Mt. McKinley Expedition: Pushing to 17K: A Big Day on the West Buttress
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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Friday, May 23, 2025 - 2:24pm PDT
Yesterday It was a cold, clear morning that promised to warm quickly with the sun. The ridge above looked calm, and everything pointed to a great day to go climbing. We watched a few other teams with similar intentions start out as we packed, and then set out ourselves. We made smooth progress to the fixed lines and then up to the ridge at 16,200. Surprisingly, we found ourselves effectively at the front of the pack, and feeling spry, we continued on along the West Buttress to 17k camp. It is some of the most engaging and interesting climbing on the route, and the views were stunning. We dropped our small caches at 17 and headed back for 14. It was a long, big-effort day, but 9.5 hours of work got the job done and got us back to camp happy and hungry. We’ll take a rest day tomorrow and then start looking for our summit window.
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and Team
Comments (1)
Good luck on this final push! What an accomplishment! Praying for success. Be safe! My best to all!
Posted by: Maxine Hill on