Denali Report for June 18, 2021

This is the Denali Report for Friday, June 18, 2021.

As of this week there are 1,013 climbers registered to attempt Denali. Of those, 359 are currently on the mountain. 533 attempts have been completed, with 59% of those making it to the summit. Over on Mount Foraker, 15 of the registered 28 climbs have been completed, with only three people making it to the top of the second highest peak in the Alaska range.

Weather at 14,000 ft on Denali is ranging between 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit with light winds. The temperature at base camp is 38 degrees.

It was a notable week on Denali. 

Last Saturday saw a flurry of high altitude rescues.  A 38 year old climber began showing symptoms of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) at just over 19,000 feet.  The climber was suffering at what is commonly known as the “football field”, a long fairly flat section located below the summit.  Despite the high altitude and challenging conditions, helicopter Pilot, Andy Hermansky, performed a challenging and successful rescue. 

Maureen Gualtieri, Communications Director for the National Park Service, describes what made the rescue so tough.

”The rescue took place between 19,400 and 19,500 (feet), in that range.  It was a more challenging rescue for him than any he had done before, because it was warmer temperatures and no wind.  So that takes more effort.”

The climber was loaded into a basket, hanging 200 feet from the helicopter, and short-hauled to basecamp.

Leaving the patient there, Hermansky returned to 14,000 feet, to rescue a 70-year-old climber who had fallen while descending the fixed lines, breaking multiple ribs. Due to un-flyable weather, the injured climber had spent five nights in the medical tent at 14,000 feet.

Hemansky then flew both patients to Talkeetna, before returning one more time to evacuate a climber with with moderate frostbite on nine out of ten of his fingers.

After the series of rescues, the weather cooperated and climbers on the mountain rallied.  122 people summited last week, improving the Denali summit rate from 52% to the current 59%.

One of the those to make it to the top is Kristie Ennis. 28 year old Ennis, is an above-the-knee amputee, injured while on active duty in Afganistan in 2012.  The veteran is attempting to summit the highest peak on every continent.  She summited Denali, the highest point of North America on June 12.

That’s this week’s Denali Report.  I’m Colleen Love.