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TODAY'S STATS - 6/11/24 |
Denali |
Mt. Foraker |
|
Registered Climbers |
969 |
26 |
|
Climbers Currently On Mountain |
301 |
2 |
|
Completed Climbs |
569 |
24 |
|
Number of Summits |
230 |
0 |
|
Summit Percentage |
40% |
0% |
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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 (907) 733-9127. |
Mountain Weather
Snow forecast at lower and mid elevations the next couple days. Travis at 14K reports it was pretty windy up high this morning, but winds do seem to be settling down a little. Of interest, the prevailing winds are bringing the distinct aroma of forest fires to 14K! The cold temperatures of the past couple weeks have eased up a bit. Clouds starting to build in advance of the next wave of snow forecast to start this evening.
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
Conditions Report
Kakiko just returned from a patrol stint at the 7K basecamp with the following observations:
- Lower Mountain is seeing warmer temperatures and some teams are moving to a night schedule.
- A lot of people are returning to basecamp.
- Snow is getting 'gloppy' or 'punchy' during the middle of the day. Nicer conditions to ski or walk, during the early hours of the day, or late at night, after the refreeze happens.
- The mountains around basecamp are shedding a lot with the warmer temperatures.
- Secure your tents properly, even at 7K; the winds came by surprise to a lot of people and with the isothermal snow, multiple tents blew away a couple of days ago. (Including one from the NPS Campsite!)
Never underestimate windspeeds on the Kahiltna Glacier! A volunteer ranger practices his crevasse-rescue skills during a recent basecamp patrol. On the bright side, no one was sleeping in the tent at the time. (NPS Photo/Ramos-Leon)
Search and Rescue Report
At post time on last Friday's Dispatch, a climber with a loss of blood flow to the foot (ischemia) was awaiting emergency evacuation. The individual was, in fact, flown out that day, and the Anchorage ER doctor affirmed the patient would have likely lost their leg without timely evacuation. Moral of the story, always climb with a knowledgeable physician on your team!
Other medical problems popping up on the mountain this past weekend provide evidence that everyday ailments at sea level can prove emergent, or at least extremely painful and illness-inducing, at high altitude -- including a kidney stone and extreme heartburn. The former patient did get evacuated from 17K in a short-haul rescue basket, the latter was able to self-evacuate with teammates. Otherwise, a quieter few days on the hill.
Ranger Reports
Patrol #5 prepares the helipad at 14,200-foot for a visit from 0AE helicopter pilot Jon Combs this weekend. (NPS Photo/Travis Baldwin)14K Patrol #4 (Bomba) Patrol #4 took a trip to high camp to gather the kidney stone patient's camp gear that was left behind. Otherwise, high winds have kept climbers in place over the past couple days.
14K Patrol #5 (Baldwin-Kayes) Patrol #5 assisted Chelsea and crew with the evac of a frostbite patient last Friday, then assisted with the kidney stone patient on Saturday and Sunday. Its been blissfully quiet in the med tent ever since, knock on wood. And since we promised Jake's parents an action shot or two, here is a glimpse of Jake in action this weekend:
(NPS Photo/Travis Baldwin)
14K Patrol #6 (Dossin) Patrol #6 taking their sweet time getting to 14,200 feet, as recommended by mountaineering professionals. Along the way, the team is doing some important cache clean up work.
7K Patrol #4 (Ramos-Leon) Basecamp patrol #4 was evenly split between being hunkered down by weather, or busy assisting with flight operations routed through basecamp. As we are well over the hump and slouching towards the end of the 2024 season, the trio witnessed many more expeditions fly OUT of the range than fly IN.
Denali Rescue Volunteers
At the 2024 Denali Rescue Volunteers (DRV) fundraiser at the Denali Arts Council hangar on Saturday, climber, author, photographer, and former NPS mountaineering ranger Mark Westman shared his appreciation for the hundreds of Denali rescue volunteers who he has worked with -- in some form or another -- in the past several decades on Denali. "They make the whole thing possible". (NPS Photo/M. Gualtieri)
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!
Mid-Season Update on University of Tasmania Wilderness Study on Denali
(submitted by Dr. Daniel Hackett, Univ. of Tasmania)
Mid-season Denali mountaineer and backcountry research update – Climbers and mountaineers, we need your help!
Readers of Denali Dispatches would have read about the research being conducted in the Denali wilderness and backcountry this season. Chances are you’ve even seen the research surveys while checking-out or returning CMC’s to the ranger station in Talkeetna.
Now is the critical point in the research: getting responses from this season’s wilderness and backcountry users. All overnight users including climbers, mountaineers, guides, rangers and mountain professionals (over the age of 18) are eligible, and we are after a diversity of responses and perspectives. We need 5-10 minutes of your help now, by completing the anonymous survey below!
Survey responses are coming in slowly, but we need 100 more responses. If you’ve had a Denali backcountry or wilderness experience this season, or have just returned and are reading this, then you’re invited to participate in the surveys.
If you want to step-up and lead the way by completing the voluntary survey, then please follow this link to the University of Tasmania survey.
About the research team:
The project is being led by the University of Tasmania, in collaboration with Penn State. Daniel Hackett of the University of Tasmania, travelled 8000 miles to Talkeetna during late April, and launched the surveys in May as part of Fulbright Scholarship.
At the same time as the surveys were launched, Daniel installed an acoustic recorder at Kahiltna basecamp to provide additional quantitative soundscape data to inform the research project (you can read more about this on the May 14 Denali Dispatch Field Report.)
A goal is to use the data collected to benefit future wilderness and backcountry users in Tasmania, New Zealand, Antarctica and Denali.
Photo of the Day
Because who doesn't need another glamour shot of Ranger Chrissie Oken rocking the NPS uniform with pride at 14,200 feet? (NPS Photo)