Valley Jam DJ Todd Basilone interviewed Tom Surprenant on the progress of climber Lonnie Dupre who is trying to make history by summiting Mt. McKinley in January. Surprenant is Dupre’s expedition support team member currently based in Talkeetna. Audio runs about 12 min.

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In this last Denali Report of the season, Sue Deyoe spoke with South District Ranger John Leonard about rangers and climbers dealing with risk assessment.

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The month of June was mostly poor weather at Denali’s basecamp.  A number of no-fly days created a backlog of climbers trying to get off the mountain and a waiting list in Talkeetna for those trying to get up to basecamp.Producer Sue Deyoe speaks with climbing ranger Chris Erickson about weather.

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In this episode, producer Sue Deyoe speaks with climbing ranger Roger Robinson about the Clean Mountain Can project.

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In this Report, producer Sue Deyoe looks at a special team visiting from Kyrgyzstan that learned new rescue techniques from climbing rangers.

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ICE CORE SAMPLING— Climate change researcher Seth Campbell, left, and Kahiltna base camp manager Lisa Roderick ponder how to best get the ice core sampling equipment off Denali. Campbell and his crew just recently finished an ice core sampling mission on Kahiltna Glacier and Mt. Hunter. Photo by Diana Haecker

This week producer Sue Deyoe examines some of the science occurring on Denali this year. Researchers are looking for new ice core drilling sites to examine the last 1000 years of pollution and earth’s climate.  Denali Report and Denali Mountain forecast is underwritten by K2 Aviation.

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THE GREAT ONE— Denali as the tallest peak in North America attracts more than a thousand climbers each year. Photo by Diana Haecker

The climbing season nears its peak at Mt. McKinley and the Denali Report looks at the concept of wilderness as the tallest peak in America attracts more than twelve-hundred climbers to reach its summit.

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DENALI— As of Wednesday, there are 433 climbers trying to summit the mountain. Photo by Diana Haecker

Climbing season nears its peak as hundreds of mountaineers are trying to fulfill their dream of summitting Mt. McKinley. This week, Denali Report producer Diana Haecker listens in during an orientation given to climbers at the Talkeetna Ranger station and finds out that human emotions are sometimes more dangerous than inclement weather.

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In this second report of the climbing season, producer Sue Deyoe looks at rescues and the new NPS contract for a rescue helicopter.

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