Field Report, June 30

June 30, 2015 Posted by: Maureen Gualtieri

TODAY'S STATS	Mt. McKinley	Mt. Foraker
Registered Climbers	1,095	15
Climbers Currently On Mountain	154	0
Completed Climbs	916	15
Number of Summits	528	6
Summit Percentage	58%	40%

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 [phone]. 

Weather Report

14,200 feet - Weather has been generally cloudy with some light snow over the past couple days.  This morning, the cloud layer was sitting right at 14,200-feet, with breaks in the clouds revealing clear skies above. Wind was calm, with barely a gust. It was snowing lightly at 8:00 am today, with a total snow accumulation of 20 cm in the past two days. 

In the last 12 hours:
Current temp:  9 F (-13 C)
Low temp:  5 F (-15 C)
High temp:   10 F (-12 C)   

7,200 feet -  Cloudy with light snow. This morning's sky observations also indicated a cloud ceiling around 14,200 feet.  Wind was 2 mph out of the east, with gusts to 10 mph from the southeast.  It was snowing lightly at Basecamp this morning, with 4 cm snow accumulation in the past two days.

In the last 12 hours:
Current temp: 32 F (0 C)
Low temp: 30 F (-1 C)
High temp: 37 F (3 C) 

FAA Kahiltna Glacier webcam

National Weather Service forecast  

Ranger Update

NPS Denali Patrol #6 is (Gentzel, Corn, 4 VIPs)  Dan Corn and 3 VIPs (Ashley, Mingma, Justin) descended to 14,200-foot camp last evening, so the full patrol contingent is now reunited. Dan reported that his stay at high camp was the 'warmest, nicest' stretch of days he has ever spent at 17,200 camp. The patrol got high camp supplies all cached for the year, and once the snow stops falling and visibility clears up at 14,200-feet, they will start helping Coley pack that up.  Currently, two to three non-NPS teams are camped at 14,200 foot camp, with about 5 teams up at high camp.

NPS Basecamp Patrol #6 (Weber + 1 VIP) Dave Weber and YCC student Nick Pedersen are all packed up and waiting for a flight out of Basecamp.  Most all NPS basecamp infrastructure was either flown out yesterday, or will go out with Dave and Nick when weather allows.

Rangers Mik Shain and Chris Erickson are currently waiting for good weather to fly into the Eldridge Glacier for a week long Alaska Range patrol.  

Route Conditions

The lower glacier is still in great shape for travel. Basecamp manager Lisa Roderick did spend some time stamping out an upper glacier airstrip, but it hasn't been used by air taxi pilots yet. The normal runway is still in good shape, although starting to get a little bumpy. 

Photo of the Day 

One of the many reasons to have NPS rangers and volunteers staged at the 7,200-foot Kahiltna Basecamp during the height of the season is for rescue response.  Pictured above is NPS mountaineering volunteer Cory Virden practicing crevasse rescue skills with Ranger Mik Shain during their recent Basecamp patrol.  NPS Photo/Mik Shain