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TODAY'S STATS - 6/23/22 |
Denali |
Mt. Foraker |
|
Registered Climbers |
1,136 |
5 |
|
Climbers Currently On Mountain |
262 |
0 |
|
Completed Climbs |
859 |
5 |
|
Number of Summits |
592 |
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 38 registered backcountry users in the Alaska Range as of today.
(If you're wondering why Foraker statistics look a bit lot lower than previously reported, its because several teams who registered and intended to climb Foraker, have now returned and reported they did not give it a whirl after all. They stayed on Denali.)
Mountain Weather
Although the north side of the range is getting pretty smoky, the south side was clear and calm this morning, at least at 7K and 14K.
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
Warm summer temperatures on the lower glacier continue to open up crevasses, but no reports of mayhem or major problems negotiating them.
Search and Rescue
After last week's flurry of SAR activity, its been delightfully quiet on the hill. One climber was evacuated from 14K this morning due to a knee injury sustained while descending the fixed lines several days ago.
Ranger Reports
NPS 14K Patrol #5 (Weber) Dave Weber and his fellow patrol members enjoyed a remarkably quiet stretch at 17K, rescue-wise. They attempted multiple walks to the summit, but after getting turned back by wind on a couple occasions, they reported "Perfect summit on the Solstice". More info and photo to come... NPS 14K Patrol #6 (Beren) A Knee-vac, some more COVID, a re-supply flight, otherwise holding down the fort at 14K in style. Once Galen reaches 14K tomorrow, we suspect the team will ascend to 17K for the even better view.
NPS 14K Patrol #7 (Dossin) The Breakdown Team has been steadily working their way up the mountain, currently paused at 11,000 feet to acclimatize. They've done some significant 'cache management' along the way as the long summer days melt the glacier surface and reveal cache contents. The foursome should round Windy Corner and take over 14K operations tomorrow afternoon or so.
NPS 7K Patrol #6 (Chenoweth-Latham) The Reunion Tour. Basecamp operations are being ably managed this week by South District Ranger Tucker Chenoweth and his patrol-mate Officer Brandon Latham, former Denali mountaineering ranger and current Supervisory LE Ranger at Yosemite National Park. The two flew in on Monday, June 20 and intend to fly out tomorrow, Friday, June 24 along with Dave Weber's 14K patrol. We'll have to do an 'after' photo for this team -- its been wonderful to have Brandon back in the Alaska Range!
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
Cool update from a team that just got off the mountain... "Corn Stars" Skye Cudney, Noah Jennis, and Robert Whyte took advantage of a weather day on 6/19 to lend the NPS a big hand, and help clean up the poop crack at 14k'. They noticed when they went to toss their personal waste in that it needed some attention with multiple bags on the lip of the crevasse rather than IN the crevasse, so they built an anchor system, safely approached the edge, and threw multiple bags of poop into the abyss. Their exceptional efforts were rewarded with 2022 Denali Pro Pins by grateful ranger Jake Beren. Well deserved -- thank you, Corn Stars!!
Of note, they also noticed that people had been dumping food into the crevasse. This has been a big issue for this season, with what seems like multiple teams off-loading uneaten food so that they don't have to carry it off the mountain. Rangers would like to remind climbers that only human waste, biodegradeable bags, and TP go into the crack at 14,200', and this is the only place on the mountain you can get rid of waste.