Denver Airport
Fran and me at Denver Airport, just before my flight to Anchorage, AK.
Anchorage, AK
Norm and Gordon at breakfast at the Marriott Courtyard in Anchorage.
Talkeetna, AK
Norm and Gordon at the Talkeetna ranger station. It's necessary to register here before climbing the mountain.
Talkeetna, AK
From Anchorage we drove about two hours north to Talkeetna (population 772), the nearest town to the mountain.
Talkeetna, AK
Gordon and Norm at Talkeetna airport. From Talkeetna there are two ways to get to the base of the mountain — a 60 mile hike across the tundra, or a 45-minute ride on a plane equipped with retractable skis. Like almost everyone else we opted for the latter. The stooped figure in the background with a black hat and blue jacket is the legendary alpinist Fred Beckey. Fred has been climbing since the early 1940's and he's still active at age 85.
Talkeetna, AK
Norm and Gordon in front of the plane that took us to mountain.
Kahiltna Base Camp
From Talkeetna we flew to Kahiltna Base Camp, located at about 7,000 feet on the east fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, a location sometimes known as "Kahiltna International Airport". During the climbing season a full-time camp manager and park ranger are stationed here. The peak in the background is Mt. Foraker (17,400 feet), the second-highest summit in the Alaska range. You'll see lots of pictures of Foraker on these pages.
Kahiltna Base
A couple of large groups had landed just before us and they were getting ready to head up the Kahiltna Glacier. Actually the first mile is downhill, not up. This is called "Heartbreak Hill", a name whose reason becomes apparent on the return journey. The peak in the backgound is Mt. Frances (10,450 feet).
Kahiltna Glacier
Norm and Gordon on the lower Kahiltna Glacier. We each started with about 120 lbs of gear, which is much more than can be carried in a backpack, so half our gear was towed behind us on toboggans. Down here the surface of the glacier is quite featureless and its immense scale is difficult to grasp. It's actually a couple of miles wide and dozens of miles long. One walks for hours and hours without the mountains in the background seeming to get any closer or further away.![Ski Hill Camp](./galleries/Denali/Image_027.jpg "Ski Hill Camp (5735 visits) Our first campsite was at 7,800' at the base of a slope known as "Ski Hill". At this and ...")
Ski Hill Camp
Our first campsite was at 7,800' at the base of a slope known as "Ski Hill". At this and all other campsites it was important to have snow walls around the tent to protect against high winds. In the background are Mt. Hunter (14,570 feet) and Mt. Frances.
Ski Hill Camp
Denali as seen from Ski Hill camp (it's the big peak in the center-right). This was our first view of the mountain — until now it had been hidden by clouds. The West Rib is below and to the right of the summit, and is just catching the sun on its crest. Before attempting the West Rib we were planning to acclimatize on the West Buttress. This route goes out of sight to the left of this photo before doubling back to the right.
Kahiltna Glacier
Passing some old campsites at about 9,500' on the Kahiltna Glacier, above Ski Hill. As you can see the weather was starting to deteriorate.
11,200' Camp
Our next camp was at 11,200' near the head of the Kahiltna Glacier. By the time we got there it was starting to snow. Gordon decided this was a good time to tuck into a freeze-dried ice-cream bar (yes really).
11,200' Camp
Norm at the 11,200' camp. We were tent-bound for a day on account of snowfall.
11,200' Camp
Gordon relaxing in our tent at the 11,200' camp.
11,200' Camp
We left our toboggans at 11,200' and from then on carried all our gear on our backs, which meant that we had to do two trips to move everything to the next camp at 14,200'. The snow slope in the background is "Motorcycle Hill" and above that is "Squirrel Hill". The cliffs beyond that are the West Buttress proper.
11,200' Camp
Norm and Gordon at the 11,200' camp. In the background are Mt. Foraker and Mt. Crosson (12,800').![Windy Corner](./galleries/Denali/Image_038.jpg "Windy Corner (5610 visits) A couple of other teams on their way to the camp at 14,200'. This spot is known as "Windy Corn...")
Windy Corner
A couple of other teams on their way to the camp at 14,200'. This spot is known as "Windy Corner" on account of 90 m.p.h. winds encountered by the first ascent team in 1951.
Squirrel Hill
Descending Squirrel Hill on our way back to 11,200' after our first carry to 14,200'.![11,200' Camp](./galleries/Denali/Image_049.jpg "11,200' Camp (6538 visits) Gordon about to deposit the contents of our "Clean Mountain Can" (CMC) in an officially-de...")
11,200' Camp
Gordon about to deposit the contents of our "Clean Mountain Can" (CMC) in an officially-designated crevesse. If you want to know what a CMC is... umm, well, the National Park Service has an informative brochure on the topic.
Squirrel Hill
Re-ascending Squirrel Hill with the rest of our gear on our second carry to 14,200'.
Windy Corner
Rounding Windy Corner on our second carry to 14,200'. In the background the right-hand skyline is the upper half of the West Rib. The actual summit of Denali is just out of sight.
14,200' Camp
The camp at 14,200' is on a broad, flat expanse of glacier, and at times there can be over 100 climbers here. During the main climbing season (May and June) a full-time doctor and park ranger are stationed here — these are their tents. In the background is Mt. Hunter.
14,200' Camp
Norm, me and Gordon at the 14,200' camp.
West Rib
Originally we'd intended to spend a few days acclimatizing at 14,200' and then descend to Ski Hill Camp to climb the entire West Rib, but because of bad weather we were now several days behind schedule and we decided our chances of success would be higher if we simply ascended the upper West Rib from 14,200' (this is known as the "West Rib Cut-Off"). Here we are on our way to a camp at 16,200' on the upper West Rib. In the background is the Kahiltna Glacier and Mt. Foraker.
West Rib
Mt. Hunter, the Kahiltna Glacier and Mt. Foraker as seen from the crest of the West Rib at about 16,000'.
West Rib
We camped for a night on the West Rib at 16,200', then Gordon and I attempted the summit the next day (Norm decided to stay behind in camp). However, we found we weren't properly acclimatized and were moving very slowly, and Gordon was also having trouble keeping his feet warm. By mid-afternoon we'd only reached 17,500', so we decided to retreat.
14,200' Camp
After a second night at 16,200' on the West Rib we moved down to 14,200' because the weather forecast was calling for a storm to move in, and the 14,200' camp is much more sheltered than the camp on the West Rib. (We were able to access the weather forecast by satellite phone.) It's just as well we descended, because Norm was having trouble with the altitude at 16,200' and was starting to exhibit some symptoms of HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema).
Summit Day
This is the view from about 17,000'. The route goes along the rocky ridge crest, then crosses the snow slope behind that to reach the low point on the skyline ("Denali Pass"). From Denali Pass it goes up the other side of the right-hand skyline. The actual summit is hidden from view.
Summit Day
It stormed for two days and then the weather forecast called for a one-day lull before the winds picked up again. We didn't think we could reach the summit in a day from 14,200' by climbing the West Rib, but Gordon and I thought we might have a chance if we went up the easier West Buttress route. This is a bit unorthodox — most parties camp at 17,000' on the West Buttress before attempting the summit — but we were now well-acclimatized after spending almost a week at or above 14,200'. The day dawned clear and calm, and I left camp at about 8:15am. Gordon followed a couple of hours later; he had hesitated because he'd developed frostnip in a couple of his fingers a few days earlier and was worried about making things worse. Here's the view looking down at the 14,200' camp from several thousand feet higher up.
Summit Day
Here at last is a view of the summit, now just a few hundred yards away on the snowy ridge crest. A fierce wind was now blowing and the clouds were starting to move in.
Summit Day
I reached the summit at about 4:45pm and stayed for just a few minutes as the weather was deteriorating rapidly. It was bitterly cold and I only managed to get this one mediocre photo before my camera battery froze. Unfortunately Gordon was still several hours behind me and he had to turn around on account of the deteriorating weather.
Summit Day
Here's a belated victory photograph, taken back at 14,200' camp. Descent from 20,320' was much faster than the ascent, and I returned to camp at about 8:15pm, a 12-hour round trip. Down here it was calm, sunny and warm (at least until the sun went down), a stark contrast to conditions at the summit.
14,200' Camp
The next day Norm and I rested at 14,200' while Gordon made another summit attempt, but it was too windy high up and he turned around at 17,000'. The following day we packed up camp and started on our journey back to Kahiltna Base.
Squirrel Hill
Norm descending Squirrel Hill on the way back to Kahiltna Base. He still hadn't completely acclimatized and at first was moving quite slowly, but as we descended and the air grew thicker his energy returned and soon there was no stopping him.
Kahiltna Glacier
Norm on the lower Kahiltna Glacier on the way back to base camp.
Kahiltna Glacier
A final view of Denali from the Kahiltna Glacier.
Kahiltna Base Camp
We reached Kahiltna Base Camp in one long day from 14,200', a journey that had taken us five days on the way up. Here's Gordon crawling out of the tent the next morning.
Kahiltna Base Camp
One of the camp manager's duties at Kahiltna Base Camp is to relay the daily forecast from the National Weather Service. As can be seen the manager didn't think very highly of these forecasts.
Kahiltna Base Camp
Loading the plane for the flight back to Talkeetna.
Flight to Talkeetna
The lower Kahiltna Glacier as seen from the air.
Flight to Talkeetna
Some unnamed summits on the way back to Talkeetna.
Flight to Talkeetna
Suddenly the glaciers were behind us and we were flying over rivers and bright green forests.
Talkeetna, AK
Norm and me back on the ground at Talkeetna Airport.
Summit Day
These are some lucky charms that accompanied my to the summit — they're glass beads that my daughter Alex had given me before the trip to replace a pair of broken pull-tabs on my jacket zipper.
Talkeetna, AK
Back in Talkeetna, where all of a sudden it was springtime.
Location map
In case your North American geography is a bit hazy, this is a Google Earth image showing the mountain's location.
Camp locations
Google Earth image showing the location of campsites on the upper part of the mountain.