Mountaineering rangers prepare for 2022 climbing season

Denali climbing season is right around the corner, and the National Park Service is getting ready for a season that shows indications of returning to normal.  KTNA’s Phillip Manning spoke with Denali National Park and Preserve South District Ranger Tucker Chenoweth about the upcoming season.

As the days get warmer and the winter’s heavy snowfall melts away, rangers at Denali National Park and Preserve have been getting ready for the 2022 climbing season on Denali.  South District Ranger Tucker Chenoweth oversees the mountaineering program for the park.  He says, while climbers coming to attempt North America’s highest peak still start arriving at around the same time each year, there is a trend toward people heading into other parts of the Alaska Range earlier and earlier.

“Our first Denali climber is coming in on April 28^th.  That’s pretty standard, so it doesn’t seem like the Denali climb has shifted, but the useage in the range has really extended into April.”

Climbers attempting Denali have to register beforehand, which allows rangers to compare current registrations with past trends.  Chenoweth says this year’s numbers are on par with pre-pandemic registrations in mid-April.

“It’s always kind of hard to tell this time of year, as the registrations roll in, exactly how to compare those year-to-year.  But so far it’s looking like we’re close to the 2018-2019 numbers, which is exciting.”

In addition, climbers from forty-three countries are expected to attempt Denali this season.  Chenoweth says that’s about double the number of countries represented last year.  Just as travel restrictions played a role in more Americans coming to the Alaska Range last year, the current situation allows for international demand that has been stymied since 2020 to come to fruition.

“There’s less restriction this year, and people are excited.  Maybe this a trip they planned back in 2019 [or] 2020 when we closed the mountain.”

The National Park Service plans to install infrastructure on Denali for its ranger patrols toward the middle of next week, with the first patrol planned to arrive on the mountain in the first week of May.