|
TODAY'S STATS |
Denali |
Mt. Foraker |
|
Registered Climbers |
759 |
23 |
|
Climbers Currently On Mountain |
53 |
8 |
|
Completed Climbs |
4 |
0 |
|
Number of Summits |
0 |
0 |
|
Summit Percentage |
0% |
0% |
The Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station also maintains a daily automated statistics phone line, so if this blog is lagging behind and you need up-to-date registration numbers, call (907) 733-9127.
Weather Report
7,200 feet - Skies are obscured by cloud cover this morning and a light snow is falling. Lisa reports that 6 inches of new snow fell overnight. Windspeed at 8 am was 2 mph out of the east, with gusts up to 6 mph. Barometer pressure was 29.98 and rising.
In the last 12 hours:
Current temp: -8 C / 18 F
Low temp: -9 C / 16 F
High temp: -5 C / 23 F
The FAA Kahiltna Glacier webcam is now operational. Look for the blue dot in the lower middle of Denali National Park, "Kahiltna Glacier Advisory WX na"
National Weather Service forecast
Ranger Update
NPS AKR Patrol #1 (Corn, McBrayer) Returned from patrol on Mount Hunter on Saturday, April 29. Patrol report and photos forthcoming.
NPS AKR Patrol #2 (Chenoweth, Weber) Also returned from patrol of West Kahiltna Peak on Saturday, April 29. Patrol report and photos will be posted tomorrow.
NPS AKR Patrol #3 (Shain, 1 VIP) Ranger Mik Shain and returning volunteer (and fiance) Sue Wolff flew into the Ruth Gorge yesterday afternoon. The team intends to do some climbing in the Gorge, contact park visitors in the Ruth, assess snow and route conditions, and perform glacier cleanup as needed.
NPS Denali Patrol #1 (Erickson, Coady) Rangers Chris Erickson and Melis Coady will be joined on patrol by Grand Teton NP District Ranger Scott Guenther and GRTE Climbing Ranger G.R. Fletcher. Although the terrain is different, the mountaineering programs at Grand Teton NP and Denali NP share the same mission and philosophy. This ranger exchange is designed to promote cross fertilization and sharing of best practices in climbing, aviation, and resource management realms Two Denali mountaineering rangers will spend time on patrol at Grand Teton NP later this summer. Similar exchanges with Yosemite NP and Mount Rainier NP are in the discussion phase as well.
Two returning Volunteers-in-Parks (VIPs) will also be joining the first Denali patrol, namely Steve Mock who volunteered in 2014 and Ben Weaver, a returning volunteer from last season. All patrol members are now in Talkeetna training and packing, and they fly into basecamp on Thursday, May 5, weather permitting. The first upper mountain patrol of the season, the 'set-up' patrol, is a particularly labor intensive one. These six patrol members are responsible for establishing both the 14,200- and 17,200-foot camps (digging out net loads, building camp infrastructure, setting up communications, getting the medical tent operational, etc); identifying and marking appropriate places for human waste disposal along the route; and helping maintain the fixed lines on the Headwall and the pickets along the Autobahn.
Route Conditions
We haven't received any Denali route condition reports yet, but we hope to later this week. As for the rest of the Alaska Range, see last Friday's blog entry (Field Report, April 29) for a long list of route conditions.
Photo of the Day
What comes down, must first go up. Another shot from the ranger's avalanche training week off the Eldridge Glacier (NPS Photo)