June 12, 2013

Moving up Washburn's Thumb. (Photo by Peter Dale)

June 10, 2013

Left to Right: Luke Reilly, Dallas Glass and Austin Shannon

IMG Guides Austin Shannon, Luke Reilly and Dallas Glass summitted as scheduled on Saturday, followed closely by fellow IMG Guide Aaron Mainer who was up there guiding just 2 weeks after summitting Everest.

We’ll have a full trip report from the guys shortly. All are safely off the mountain – that’s enough for now!

Tye Chapman

June 6, 2013

West Buttress Route

IMG Guides Austin Shannon, Luke Reilly and Dallas Glass are enjoying some good weather and some good skiing on Denali. Austin called in yesterday from High Camp (17,200ft) after their caching their loads. They were preparing for a nice ski back down to their camp at 14,200ft.

They’ll likely take a rest day today at 14, then make the move to High Camp tomorrow.

They’ll call in again in a couple days.

All is well on Denali!

Tye Chapman

June 2, 2013

Things are bigger in Alaska. (Photo by Mark Valley)

IMG guide Austin Shannon called in from 11,000 feet on Denali at 4:30 pm PDT yesterday. He and guides Luke Reilly and Dallas Glass, climbing on their own for fun,  are doing great. Austin reported sunny weather, no clouds, very warm and a perfect view of Mt. Foraker from where they are camped. They will stay at this camp for a couple of days to acclimatize, doing some skiing for entertainment.

Another team, IMG guides Mike Haft and Peter Dale passed through their camp yesterday morning, on their way down to base camp and a flight out. Mike and Peter summited Denali about four days ago and have been doing some additional skiing before heading home.

It is great to see some of our guides up on Denali getting experience on the Great One.

George Dunn

July 13, 2012

Camp 14,000...on a nice day. (Mark Dreyfus)

Greg and his team have been very busy on Denali.  First, they were busy climbing and making carries.  At 14,000’, the kept busy for several days fighting a series of storms, with lots of wind and lots of snow.  With supplies running low and no major weather changes in sight, they then got busy wrestling with the tough questions that expedition climbers sometimes face – like when is it time to say enough is enough and make that most difficult of calls.  They pushed long and hard through pretty much zero visibility and got down to the landing strip today at 7,000’.  As soon as weather permits, the plane will come in and get them back to Talkeetna.  Bummer.  It is a strong crew but everyone does have time constraints and sometimes the mountain just says no.  It’s tough to turn around after so much time and effort.  My guess is that there will be a rematch before long.

Phil Ershler

Update:  July 13 (7:30am):   I spoke with Greg Vernovage late last night.  The flight service, Talkeetna Air Taxi, flew in late last night and picked the crew up.  The flight was tentatively scheduled for early this morning but TAT saw a break in the weather, launched the bird and got everyone back to Talkeetna.

A special thanks to our friends at Alaska Mountaineering School who help makes these trips possible.  See you next season.

-Phil

Weather at 14k Camp (Michael Bellamy)

July 9, 2012

Greg called this afternoon from 14000’.  Not terrible but not good enough to head up.  The crew continues to hang in there.

Fun fact – the NPS just flew the last of their loads out from 14K for the season.  May be time for the NPS to head home but not the handful of determined teams remaining on the mountain.

Phil Ershler

July 8, 2012

Looking up to the top of the fixed ropes (Colin Anglin)

…It’s also a necessity at times while on an expedition.  If you don’t have the ability to wait, it’s hard to be a good expedition climber.  So, Greg and team are hanging.  Lots of snow on Sunday with a good amount of wind.  Forecast is still not for bluebird weather so more waiting may be in order.  But that’s OK.  The crew has lots of food and lots of fuel and they’re well “dug in”.  We’ll let you know when they feel it’s time to take their shot.

Phil Ershler

July 7, 2012

Denali 14000ft camp

Greg and team have been making steady and careful progress.  They did the smart thing and took a rest day after their ‘back carry’.  No reason to rush.  And, an extra day/night at 14,000’ can only help with the acclimatization process.  On the 6^th, the crew did a carry up the fixed ropes which leads to the crest of the West Buttress and dumped the gear at 16,400’, at Washburn’s Thumb.  Then, they beat cheeks back to their camp at 14K.  The 7^th is another rest day at 14K.  Forecast isn’t ideal for the next few days, with a series of low pressure troughs approaching from the east.  The good news is that 14K is the absolute best place to wait out the weather.  The crew is right where they should be.  The carry up the West Buttress has been made and the cache is in.  Now, they wait, rest, hydrate and, when the mountain says go, they’ll head for high camp.  Two days of reasonable weather could get them to the summit.

All’s good and they’re where they should be.

Phil Ershler

Denali

July 3, 2012

Greg Vernovage reports that he’s been pretty darn happy with the progress and the crew.  They’ve now carried above their Camp 3, which is at the base of Motorcycle Hill (11,000’).

Weather’s been good, group’s been good, route’s been good – that’s all we need to know.

Phil Ershler