|
TODAY'S STATS |
Denali |
Mt. Foraker |
|
Registered Climbers |
1,093 |
14 |
|
Climbers Currently On Mountain |
520 |
5 |
|
Completed Climbs |
422 |
9 |
|
Number of Summits |
142 |
0 |
|
Summit Percentage |
34% |
0% |
|
The Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station also maintains a 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
Click here for today's National Weather Service Denali Climbing Forecast.
Both glacier webcams are experiencing random outages, so check periodically: http://avcams.faa.gov/
7,200 feet - Another day with scattered clouds, mostly at 17K and above. Winds 5 mph from the northeast, with strong gusts to 27 mph from the northeast.
In the last 12 hours:
Current temp 37 F (3 C)
Hi temp 39 F (4 C)
Low temp 36 F (2 C)
14,200 feet - Scattered clouds, with a cumulous band between 13,000 and 14,000 feet. Wind from the south at 3 mph, with gusts to 20 mph from the south. No new sow overnight.
In the last 12 hours:
Current temp 7 F (-14 C)
Hi temp 12 F (-11 C)
Low temp 5 F (-15 C)
Ranger Update
NPS Denali (14K) Patrol #3 (Weber + 4 VIPs) The team is still up at high camp, its still windy, and there are still some folks coming and going from the summit. Otherwise, doesn't sound like there is any drama occurring up high.
NPS Denali (14K) Patrol #4 (Westman + 4 VIPs) Mark and his crew managed another couple hours of helicopter errands out of 14K today. Everyone is feeling strong and sounding happy.
NPS Basecamp (7K) Patrol #4 - Ranger Mik Shain and VIP Thad Stavn assisted in the helicopter operations today, and I believe they also fit in a day ski on the glacier.
NPS Denali (14K) Patrol #5 is led by Ranger Melis Coady, and VIPs Tre-C Dumais, Sydney Harsock, Rob Kutchin, Eeva Latosuo, and Jaime Anderson all woke up early today and headed downglacier to Camp One, at 7,800 feet.
Route Conditions
Rangers can't say it enough this season...roping up when travelling on the lower glacier is more critical than ever. A low winter snow pack has meant weaker snow bridges in general. Exacerbating the low snow winter, colder than average temperatures this spring have resulted in less melt-out, and therefore less sagging, making the crevasses more difficult to see.
In addition to the two major crevasse rescues reported in this blog in the past week or so, two additional crevasse falls occurred last night at the base of Heartbreak Hill. In last night's falls, the climbers were uninjured and/or pulled out by a teammate. Nevertheless, in all four if these instances, the climbers that fell into the crevasse were NOT ROPED to their partners.
This early season photo was taken of the 7,800 foot camp, providing an indication of the crevasses that typically traverse the glacier...visible as stripes in the distance. Now that its a few weeks later, those stripes have only gotten wider. (NPS Photo)
Photo of the Day
Big smiles on the faces of Patrol #5 members, from left to right: VIP Eeva Latosuo, NPS ranger Melis Coady, VIP Sydney Hartsock, VIP Tre-C Dumais, and VIP Rob Kutchin. Missing from the photo is VIP Jaime Anderson, who met up with the team at basecamp. Anderson had served as attendent during the patient transport after Monday's epic crevasse rescue. (NPS Photo/Joseph McBrayer)