We woke this morning to splitter weather and light winds in base camp, and knew that it was time to move. After breakfast we packed up all our luggage, lashed down the sleds, shouldered our pack and headed down Heartbreak Hill. This section of the climb is called Heartbreak Hill because of the fact that teams have to climb back uphill on the way out, but the slight downhill pitch makes for a good initial stretch of the legs for teams on the way up. Our first few hours got us out and onto the main Kahiltna Glacier, surrounded by the majestic peaks of the central Alaska Range. Foraker, Crosson, Francis, Kahiltna Dome and Denali all towered over our group, giving us a sense of smallness in this vast icy wilderness. The early morning sun made the high east faces of Foraker and Crosson shine as if lit from within, and the views made our climbing truly unforgettable. We pulled into our camp at 7800' just as the sun came out from behind Denali, and set up camp in some welcome sunshine. Within an hour we had our tents up and folks moved in to escape the intense UV that bounces around the glacier during the day. We've been resting in anticipation of an early carry tomorrow. Everyone climbed strong to camp, and group morale couldn't be any higher. We'll check back in with an update as we continue climbing. RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map