to be back in Talkeetna where we can shower, celebrate and pack up our gear to fly back home. It was a great expedition and we will see you soon.

Olivia Cussen, McKinley May 29th Expedition Lead Guide

  • May 29th, 2006:
    Our group has arrived and everyone is doing well. We are currently in Talkeetna getting ready to start our expedition. The weather looks good and we hope to fly on tomorrow (Tuesday).

  • May 30th, 2006:
    We are planning to fly onto the glacier this morning. The weather is clear now but they are expecting a small system to roll through this afternoon. We plan to camp at the airstrip this evening and shift to a night climbing schedule with our first move around 2 a.m. to the NE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at approximately 7,800'.

  • June 2nd, 2006:
    Since the weather did not cooperate until yesterday, we flew on the mountain June 1st.  We cached some gear at 10,300' and are camped at 7,800'. It took us two days to get to 7,800' with the new snow accumulation. The group is in good spirits and we look forward to moving up to 10,300' tomorrow. 

  • June 4th, 2006:
    Hello from 11,000'. Everyone is doing well and the weather is good. We are going to back carry today to 10,200' and pickup our cache. Tomorrow we hope to carry to 13,500 and return to the 11,000' camp for a final night. If all goes well we will move to 14,000' on Tuesday. We will check in again soon.

  • June 5th, 2006:
    We cached some gear at Windy Corner and are returning to camp at 11,000'. The plan is to move camp to 14,000' tomorrow. The weather is perfect with no wind and not a cloud in sight in the entire Alaska Range. The team is strong and excited to move to the next camp.

  • June 6th, 2006:
    Hello from 14,200' on Mount McKinley. We had a great day as we moved up to camp today. The weather was good and we hope to keep clear skies as we settle into camp.  

  • June 7th, 2006:
    We had a rest day at 14,200' today. The weather is pleasant and snowing lightly. Our plan for tomorrow is to carry up to 16,200' and stay at our current camp tomorrow night. 

  • June 8th, 2006 (7:00 p.m. PDT message):
    Hello from 14,000'. Our group is doing well. We carried to 16,200' today. Our plan is to rest tomorrow and then move our camp to 16,200' if the weather allows.

  • June 10th, 2006 (6:00 p.m. PDT):
    We are currently at 14,200'. The weather has not allowed us to move to 16,200 like we were hoping. Everyone is doing well and as soon as we have a break in the weather we will be moving our camp.

  • June 12th, 2006 (6:00 p.m. PDT message):
    We are an hour from reaching our 17,000' camp. It has been a long day but everyone is doing well. We learned today that there haven't been any groups that have reached the summit since Brent Okita party on June 5th. We are hoping for good weather so we can make a summit attempt in the next few days. We will keep you posted.

  • June 14th, 2006 (10:15 a.m. PDT):
    We are leaving for our summit attempt in 20 minutes. We see a cloud cap over the summit with a little wind but the weather is pretty warm at 15 degrees F. We will try to update later this afternoon.

  • June 14th, 2006 (5:00 p.m.PDT):
    We are currently at the Football Field (about 18,000') going for the summit. We expect to summit in two more hours and will check in once we have returned back to camp.

  • June 15th, 2006 (9:35 a.m. PDT message):
    Our team was 100% on the summit!! We are now back at the 17,000' camp, gathering gear and will descend to 11,000' today. We will be at the airstrip tomorrow and hope to get a flight out then, but the forecast is for snow. See you all soon!

  • June 17th, 2006:
    We all flew off the mountain today. We had a lot of rain at the Kahiltna Base yesterday and are glad to be back in Talkeetna where we can shower, celebrate and pack up our gear to fly back home. It was a great expedition and we will see you soon.

Brent Okita, McKinley May 22nd Expedition Lead Guide

  • May 24th, 2006 (9:00 p.m. PDT message):
    Hello we are checking in from 9,500' at the end of our second day on the mountain. We did a single carry today to 9,500’ and everyone is doing really well. It has been a bluebird couple of days and we couldn’t be happier. We plan to move our camp to 11,000’ tomorrow (Thursday) and then do a back carry the next day ( Friday). Talk to you next time.

  • May 25th, 2006:
    We arrived safe and sound at our 11,000' camp today. The weather could not be better. Everyone in the group is doing great. Tomorrow, we will head down to 9,200' to retrieve our cache and then we will be carrying a load to 13,500' (Windy Corner) on Saturday. We’ll check in later this weekend.

  • May 28th, 2006 (5:00 p.m. PDT message):
    We have just arrived at 14,200' and are getting our tents set up. We had a great day today moving from 11,000' after spending three nights there. We made a carry yesterday a little lower than we wanted due to stormy weather. The group is strong and everyone is doing well. That is all for now from 14,200' we will check in again soon.

  • May 29th, 2006 (5:00 p.m. PDT message):
    Hi everyone. We did a back carry today, Memorial Day. Everything is going well and we plan to rest tomorrow (Tuesday) and then carry up the fixed lines to 16,400 - 16,800' the next day (Wednesday), if all goes well. That is it from our 14,200' camp on McKinley.

  • June 1st, 2006:
    We are at 14,000’ taking a rest day after carrying to 16,200’ yesterday.  Weather is nice and the group is doing well.

  • June 3rd, 2006:
    We set up camp at 17,200' yesterday and are enjoying a "rest" day- we are building blocks for wind barriers as the weather is nice but windy. Our plan is to pick up our cache, which will be about a three-hour roundtrip hike. Everyone is feeling strong and enjoying the many beautiful sites from the 17,200-foot vantage point.


  • June 4th, 2006:
    Hello. We are checking in from 17,000'. There is a beautiful blue ski today but the winds were too strong to make a summit attempt. We spent time today quarrying ice blocks and erecting walls around each tent to break the wind. We are hoping to make a summit attempt tomorrow, weather permitting.

  • June 5th, 2006 (8:01 p.m. PDT message): SUMMIT DAY!
    Hello from the summit of Mount McKinley on Monday June 5th. Seven out of eight climbers reached the summit today. It is a cold but overall a beautiful, beautiful day. We really lucked out, the winds died down and we are psyched. We will be heading down in a few minutes back to our 17,000' camp. We hope to be back in Talkeetna in two days and are looking forward to cold beer and burgers. Good bye from the summit of Mount McKinley.

  • June 6th, 2006 (5:00 p.m. PDT message):
    We are at the 14,200' camp packing up our cache and leaving in 30 minutes to walk out to Kahiltna Base. We will be at the airstrip tomorrow waiting for Hudson Air Service to take us back to Talkeetna.

  • June 9th, 2006 (5:45 p.m. PDT message):
    We are off the mountain and back to Talkeetna. We spent last night at the airstrip as we weren't able to be flown off. We were the last group flown off today. We are cleaning up and then heading out for steak and beer. See you soon.

Adam Knoff, McKinley May 15th Expedition Lead Guide

  • May 16th, 2006:
    Hello from Talkeetna. Our group arrived in Anchorage on Sunday and traveled to Talkeetna. We spent yesterday repacking our equipment and meeting with the National Park Service. Our group will be flying to basecamp on the Kahiltna Glacier today as scheduled. The weather is calm with high clouds and we are anxious to get on the mountain.

  • May 19th, 2006 (Update from John Lucia Expedition):
    Adam's team arrived at 11,000' yesterday around 4 p.m. They left a cache @ 10,000', which they will pick up today. The team looks good and is moving along well. Adam is having some communication problems with his satellite phone. Cell phones typically have a signal at 14,000' so we hope to have a call from him once he reaches that camp.

  • May 23rd, 2006:
    We are checking in from 14,000'. We moved up yesterday with good strength and speed. The group is feeling well and we are enjoying a rest day today. We will rest and acclimatize tomorrow and plan to move to 17,000' on Thursday.

  • May 26th, 2006:
    We are moving to 17,000' today after making a carry yesterday. Everyone is doing well. Weather is okay, but unstable.

  • May 29th, 2006 (9:00 a.m. PDT):
    Hello from 17,000'. Today we are going to make our summit attempt. Everyone is feeling well and we will be leaving camp shortly.

  • May 30th, 2006:
    100% of our team reached the summit of Mount McKinley yesterday! It was a pretty miserable day until we reached the summit, then the clouds cleared and we enjoyed beautiful views of the Alaska range. We returned to 17,000' to spend the night. This morning the winds are blowing around 15 mph and the temperature is below zero. Today we will pack up and descend to 14,000' for what may be our last night on the mountain. We plan to arrive at the airstrip tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon and fly back to Talkeetna, weather permitting.

  • June 1st, 2006:
    After waiting on a good weather window, we flew back to Talkeetna today! We will be going through our gear and packing up to come home.

Ryan Sorsdahl, McKinley May 8th Expedition Lead Guide

  • May 8th, 2006:
    We have arrived in Talkeetna and have sorted and repacked our gear. The group is anxious to start the trip and we are hoping to fly on the mountain tomorrow. It is snowing lightly in Talkeetna so we will see what the weather has in store for us.

  • May 10th, 2006:
    Our Mount McKinley Expedition has begun! We flew onto the mountain yesterday afternoon and hiked a few hours so that we could camp on the Kahiltna Glacier. The overnight temperature was 5 degrees F, today's weather is still cool with a few clouds. Since we hiked a few hours yesterday our climb to 7,200' today was nice and short and we have established our first camp. We will check in again soon.

  • May 12th, 2006:
    We are camped at 9,200'. We carried to 11,000' with snow and 10-15 mph winds yesterday. Temperatures are about 10-15 degrees at camp.  The group is happy and healthy and looking forward to moving camp to 11,000'.

  • May 14th, 2006:
    We are at the 11,000' camp today, making a carry to 13,500'. We are planning on moving to camp at 14,000' tomorrow. All is going well. We are experiencing some technical difficulties with our satellite phone and are anticipating being out of touch for a day or two while the problem gets fixed. Rest assured, all is going well and we'll update everyone as soon as we can.

  • May 15th, 2006:
    Hello. We are calling from 11,000' where we have enjoyed a rest day. Everyone is doing great. The group unanimously requested this posting send a special "Happy Mother's Day" note. Yesterday we carried to 13,000' and cached some gear just below Windy Corner. We plan to move to 14,000' tomorrow.

  • May 17th, 2006:
    We arrived at 14,000' last night. The weather is nice today with some high clouds and we can see Mount Foraker in the distance. We will do a back carry today to pick up a cache at 13,600', which should be a 2-3 hour hike. The group is doing great as we make steady progress up the mountain.

  • May 18th, 2006:
    We are enjoying a rest day at 14,000' today. We have had 6 inches of new snow and are experiencing whiteout conditions. Everyone is doing great hunkered down in our tents.

  • May 20th, 2006:
    Yesterday we left for a carry to 16,200' after the winds decreased. It took us 5 1/2 hours round-trip before we settled back into camp at 14,000'. It snowed a bit more last night and this morning it is cloudy with views of Mount Foraker in and out. The weather has warmed up some but more snow is expected throughout the weekend. We are resting today and will check in tomorrow.

  • May 22th, 2006:
    We are checking in from 14,000' today where the group is resting and acclimatizing. The weather is nice and the forecast is for more of the same.

  • May 24th, 2006:
    Our May 8th Expedition is currently at 14,000’ camp. Ryan Sorsdahl, was evacuated from the mountain for medical reasons, but has returned home and is doing well. The expedition has now joined with the Adam Knoff Expedition. Adam, Shaun Sears and Jon Shea are leading the combined group with a total of nine climbers and three guides. Everyone is doing well and the group is scheduled to move to 17,000’ today. Please follow the dispatches for the Adam Knoff Expedition for future updates.

 

John Lucia, McKinley April 30th Expedition Lead Guide

  • April 30th, 2006:
    We are meeting with the National Park Service today and anticipate flying on the mountain tomorrow.

  • May 2nd, 2006:
    The expedition has begun! We flew to Kahiltna Base on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier (7,200') today. The weather is clear and beautiful.

  • May 3rd, 2006:
    Last night we camped at the bottom of Ski Hill. We are currently packing to start our three-hour hike to the upper Kahiltna Glacier (approximately 9,500') where we will establish our 2nd camp. The weather is clear and the group is doing well.

  • May 4th, 2006:
    We are camped at 9,200'. Currently, there are steady 15mph winds and it is snowing heavily with approximately 100-foot visibility. The team will remain in camp at 9,200' today. Sitting tight tomorrow, we hope to attempt to climb with light packs/gear and wand(mark) and re-establish the route up to the 11,000' camp. Then Saturday, we hope to move camp to 11,000'.

  • May 6th, 2006:
    The weather has improved but it is still snowing. We are moving camp to 11,000' today breaking trail in approximately 2-3 feet of snow. The group is strong and ready for the challenge.

  • May 7th, 2006:
    We are at 11,000' and the weather is sunny and clear but cold. We did a carry today to 13,500'.

  • May 8th, 2006:
    Today is a rest day at our 11,000' camp. We are waiting out a storm that has brought in some more snow. The group is happy and doing well.

  • May 9th, 2006:
    We are checking in from our camp at 11,000'. We are going to move to 14,000' today with a stop at 13,500' to pick up our cache. A climbing group that has been camped with us at 11,000' will also make the climb to 14,000' today. They have just left camp and will be breaking trail for us for the first part of the climb. We estimate our climbing time to be 5 - 6 hours. The weather is partly cloudy and still very cold.

  • May 10th, 2006:
    Hello from 14,000'. We arrived at our new camp yesterday afternoon and spent a very cold first night at 14,000'. According to the Denali climbing ranger, the estimated temperature was -21 degrees F. The weather service is saying that temperatures are 10 degrees below average for this time of year. There are several other climbing groups with us at camp, everyone seems to be acclimatizing and waiting for warmer weather. We had planned to pick up our cache yesterday at 13,500' on our way up but decided against it. We will take a short hike today to retrieve our cache. The next several days will be spent at our 14,000' camp, resting, acclimatizing and making carries for our move to 17,200'.

  • May 11th, 2006:
    We had a rest day at our 14,000' camp today. The weather is still -20 degrees F with a breeze. Assistant guides, Mike Walter and Billy Nugent, are helping the climbing rangers with route work today to establish the fixed line above 14,000' camp. We hope to carry to 16,200' tomorrow.

  • May 12th, 2006:
    We slept in this morning, not wanting to get out of our tents until it was a