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TODAY'S STATS - 6/17/22 |
Denali |
Mt. Foraker |
|
Registered Climbers |
1,129 |
13 |
|
Climbers Currently On Mountain |
282 |
8 |
|
Completed Climbs |
758 |
5 |
|
Number of Summits |
523 |
0 |
|
Summit Percentage |
69% |
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. |
There are 34 registered backcountry users in the Alaska Range as of today.
Mountain Weather
Lisa says its mostly clear at Basecamp today, winds out of the east at 12 mph, 27 F, and a dusting of new snow.
Dave Weber and friends report a beautiful morning at high camp. Clear and calm.
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.
Click here for the National Weather Service Denali Climbing Forecast
The FAA webcam on the Kahiltna Glacier is fully operational. Look for the green dot labelled Kahiltna Glacier.
Conditions Reports
Per Ranger Chrissie Oken after finishing up a 7K basecamp patrol on Wednesday: Things have gotten pretty quiet since aircraft operations moved to the upper airstrip. The NPS tent remains in its original location. Basecamp operations have moved about a quarter mile and an extra 300' uphill; apologies to all climbers. This happens every year late season because crevasses start to open on the original runway, which results in a way bumpier landing at the least, and may end up with your plane in a crevasse at the worst. So hopefully the extra slog is worth it! Please plan on taking off all fuel, food, and trash to this upper strip.
Otherwise, Basecamp is mushy and quiet in heat of mid-June. Luckily the views are still quite good!
Search and Rescue
Since last we spoke, rangers responded to two smooth and expeditious medical evacuations this week -- a helo evacuation (severe gastrointestinal) from the Polo Field below Windy Corner on Wednesday, June 15. And then yesterday, while Patrol #4 was on their descent from high camp, they assisted with a short-haul basket rescue of a sick climber (HACE/neurological) at Washburn's Thumb. 
TEMSCO helicopter pilot Christian Kolden approaches the Kahiltna Basecamp strip with yesterday's well-bundled patient in the short-haul basket. At basecamp, the climber was loaded internally in the park helicopter, then transferred to a LifeMed air ambulance in Talkeetna. (NPS Photo/Joe Reichert)
Ranger Reports
NPS 14K Patrol #4 (Bomba) The patrol took a walk to the summit on Wednesday, with most of the patrol members opting for the top. Then yesterday, Thursday, they found themselves in the right place at the right time to assist a non-ambulatory climber at the base of Washburn's Thumb. Though clouds were coming and going -- almost necessitating a lowering -- favorable skies prevailed and the patient was flown to basecamp in the short-haul rescue basket. Just another day at the office, the patrol continued down to 14K, and eventually made it to basecamp just in time for a high noon depature to Talkeetna. Sea level exhaustion is just starting to sink in after a job well done! NPS 14K Patrol #5 (Weber) In a big move day yesterday, Patrol #5 headed up to high camp, just as Chelsea's team was descending. Ships passing in the night. Timing also necessitated they missed welcoming Jake Beren's patrol, who just arrived at 14.2 camp on the heels of Weber's departure. The patrol must have gotten a good night sleep at high camp last night, as they promptly decided to take advantage of a bluebird day and head further uphill today.
NPS 14K Patrol #6 (Beren) Jake and his fellow patrol members began their SAR operations before reaching the upper mountain. While on a Windy Corner acclimitazation tour on Wednesday, the team was able to assist with the helo evac of an incapacitated climber on the Polo Field. The following day, yesterday, they made the move up to 14K just in time to start mobilizing a ground crew to help if the Washburn Thumb patient needed a ground lowering. Luckily the flying conditions were favorable and the patient was short-hauled down.
NPS 14K Patrol #7 (Dossin) Ranger Galen Dossin leads the final upper mountain patrol of the season, aka the Breakdown Patrol. The team just flew into backcamp today, trading planes with Chelsea's outbound crew. Galen was fortunate (or was he?!) to get the bookend patrols this season, both setting up and taking down. For this last leg, he is joined by fellow Alaskan NOLSies and medical professionals Kailyn McGrath, Andy Dennis, (both nurses), and Josh Hejl (EMT on the verge of his nursing degree). Take a look at this joyful team:
VIP Andy Dennis lounges in the front row, while Ranger Galen Dossin, VIP Kailyn McGrath, and VIP Josh Hejl sit behind, taking in the last of the lilac aroma before heading into Basecamp. (NPS Photo/Mik Dalpes)
NPS 7K Patrol #5 (Oken) Chrissie and Chad flew out Wednesday, with Chrissie serving as medical attendent for the Polo Field patient as she flew out.
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
VIP Chad Schollaart enjoys some shade and a swing after some rigging and rescue practice. The Arizona Vortex is a new device (the tripod under the canopy) we've employed this season which makes navigating crevasse edges much more manageable. Annie's Notch is in the foreground, and Mt. Foraker can just be seen in the background in the upper right corner of the photograph. )NPS Photo/Chrissie Oken)