Denali Report for May 22th, 2026

As more climbers arrive in Talkeetna, this years’ cold and cloudy weather has become a frequent conversation topic.  KTNA’s Colleen Love has more in this week’s Denali Report.

This is the Denali Report for May 22, 2026.  

As of mid-week, there were 1,010 climbers registered to climb Denali this season.  216 of those are on the mountain. There are 15 climbers registered to climb Mt. Foraker and 5 mountaineers are on that mountain. 

The National Park Service Base Camp Patrol flew out of Base Camp after installing NPS equipment on the Kahiltna Glacier.  Britni Driver is currently manning the Kahiltna Base Camp for the air taxis.

For both climbers and pilots, the most talked about topic this spring… has been weather.

The sun made a couple of brief appearances this week, but precipitation and rain have been the theme this month and have slowed the progress of many.

Further up on the West Buttress route, strong winds, precipitation and cold temperatures have been prevalent.  NPS Patrol #1, led by Joey McBrayer, has finally made it to the 14,000 foot camp after a long delay at 11,000 feet.  Now that they’ve arrived, they are busy setting up the medical camp.   

Despite the challenging weather, news of the first summit of the season is being celebrated on Denali.  Two members of a three-person walk-in expedition reached the top of North America’s highest peak last week.

There are reports of crevasse hazard near Windy Corner, requiring climbers to re-route into steeper terrain.  Word on the upper mountain is that Denali Pass is icy with little snow coverage. 

The weather forecast for the mountain this weekend is for daily snow showers and gusty winds.

You’ve been listening to the Denali Report.  For KTNA, I’m Colleen Love

Photo: NPS. J. McBayer