Field Report, June 5

June 05, 2015 Posted by: Maureen Gualtieri

TODAY'S STATS	Mt. McKinley	Mt. Foraker
Registered Climbers	1,000	15
Climbers Currently On Mountain	478	6
Completed Climbs	288	9
Number of Summits	111	4
Summit Percentage	39%	44%

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 -  The snow had briefly stopped falling at 14K last evening, and skies cleared enough to get views of lenticular clouds perched over Denali and Foraker. But camp woke up to light snow falling again this morning, and its been intermittently snowing all morning. Winds were generally calm at 14K, with maximum gusts to 15 mph from the southeast. The storm total is 26 cm of snow.   

In the last 12 hours:
Current temp:  -6 F (-21 C)
Low temp:  -8 F (-22 C)
High temp:   0 F (-18 C)   

7,200 feet -  The cumulative storm total is now 59 cm of new snow.  The morning windspeed was 1 mph from the north, gusting to 13 mph from the southwest.  It was snowing at 8 am this morning, but the barometer was increasing and snow had stopped by 10 am, and fingers are crossed around camp for a clearing trend. 

In the last 12 hours:
Current temp: 27 (-3 C)
Low temp: 25 F (-4 C)
High temp: 27 F (-3 C)
 

National Weather Service forecast  

Ranger Update

No real changes from yesterday...everyone is just patiently waiting for better weather.

NPS Denali Patrol #2 (Shain + 3 VIPs) is at Basecamp, waiting for a return flight to Talkeetna.  

NPS Denali Patrol #3 (Weber, 2 PJ's, 2 VIPs) is still tent-bound at high camp (17K). 

NPS Denali Patrol #4 (Chenoweth, 4 VIPs) is camped at 14,200-feet. 

NPS Denali Patrol #5 (McBrayer, 4 VIPs) is ready to go when the weather is flyable. 

NPS Basecamp Patrol #3 (Corn +1 VIP) is waiting to swap out with Basecamp Patrol #4 (Westman + 2 VIPs). 

Ranger Dan Corn estimates 60 to 80 climbers are stacked up at Basecamp, waiting for a flight back to civilization. There is a slightly lesser number of climbers here in 'civilization', eager to fly to mountains and begin their climb.

THIS WEEKEND:  Denali Rescue Volunteers (DRV) is hosting two fundraisers in Alaska this week, including a Talkeetna event on Saturday, June 6 and an Anchorage event on Tuesday, June 9. The headliner is a slideshow with David Roberts and Matt Hale, sharing stories of their first ascent of the Harvard Route on Mount Huntington.  Local and national supporters have donated door prizes and raffle items, including outdoor gear, flights, food & beverage, etc.

Route Conditions

The lower glaciers are benefiting greatly from the current snowfall and colder temperatures. Expect travel conditions to improve relative to last week's meltdown.

Photo of the Day

 

NPS Denali Patrol #5 took advantage of a break in the rain to look for a crevasse in which to practice rescue skills...the crew is on day 3 of waiting for flyable conditions to get into the Alaska Range for their upper mountain patrol.  From left to right, Patrol #5 includes mountaineering volunteer rangers Jedediah Purcell of Anchorage, AK, Kirby Senden of Eagle River, AK, and the son-and-father team of Jesse and Lance Taysom of Pocatello, Idaho.  NPS Ranger Joseph McBrayer, far right, will lead the patrol. (NPS Photo)