Currently, 1,208 climbers are registered to attempt Denali, and 436 attempts are currently underway. Six hundred, thirteen climbs have been completed with 309 summits. That makes this year’s summit rate approximately fifty percent.
Seventeen climbers are registered to attempt Mt. Foraker. There are currently four climbers on the mountain, and thirteen have completed their attempts. There have been no summits of Mt. Foraker this far this year.
Three weeks ago, we brought you the story of Cody Hughes and Clay James, who had biked to Alaska from Utah, and were planning to climb the Muldrow Route, traverse to the Kahiltna Glacier, and raft back to Talkeetna. This week, a National Park Service Patrol encountered Cody and Clay camped at Denali Pass high on the mountain.
Hughes and James may well have gotten a chance to make it to the highest point in North America this week, as weather high on the mountain has been good.
Another group attempting the Muldrow Route, which was the path taken by the first climbers to summit Denali more than a century ago, is the final ranger patrol of the season. In addition to taking a less common route up Denali, the patrol is also unique in that much of their gear was staged by dogsled this past winter. Jen Raffaeli, who manages the park’s kennel, will be one of the volunteers joining the patrol, but she will be leaving her four-legged coworkers at home while she climbs.
