Denali 2005: Alpine Ascents Denali 2005: Walking Heads Plans to Move Up July 1, 2005

Denali (20,320ft/6,195m) Alaska

Walking Heads Plans to Move Up July 1, 2005: Hi this is Andy Rich calling with the Friday July 1st update for Team Walking Heads. We’re still at 14 camp, while we are all feeling pretty well acclimatized to the altitude at this point we’ve been here a number of days, but we decided not to move up yet because unfortunately that little bit of a cold that was going around our group has gotten a pretty good hold of Molly and she’s feeling pretty bad. So we’ve been waiting for a few days to see if she’s any better, and It looks as though she might be continuing up the hill with us. So it sounds like we are going to try to join forces with the team that is behind us, Todd and Winslow’s team, try to join forces with them and in one way or another try to head up the hill with them tomorrow up towards high camp at 17,200 feet. They’re carrying up today and feeling strong so we’ll join with them and go up as one big group. That will allow us to get a move on out of 14 camp here, which we’re all pretty anxious to do. Molly might stay down here at 14 and try to support us from here, it seems like that would be pretty helpful. So that’s the news for us, we’ll be spending another relaxing day at 14 camp, everyone has been doing laps around camp, going to talk to the rangers and socializing with all of the other groups here and doing our book exchange and eating lots of good food, so we’re feeling strong, most of us anyway, that’s all the news for now.

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Overview: There are certain mountains that need no explanation as to why climb. Denali is such a mountain. Its tremendous size and beauty generate a magnetism that continually draws climbers from around the world. An ascent of Denali, touches the psyche of all alpinists and for those who have undertaken its challenges, it rewards them with an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Denali is often considered America's most classic climb. From top to bottom, it rises nearly 18,000', an elevation gain unsurpassed anywhere in the world. At a northern latitude of 63°, it is the most northerly of any big mountain over 20,000'. No other region offers such breathtaking and diverse views each day of the ascent. The panorama from Denali's summit includes Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter and Mt. Huntington in all their majestic glory.

When Dr. Bradford Washburn pioneered the West Buttress route, he heralded in a new era of Denali ascents and offered climbers a unique approach to the summit. The flight onto the glacier is a trip in itself, presenting overwhelming vistas of the Alaska Range. The West Buttress route remains, by far, the most successfully climbed route on the mountain.

Climb Overview: A Denali climb begins deep in the heart of the Alaska Mountain Range on the Kahiltna Glacier. From the S.E. Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier we begin the climb of Denali's West Buttress. Base Camp plus five higher camps are established on the mountain. When necessary, the team makes double carries between all camps, except high camp, to ensure proper acclimatization and reduce loads. In each camp we build snow walls for protection from possible high winds. The climb takes approximately 17-18 days round trip from Base camp.

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