A final message from your guides...

Congratulations from your guides:
To do what we have done requires strength, focus and good luck. No matter what your intentions prior to our mountain trip- summit Denali, climb a classic route, eat every dessert on the Glacier Brewhouse menu (after-an-already-astounding-portion) and not get sick- We have all achieved something worthwhile.
From the get-go, our team displayed a willingness to support one another in everything from equipment needs to hunger pains. This support allowed for efficient mornings, efficient glacier-travel and efficient decision-making. Without that, an expedition cannot achieve a goal as efficiently, as we did (Dave’s right).
Always as strong as our weakest member, this team did everything it takes to get everyone on top. This is a fact far more impressive than a few singular summits. You have all have achieved something worthwhile. Enjoy your luck while it’s good.
Come by for a hot drink(s!) next time your in the Alaska Range.
Congratulations & Thanks,
Dave, Jacob and Sean
Mountain Trip

A special message from Andy to Karen

Pic taken from the summit of Denali.
Click on the picture to enlarge so you can read the message.

Talkeetna for Dinner

The first of the climbers flew out this evening around 7:30 pm, and the rest are going to be out to Talkeetna within the hour.

They'll shower, eat, probably drink a beer or two, and spend the night in Talkeetna. Tomorrow they'll head on back to Anchorage, and on towards home.

Coming Down...

The team passed thru Camp 3 and were on the way down to Camp 2 at 11,200 ft to spend the night before continuing to basecamp. They plan to be in basecamp tomorrow, and hope to fly out to Talkeetna by tomorrow afternoon.

It goes pretty quick going down, they are pretty motivated to get down to cheesburgers and showers.

Back to High Camp

The team is all back in high camp after a beautiful, long summit day. There were some tired climbers last night as they got back to camp around midnight (it doesn't get dark high on Denali this time of year). They are all sleeping in this morning, and will pack up and start down the mountain a bit later.

Congratulations to the whole team!

Summit of Denali!!

Jacob just called, and the team has summitted!! The first rope team reached the top just before 8pm, and the other teams followed 30-40 minutes later. I'll get some more details later tonight or tomorrow, but it sounds like everyone reached the top, and it is a beautiful evening. They'll descend to high camp in the next few hours.

Here's a video Todd took from the summit in 2007.

Friday, Rest day

Friday was a day of rest for the crew at high camp. They woke up with some mild headaches, that is to be expected the first night at 17,200 ft, but everyone is doing great and looking forward to a potential summit chance as soon as Saturday.

It's a beautiful place to rest and acclimate.

High Camp!

The team moved up to high camp today on another perfect day in the Alaska Range. Jacob had Sat Phone duty tonight, and reported that they were finishing dinner and getting ready to settle in for the night at around 8:30 AK time. They did great today moving up thru some of the most technical, and strenuous climbing of the entire West Buttress route.

A couple of the team have some headaches tonight, which is to be expected, but they are all feeling pretty good at 17,200 ft and will take a rest/acclimitization day tomorrow before their summit bid.

Here's a picture of high camp with the route up to Denali Pass and on to the summit visible in the background. The small peak on the left isn't the top of Denali...

Training day at Camp 3

They spent today doing some training and practicing some of the skills they will need for the more technical climbing above them. They will need to ascend some permanently anchored ropes to reach the ridge that will take them to high camp. Once they reach the ridge they'll ascend another 1000 ft to high camp thru some of the most beautiful and exposed climbing on the W. Buttress route.
Climbers at the bottom of the fixed lines, heading for the ridge.



Climbers on the ridge of the W. Buttress leading to high camp at 17,200 ft above a rock outcropping called "Washburns Thumb" named for Bradford Washburn who lead the first ascent team up the West Buttress route in 1951.

Rest Day at Camp 3

The team took a well deserved rest today. Everyone slept in, ate lots and got to know their neighbors in camp today. It was a nice day in the Alaska Range, so they were enjoying views and should have some great pictures to share when they get home. Dinner tonight was pizza, which is always a crowd pleaser.

Back Carry day

They slept in a bit this morning after yesterday's big move. After a big breakfast they went down to pick up the cache that they had left at 13,500 ft just a couple of days ago, and bring it all up to Camp 3. It is Annie's birthday today, so to celebrate they went for a little scenic hike in the afternoon, and had a big dinner and desert.

It was a little bit snowy today, in and out, but a pretty nice day.

Camp 3/14,200 ft

They moved up to Camp 3 today under blue skies, and very little wind. It was a perfect day in the Alaska Range, and the team had a great day climbing up to their new home for the next few days. They'll spend at least 4 nights at this altitude to acclimate, cache their gear up high, and recover a bit before the final push to high camp and the summit. Camp 3 is the social hub of Denali, with lots of teams staging here for their push to the upper mountain. There can be well over 100 climbers from all over the world in this camp this time of year. It is generally quite entertaining.


Here is a view of the 14,000 basin from high camp. You can see the tent city of Camp 3. Mount Hunter (14,573 ft) is the big peak in the back.

Carrying Loads to Windy Corner

The team is doing great, and staying right on schedule. They carried loads up to just below "Windy Corner" today. Typically Dave Staeheli would have planned to cache the gear above windy corner (around 13,500 ft), but today it lived up to it's name, and the wind kept them from getting as high as planned. They'll still be able to move up to Camp 3 at 14,200 ft tomorrow if the wind dies down. Everyone did great today, they are having a good time, and it looks like they might have some pretty nice weather for the next few days.

11,000ft/3,350m Camp 2

They made the move on up to Camp 2 today at over 11,000 ft. They got up early to beat the heat, and got up to Camp by mid day. Everyone is doing great and they made good time. They'll sleep in a bit tomorrow, and then go pick up the cache they left at 10,200ft yesterday.

Hauling Loads to 10,200 ft

They enjoyed a beautiful day in the Alaska Range today, and got a load of food and fuel cached at 10,200 ft. It was the first really nice weather in the range for the last 2 weeks almost, so hopefully it will stick around for the team. They dropped their cache into a hole they dug in the snow, and returned to camp for the night. Tomorrow they'll pack up camp, and move on up to Camp 2 at 11,200 ft. Jacob got Sat Phone duty, and he said they are having a great time and everyone is doing fine.

Camp 1

The team moved up to Camp 1 today, a 6 mile march up the Kahiltna glacier. They got up early and travelled before the day heated up and the snow got soft. They were settled into camp and enjoying dinner when Jacob made the call at about 7:30 AK time. They all did great today, and tomorrow they hope to carry a load of food and fuel up to a cache at around 10,200 ft.

Base Camp

They had a busy day on Monday, they drove to Talkeetna, checked in with the Park Service, and flew in to base camp. It's an exciting day and minds race thru last minute lists to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Jacob called from base camp on the Sat phone last night (monday) as they were settling in after dinner. Everyone was happy to get onto the glacier, and ready to start the work.

This morning(Tuesday) they planned to get up early, load up all of their gear, food, and fuel for 20+ days into their packs and sleds and head up the 6 miles to Camp 1.

Everybodys in Anchorage

The whole crew met in Anchorage today for the team meeting and a final gear check. Rod was missing a bag from his flight across the Atlantic, but it arrived this afternoon, so everybody is ready to go. Tomorrow morning they'll head up to Talkeetna and fly into base camp.

The team, before...

Lunch at the Bear Tooth

Welcome to the dispatch page for Mountain Trip's May 31, 2009 Denali expedition!

In the far north lies one of the most magnificent ranges of mountains in the world. The Alaska Range stretches 400 miles across southcentral Alaska. It is a wild place, covered in glaciers and punctuated by rugged peaks. The crown of the range is Denali, at 20,320 feet (6194 m), the highest peak in North America. Located so close to the Arctic circle, Denali can present some of the most challenging and rugged conditions of any mountain on earth.

Each year a relatively few climbers from around the world migrate to test themselves on the slopes of Denali. Mountain Trip has been assisting these climbers achieve their Denali dreams since 1976. We love what we do and are happy to help provide you a taste of what these climbers are experiencing by updating their progress in this blog. Following the expedition, we will post numerous photos from the expedition, so please keep checking in.

On May 31, 2009, a small team of climbers will arrive in Anchorage. They will be accompanied by three Mountain Trip guides:

Dave Staeheli from Palmer, Alaska
Jacob Schmitz from Bend, Oregon
Sean McManamy from

Let's meet the climbers!

Dean Albrecht from Canada
Rod Hogg from the UK
Teresa Gergen from the US
Greg Stephens from the US
Andrew Horton from the UK
Sietse Berghuis from Holland
Emanoel Rizea from the US
Annie Doyle from New Zealand
Trevor Jones from the US

We encourage you to follow the team's progress. There is an option at right to "follow" this blog, which is a convenient way to keep up with the team. Please post comments for the climbers, but realize that we cannot always get those messages to your climber in a timely fashion, due to the challenges of communicating from the Alaska Range.

Lastly, keep in mind that no news is good news. We will do our best to post each day, but many things could conspire to prevent this from happening. Feel free to contact our office with any questions or concerns and enjoy the posts!