On The Summit!

We just got a message relayed from high camp that Peter, Alan, and Phil are on the summit of Denali right now!   They should be back to high camp in just a few hours.  We have a couple of teams at high camp right now, so they'll be greeted with hot drinks and food when they return.

Congratulations! 

High Camp

The team was able to move to high camp yesterday, and took a day off today.  They are moving great, and should get a chance to summit soon if the weather cooperates. 

Wish them luck...

14,000 feet

The team is doing great and is settled is making a cache up at 16,500 feet today.  This is when they really get into the fun climbing, they will clip onto a fixed rope to ascend a steep icy pitch that will get them to the ridge line of the West Buttress.  The ridge continues up another 1,000 ft to the high camp at over 17,000 ft.  

After making this cache they will be ready for the final move up to high camp, and the push to the summit.  

14,000 ft Camp

They moved on up to the 14,000 foot camp today, and are doing great.  I've talked to some other teams on the mountain, and am expecting a call from these guys this evening.   I'll post an update after they call..

Moving to Camp 2 11,000 ft

First of all, apologies for no posts on this expedition.  I did type a dispatch for these guys, but it never posted on the online blog.  

They are doing great, and are a strong team.  They flew on on the 26th as scheduled, moved up to camp 1, carried to 10,500, and are moving on up to camp 2 at 11,000 ft today.   I hope to get a call from their team tonight, and will update with details if they call.   They may be a bit tired and busy tonight and wait to call till tomorrow.

Welcome to the Expedition Update Page for Mountain Trip's Dunn / Frankl / McDonald Denali Expedition

On May 25, 2008 a small team of climbers will meet in Anchorage, Alaska in order to attempt to climb to the top of North America.

The summit of Denali (Mount McKinley) is the one of the famed Seven Summits and soars 20.320 feet above sea level. This team will spend up to three weeks working their way up the mountain from a base camp located at 7,200'. Due to it's proximity to the Arctic Circle, Denali is notorious for its ferocious weather and extreme cold. For many climbers, it is the challenge of a lifetime.

The team will include:

Dave Dunn from California
Allan Frankl from Montana
Phil McDonald from Montana

Mountain Trip guides for the expedition will be Peter Inglis from Telluride, Colorado and Mike Conley from Ouray, Colorado.

We will post updates as they are available, however due to weather and the big mountains surrounding the team for much of the climb, communications with the team may not occur on a daily basis. Please keep in mind the axiom of "no news is good news."

Please do not expect that all comments posted on this blog will be relayed to the climbers. If you would like to pass messages to the climbers or cannot wait for the latest posting, please do not hesitate to contact us at the Mountain Trip Headquarters at 970-369-1153