Mt. McKinley Expedition: Champion & Team Recap Summit, Return to Talkeetna
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Wednesday, June 17, 2025 - 10:20 am PT
Well, like all good things, this too must come to an end. Sorry we’ve been a bit MIA since summit day—those final days all start to blur together. You don’t get much downtime until you're either sitting at the airstrip waiting out the weather or lucky enough to fly straight to Talkeetna.
Three days ago, on June 14th, we stood on top. The following morning, June 15th, the team packed up camp and began the long, challenging descent. We dropped down the West Buttress around noon, descended the fixed lines, and stopped at 14,000' Camp for a brief six-hour nap.
After our rest, we had a quick dinner at midnight, then loaded up all of our gear from the last two weeks and began the march back to basecamp. We made our way around Windy Corner, down Squirrel and Motorcycle Hill, and finally back to 11,000' Camp. There, we whispered hellos to Dom’s team—who were sound asleep—grabbed our cache, transitioned back to snowshoes, and continued past Camp One to basecamp.
By around 9 a.m. on the morning of June 16th, we arrived at basecamp to good weather and the chance to fly straight off the glacier. By noon, we were back in Talkeetna wearing flip-flops, and by 2 p.m., we were sharing beers and laughter, wrapping up our expedition at the Brew Pub.
It’s all been a bit of a haze—amazing, exhausting, unforgettable. In the moment, it felt like it moved slowly, but now that we’re back on dry land, it’s hard to believe how fast it all went by.
If you've been following me for years, you know I'm a fan of Hiakus...
Fresh socks, frozen boots
Glacier sunburn, summit views
Fly me to a beer
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
