Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 10:04 pm PT

We did another 5 AM wake up.  It was cool in the morning shadows, but not uncomfortably so.   Breakfast fortified us for a 7 AM departure up the steep Motorcycle Hill.  To finally be in crampons rather than snowshoes felt great.  Our first rest break -midway up Squirrel Hill- gave us brand new views of the Peters Glacier and Denali’s Northwest Buttress, in addition to ever closer views of the formidable granite forming the end of the West Buttress.  We finished off Squirrel and came onto the “Polo Field” below the end of the Buttress.  One more pull got us to the saddle below Windy Corner where we took a break before tackling the corner itself.  The Corner is always exciting, traversing steep slopes with huge chunks of granite just above us and crevasses just below… all while trying not to stare too long at the Kahiltna Glacier far below, or at Mount Hunter and Mount Foraker in all their glory.  Finishing the Corner leaves one looking straight at Denali’s South Peak for the first time.  We cached food and fuel just beyond the corner, spending about 50 minutes there at 13,500 ft before starting down.  We actually walked down into a layer of wildfire smoke that had moved in.  Luckily the smoke didn’t stick around for too long.  We were back at camp at 1:30 PM and diving into the tents shortly afterward to get out of the intense high altitude sun. 

It was a good day of climbing and we’ve had a few now… so tomorrow looks good for a rest day to solidify our acclimatization before moving up. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn