They Summited!

We haven't heard yet today, but this could be their summit day. We are all hoping to get a call soon, and will update the blog as soon as we hear something.

---- Update 4:45 pm Alaska Time ---

They all summited yesterday! They didn't call because they were busy climbing a mountain I suppose. They called this afternoon from the 14,000 ft camp and are planning on continuing down to basecamp thru the night. They could be flying to Talkeetna as soon as tommorow.

Congratulations!

Moving up to 17,000 feet

They took advantage of another great day on Denali today and moved up to high camp! Just one more big day and they could be standing on the top. The forecast sounds pretty good for the next couple of days, so they may have timed it just right. Wish them luck for tommorow.

The weather is improving

It was a beautiful day on Denali today, and the team is hoping it stays that way for a while. They will plan on moving up to the 17,200 foot camp on the W. Buttress route tommorow. Apparently the conditions on the West Rib did not look good for an attempt on that route, so they will try to summit via the Buttress.

Waiting For the Weather

They are hanging out at 14,000 feet today. The weather up high is pretty windy, we just got a call from our teams at the 14 camp. They will sit tight until it improves, which it is forecasted to do thru the weekend, and then move on up to high camp. They are eating lot's, taking afternoon naps, and catching up on their reading right now. Stay tuned...

You can check out the NWS forecast for Denali at
http://pafg.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=SXAK49PAFG&type=public
but realize that the group may be seeing very different weather than predicted.

The Team Moved to 14,000 yesterday

The Team is a bit smaller now, Brian Ward had to come down as he was fighting a cold for the whole trip and it wasn't getting any better. Brian is back in the real world safe and sound, and the rest of the team is settling in to the 14,000ft camp for a couple of days. They will spend at least 4 nights at this camp before moving up to the West Rib high camp at 16,200 feet.

Carrying Loads to 13,500

Today the team should be carrying a load of food and fuel up to about 13,500 feet. This will give them a chance to begin to acclimate to the higher altitude, and then return to 11,000 to spend another night. They will be positioned to move up to the 14,000 foot camp any day!

Moving up the Glacier

The team is moving up the Kahiltna to the 11,000 foot camp today. They are all moving strong, and the weather is great today.

At Base Camp

The weather cleared enough for the planes to make it to basecamp this afternoon. Now the work begins. They will likely begin to travel up the glacier very early tommorow morning, and hope to make it to camp 1 before noon.

Off to a slow start

After missing flights, and delaying the departure for a day, the team is sitting in Talkeetna waiting to fly to basecamp. Weather has kept the planes on the ground today in Talkeetna, so they are enjoying the last cheesburger tonight, and hope to fly in tommmorow.

They Guys are arriving in Alaska today!

Welcome to the update blog for Mountain Trip's Upper Rib Expedition.

The small team of Brian Ward, Bill Fisher and David Markwell will be accompanied by Clark Fyans and Drew "Rabbit" Ludwig as they test themselves on the unforgiving slopes of Alaska's Mount McKinley. (roll soundtrack: DUN, DUN DUUNNNN!!!!)

Sorry for the melodrama, but it does make for more interesting reading, doesn't it?

The guys will do a final gear check tomorrow before they head up to the small town of Talkeetna, which is the jumping off point for expeditions to Denali. We will do our best to keep this site updated, but PLEASE keep in mind that communication from a wiuld, remote peak like Denali is not always easy. Weather, cold, clouds and terrain all conspire to make cell phone service intermittant at best. We will post updates as we receive them, but please follow our motto that: "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!"

Enjoy!