This is the Denali Report for Friday, June 21st, 2019.
Currently, there are 1,239 climbers registered to attempt Denali this season. Of those, 364 are on the mountain, and 816 attempts have been completed. Thus far, 473 climbers have made it to the highest point in North America, making the summit rate fifty-seven percent.
Nineteen climbers are registered to attempt Mt. Foraker, with four attempts underway. Fifteen attempts have been completed with the first two summits of the year reported a week ago, today.
This season’s summit rate on Denali continues to climb during a stretch of weather high on the mountain that rangers describe as everything from “lovely” to “ridiculous.” The current summit rate is slightly higher than this time last year, and significantly higher than it was around the solstice on 2017.
Travel conditions on the lower mountain have also remained good well into the climbing season. Typically, the length of the season is dictated by the time of the spring and summer where travel on the Kahiltna Glacier is most feasible. While conditions were reportedly good for night travel as of Tuesday, the current forecast and weather observations show temperatures above freezing twenty-four hours a day.
For more information throughout the week, listeners can visit Denali National Park and Preserve’s Denali Dispatches blog.
