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TODAY'S STATS - 5/4/22 |
Denali |
Mt. Foraker |
|
Registered Climbers |
929 |
17 |
|
Climbers Currently On Mountain |
29 |
0 |
|
Completed Climbs |
0 |
0 |
|
Number of Summits |
0 |
0 |
|
Summit Percentage |
0% |
0% |
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The Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station also maintains an almost daily automated statistics phone line, so if this blog is lagging behind and you need up-to-date registration numbers, call (907) 733-9127. |
Mountain Weather
CORRECTION to 5/2/22 Dispatch: Lisa Roderick pointed out that she is only in her 22nd season as basecamp manager, not 23rd, due to the non-existent 2020 Denali climbing season!
Wednesday, May 4, 8:00 AM observation is "Beautiful here, all mountains out, few clouds. 1 inch new snow overnight. Winds downglacier at 5 to 10 mph on the Kahiltna Glacier, but she can see evidence of wind on upper ridges of Hunter. Morning temp at 7K was 12 F.
Weather station telemetry data from 7K and 14K are transmitted hourly to the MesoWest website, including temperatures, wind speed, wind direction, snowfall, and solar radiation. MountainWeather.com compiles a Denali Weather page, complete with links to the MesoWest data, the NWS Denali Climbing Forecasts, as well as links to FAA webcams.
Click here for the National Weather Service Denali Climbing Forecast
The FAA webcam on the Kahiltna Glacier is scheduled to be installed in the field on Monday, May 9 for the 2022 season, so stay tuned.
Conditions Reports
As of May 4, there are 71 backcountry users exploring the Alaska Range:
- 15 in Upper Kahiltna
- 2 on the Eldridge Glacier
- 25 in the Upper Ruth
- 7 on Mount Hunter
- 20 in Little Switzerland
- 2 on the Lower Kahiltna
Report from the Ruth Gorge dated 5/1/22:
Freezy Nuts: Decent snow until past the narrows. Two ice cruxes with 2 or 3 moves each.
Japanese Couloir: Great snow climbing. Lots of rap stations but bring cord and gear to beef up. Some rap stations were more than 60 m apart.
Ice on North Face of Dickey: Fully in, great climbing. Three steps. First flow W13 to snow. Second flow 240 m of W14 to W15. Did not reach 3rd flow. Significant objective hazard on approach from Dickey Ice Flow but minimal hazard on route.
Report from the Icefield Pirates on Hunter April 29 to May 1:
Mount Hunter W. Ridge -
Deep snow to shin with crust to cat ears.
Backside cat ears easy to re-ascend, would not suggest leaving a fixed line.
First peak after cat ears had ~2 rope lengths of easy/moderate hard ice.
Final '"ice face" after col (past ramen) was not consolidated ice, sorta rotten, good daggering and took pickets well. One short ice step, rappelled with Bollard.
Made t to summit plateau then bailed as the weather came in on us. Basecamp to basecamp in 62 hours.
Good luck!
Ranger Travis Baldwin and VIP Eric Wickenheiser spent some time in the Root Canal this last week. A few highlights/conditions of their climb of Ham and Eggs:
"The crux is the first 90 degree ice pitch (2rd pitch overall) with a slight ice roof to pull over. The traditional crux (left variation) is climbing well but ice is somewhat rotten and does not protect well. Snow between pitches is consolidated and climbs very well. BUT... we received about 4" of snow during the day on May 1 which may change conditions a little."
NPS Ranger Travis Baldwin, not wishing he was back in the office. (Photo by NPS VIP Eric Wickenheiser)
VIP Eric Wickenheiser enjoys a gorgeous morning in camp on the Root Canal. (NPS Photo/Travis Baldwin)
Ranger Reports
NPS 14K Patrol #1 (Dossin, Davis). After spending a couple days at Basecamp getting situated and doing some crevasse rescue training, the patrol skied to the 7,800-foot camp on Tuesday, and today they packed up once again and are hoofing it to the 11,000-foot camp, where they will remain for several days to acclimatize.
NPS 7K Patrol #1 (Bomba) Yesterday, (5/3/22), Ranger Chelsea Bomba flew into Basecamp along with Volunteers-in-Parks Mariel Terry and Taylor Guetschow. The trio was excited to get shoveling, but early reports indicate a perceived shortage of chocolate for the endeavor ahead. This patrol will spend their week digging the foundation(s) to NPS basecamp operations, and setting up tents and communications infrastructure at 7K.
Three Northern Shovelers poised for flight. (Denali Rescue Volunteers Event
Coming soon to a theater near you! Or, at least, near us. Denali Rescue Volunteers and Denali Arts Council are teaming up to present the Alaska premiere of the Sanctity of Space to the big screen in downtown Talkeetna, Alaska. "Inspired by the photography of legendary explorer Brad Washburn, three friends traverse some of Alaska's most challenging peaks." The Sanctity of Space will show Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14, showtime 7:00 PM at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar. Rumor has it that filmmaker and climber Freddie Wilkinson will be on hand to introduce the film. A portion of the event proceeds will go to support the two non-profits hosting the event -- Denali Rescue Volunteers and Denali Arts Council.
Learn more about Denali Rescue Volunteers, an organization that helps make Denali National Park and Preserve's mountaineering operations whole! Thank you for all that you do each season, from helping equipping our volunteers, housing them before and after patrols, and supporting our recruitment process!
Thank you once again, Sugar Bears!
Huge thanks to the U.S. Army Sugar Bears for doing all the heavy lifting for Denali National Park's mountaineering operations! Big thanks as well, for sharing your time with Talkeetna Elementary students. Check out this U.S. Army article for more photos and details!