Field Report, July 5, 2024

July 05, 2024 Posted by: Maureen Gualtieri

 

TODAY'S STATS - 7/5/24	Denali	Mt. Foraker
Registered Climbers	974	27
Climbers Currently On Mountain	38	0
Completed Climbs	936	27
Number of Summits	490	0
Summit Percentage	52%	0%

The Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station also maintains an almost daily automated statistics phone line, so if this blog is lagging behind and you need up-to-date registration numbers, call [phone].

All remaining teams on Denali have made it to the Kahiltna Basecamp, where they wait for a current low pressure system to end, and their air taxi pilots to make it in for the pickup.  The 2024 season ain't over until it's over! 
 

Mountain Weather

 

Weather station telemetry data from 7K and 14K are transmitted hourly to the MesoWest website, including temperatures, wind speed, wind direction, snowfall, and solar radiation.  

MountainWeather.com compiles a Denali Weather page, complete with links to the MesoWest data, the NWS Denali Climbing Forecasts, as well as links to FAA webcams. 

The National Weather Service publishes their mountain-specific forecast here: Denali Climbing Forecast

Search and Rescue Report

A guided client with symptoms of HAPE was evacuated from High Camp the evening of Tuesday, July 2, just as mountaineering rangers were completing a long day of slingloading camp infrastructure.    

 

Patrol Reports

  

14K Patrol #7 (McBrayer-Guetschow)  The last patrol of the season ended with a flourish.  On Tuesday, July 2, a cloudy, unflyable morning suddely turned beautiful.  Our TEMSCO helicopter pilot Jon Combs, along with mountaineering rangers from both the Talkeetna Ranger Station and the 14,200-foot camp, stepped into high gear.  In advance of an anticipated long stretch of rainy weather, the pilot and rangers cranked out 11 slingloads of gear from 14K to the Kahiltna Glacier, as well as one slingload from the lower airstrip to the upper airstrip.   In addition to slingloads, a client with HAPE was evacuated from high camp.  And icing on the cake, the five patrol members squeeked out of the Alaska Range Tuesday night.

 

Last Chance!

Last chance for Denali mountaineer and backcountry users to be part of a once-off wilderness and backcountry project! 

The University of Tasmania Mountaineer and Backcountry Survey currently being conducted by Fulbright Scholar Daniel Hackett closes on the 7^th of July. Now is your last chance to be part of how the experiences of mountaineers and other users are understood globally. 

Using surveys paired with acoustic monitoring at Kahiltna basecamp, Daniel's project is inviting this season's Denali mountaineers and backcountry users to share their personal perceptions of remoteness, solitude and wilderness experience. It is globally rare for mountaineers and associated backcountry users to get the targeted opportunity be part of wilderness research, so please visit the survey and share your views here https://utas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8eHv9e9FjdPzhie . You'll be making a positive contribution to wilderness science and management.

Without giving away too much information on the early results on wilderness, remoteness and solitude experience, here is a quick breakdown of the Mountaineer and Backcountry Survey responses to date:

• Approximately 40% of the responses are self-guided mountaineers and backcountry users, whilst ~30% are on guided trips, and ~8% are mountain professionals (guide / pilot / basecamp worker / DNPS staff or volunteer). 

• ~45% of responses are from users who visited Kahiltna / Denali basecamp, the remainder are from other locations including Ruth, Pika and Eldridge (but very few from Moose's Tooth!)

• And there are some very interesting trends developing in relation to how Denali and backcountry users experienced remoteness and wilderness

• Average time taken to complete the survey is ~8 minutes.

The project is targeting 40 more responses in the next seven days. Please consider completing the short survey, and equally importantly, share the link with your season 2024 Denali mountaineer and backcountry family and friends to also complete the short survey linked here. 

 

Denali Rescue Volunteers

 

Learn more about Denali Rescue Volunteers, an organization that helps make Denali National Park and Preserve's mountaineering operations whole! Thank you for all that you do each season, from helping equipping our volunteers, housing them before and after patrols, and supporting our recruitment process! 

Photo of the Day

Ranger Jake Kayes awaits a perfectly placed sling-load of camp gear just hauled from the 14,200-foot camp.  (NPS Photo/Alan Davis)