Denali Report for May 24th, 2019: First summits, and biking to the Muldrow

Currently, there are 1,083 climbers registered to attempt Denali.  Of those, 446 are currently on the mountain.  Seventy-two attempts have been completed with two summits.  Twelve climbers are registered to attempt Mt. Foraker.  Three attempts are underway, and eight climbers have returned, with none reaching the summit, yet.

This past week saw the first, and so far only, summits of Denali in the 2019 season.  The first to reach the top of the continent are Wilson and Oliver Hoogendorn of Nome, Alaska.  The brothers set off on May 5^th and returned to Talkeetna on Monday.

Among those getting ready to set off on their attempts are Cody Hughes and Clay James.  Unlike most climbers, who fly to Alaska, then take a bush plane to the Kahiltna Glacier, Hughes and James began their ambitious trip two months ago, as Cody explains.

“We left Salt Lake City on March 20, and we decided not to ship any of our gear ahead. So we have it all here with us now. We got these trailers…and so we’re looking at 160 pounds but we road from Salt Lake up through the States and Canada and the Yukon and here to Talkeetna, and our plan’s to bike over to the north side to Wonder Lake and walk in the tundra there and the Muldrow glacier and do a traverse and try to go up and over. And then hopefully pack raft here to Talkeetna, so it’s just a day at a time.”

If all goes well, Cody Hughes and Clay James expect their trip to take about a month.