Denali Report for May 11th, 2018

Currently, there are 855 climbers registered to attempt Denali, and 71 climbs were underway as of Thursday. Seven people have returned from the mountain, with two reaching the summit thus far.

Eleven climbers are registered to attempt Mt. Foraker this year. Six mountaineers are currently underway, and two have returned having not reached the summit.

This week saw a bit of a reprieve from the rough weather that began the 2018 climbing season.   According to the National Park Service, there were multiple days mid-week with broken skies and relatively calm winds. That represents quite a change from the two weeks prior, where between four and twelve feet of fresh snow fell on the lower mountain, and winds scoured higher elevations. As of Wednesday, many teams had stayed put due in part to the deep, unsettled snow.

Two Park Service patrols have made it into the Alaska Range, as has Lisa Roderick, base camp manager for two of the three air services that fly climbers to the Kahiltna Glacier.

We’ll have more news from the Alaska Range in next week’s Denali Report.