Off the Glacier and back in Anchorage!

The team flew off the glacier this morning, ate like kings at the world famous Talkeetna Roadhouse and decided to head on back to Anchorage. They are all back, a bit tired, but quite happy, all in all.

Here is a call they made from the van on their way into town:

Descending to basecamp

We've recieved four satellite phone calls from Pi today, and every one of them has been dropped before we could really talk. The team is on the lower glacier heading to basecamp, and they are motivated to make the plane tonight if everything lines up and travel proves to be agreeable. We're standing by here in Anchorage to launch the van to Talkeetna, but are waiting to see what Pi's plan is- many teams appreciate a night in Talkeetna to adjust to civilization before jumping back into it. Most of you reading this may know when the team reaches town before we do as cell phones get turned back on and everyone reestablishes contact with their loved ones. Good luck to the expedition on this final leg of the journey, and hope for good weather for flying.

Summit!

The team summitted yesterday and have made it back to high camp safely after a 16 hour summit day- Sean said it was a 'full value summit day', which meant they got a little of everything Denali can offer (wind, whiteouts) but not too much. They got back to the tents, ate a hot dinner and went straight to sleep, and Sean said no one has woken up yet- 16 hours is a long day but it sounds like the team handled it well and everyone is excited to move on down to more friendly locales. The plan is to move down the ridge and fixed lines today to stay at 14 camp, then get up early tomorrow and head to basecamp!

Hanging tough at 17,200'

This call just came in from the team. It sounds like they are hunkered down in some pretty blustery weather. They are hopeful for a summit bid tomorrow, but are in good shape to wait for a while, so we'll see what the skies look like when they poke their heads out of their tents tomorrow. Enjoy the podcast:

Hangin tough

As I type this Pi and Sean are on the phone from high camp, sitting cozy in their tent waiting down another weather day. Pi reports few clouds overhead but high winds aloft. A weather day at high camp usually means the normal bouts of eating as big as appetite allows and drinking snowmelt, and usually by this time on a Denali trip people have finished their books and have swapped with a fellow climber. Sometimes a person with a thicker book will shave off individual chapters, so two or three climbers can all be reading the same novel in different stages. The group is in the best spot possible and are waiting down the weather, willing the winds to slack off and give them a window.

Denali Weather Forecast

I just found the following weather forecast widget, which is pretty interesting:

Weather by meteoexploration

Warm, dry fed and hydrated at 17k camp

Sean tells me the group powered up from 14k, taking 8 1/2 hours to move about 3,000 feet up Denali. The move is a big day so today the group is laying low, conserving energy in preparation for summit day. Life at 17k isn't always comfortable, but now the team just needs to keep up the nutrition and get rested and, most importantly, get a good enough weather window for their shot at the summit.