Denali Report for May 10th, 2019

This week on the Denali Report, teams begin making their way up the mountain, and the park’s most senior mountaineering ranger embarks on his last patrol.

Currently, there are 951 climbers registered to attempt Denali.  As of Thursday, there are ninety-two climbers on the mountain. Five attempts have been completed, with none making it to the summit, yet.

Ten climbers are registered to attempt Mt. Foraker.  Five of those are currently on the mountain.  No climbs of Mt. Foraker have been completed yet this season.

Thus far, trail reports on the West Buttress are mixed.  According to Denali National Park’s Denali Dispatches blog, Windy Corner is icy with numerous crevasses.  Minor falls have been reported in the area.

Earlier this week, Mountaineering Ranger Roger Robinson set out on the last patrol of his forty-year career.  Robinson went up with three volunteers and another ranger to set up base camp infrastructure at 7,200 feet.  Robinson has pioneered a number of procedures on Denali.  Perhaps the most well-known is the clean mountain can program.  Under the program, climbers are required to pack out all human waste from Denali.  In the past, waste often ended up in crevasses.  Over time, it can make its way down the glaciers and into the rivers they feed. 

Additionally, glaciologists and rangers are working their way through data from weather stations placed at base camp and fourteen camp last year.  The stations survived the winter, and can now provide unprecedented information on the health and conditions of the Kahiltna Glacier.