Thanks For Joining Us!

Thanks for joining our dispatch blog for our May 16, 2010 West Buttress of Denali expedition.

A group of climbers from around the world will assemble in Anchorage, Alaska to meet three guides from Mountain Trip in preparation for an attempt of the highest peak in North America.

Rising to a higher vertical relief than Mount Everest, Denali (Mount McKinley) dominates the impressive Alaska Range, soaring 20,320 feet above sea level. It's proximity to the Arctic Circle makes for some of the most challenging weather conditions on the planet, and, also due to it's norther latitude, Denali "feels" like a much higher mountain, as the earth's atmosphere is quite a bit thinner so far north. Any attempt of Denali is often the challenge of a lifetime for most climbers.

Let's meet the climbers!

Guides:

Zach Johnson of Anchorage, Alaska
Adam Smith of Anchorage, Alaska
Luke Smithwick of Girdwood, Alaska

Climbers:

Tom Lynam
Dan Healy
Duncan Hale
Steven Marin
Robert Kerr
Ernie Clark
Scott Holder
Jean-Philippe Pepin
Claudio Campori

We will do our best to post updates on a daily basis, but please keep in mind that any number of things could interfere with any given update being posted. The climbers are excited about calling in, but they need to keep their focus on the task at hand, and might not break out the satellite phone each evening, weather and terrain features could conspire to prevent phone calls from going through, etc, etc, etc...

Bear in mind the age-old axiom, "No News Is Good News!" For some reason, sup-optimal news always seems to get out from the mountain, while the exciting update of lounging in the sun, eating reindeer sausage quesadillas sometimes takes a day to filter through to our office.

Lastly, we highly encourage you to post comments to our dispatches. We cannot always pass these comments along to the team members, but we have heard time and again that the climbers really appreciate reading back over these dispatches and seeing all of your support and encouragement. It means a lot to them as they process their experience after the fact, so please post away! If you do need to contact a friend or loved one on this climb, just call or email our office and we'll get your message through to them.

Enjoy the posts!