Climbing West Buttress route on Denali – 24 days

Meeting at Anchorage International Airport. We generally have an orientation and equipment check meeting at 10 am. You may arrive in Anchorage a day in advance to make sure you will attend this meeting.

The transportation is ours. The transfer takes more than two hours, and we will stop for coffee and snacks. When we arrive, we get organized and prepared for our flight to the glacier. Once on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, we will establish our camp for the night.

We depart base camp, and move to camp to about 7800' near the junction with the NE Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The distance is about 5 miles and is a good way to get ready for the upcoming days.

This is a moderately difficult carry of 7-9 miles round-trip, with 2,000′-3,000′ of elevation gain and a return to 7,800′ Camp for the night.

Our second camp is often in the 11,000’ basin at the base of Motorcycle Hill. This is an incredibly beautiful location that basks in alpenglow when the sun travels around the north side of the mountain.

This is an “active rest day” during which we drop back down and pick up the cache we left near Kahiltna Pass. It also helps give us another day to acclimatize before moving higher.

Steep snow climbing up the 1,000′ high Motorcycle Hill rewards climbers with spectacular views. The total distance for the day is about four miles round trip with a little over 2,000′ of elevation gain. Fun climbing with crampons and an ice axe gets you around Windy Corner where the upper mountain comes into view. Have your camera ready!

This is usually a long, hard day. Our next camp is generally located at the well-equipped 14,200’ Camp in the expansive Genet Basin. Loads are getting lighter and the air is getting thinner. Upon arrival, everyone will need to pitch in to build our camp as we need to fortify our tents due to the possibility of severe winds.

This is another “active rest day,” during which the team will descend from Genet Basin to the Windy Corner cache and bring everything up to 14,200′. We’ll spend the afternoon going over climbing techniques that we will use in the upcoming days.

Our goal is to cache supplies up on the ridge above us and return to 14,200′. Climbing up the “Headwall” (the section of route with fixed lines running from 15,500′ to 16,100′) with a heavy pack makes this one of the more strenuous days of the trip because of the steep terrain, heavy pack and thinning air. The views from the ridge can be as breathtaking as the rarefied air!

It is often prudent to take a rest/acclimatization day prior to moving up to High Camp.  Many climbers feel this day really helps their acclimatization.

Weather and team strength will again determine this decision. While there is a camp site at 16,100′, it is very exposed, so we usually push for the 17,200′ site, which is more secure and the better choice for camp. This is a really tough day, as our loads are big and some of the the terrain we will negotiate is steep. Rewards for our work are in the awesome climbing along the ridge. Weaving in and out of the rocks and occasionally walking a knife-edge stretch, combined with big exposure, make this day one of the most memorable of the route.

Moving to 17,200’ and getting High Camp established can be a huge day, so we usually take a rest day before attempting the summit.  Circumstances could mean that we do not take this rest day, but if possible, we prefer to take it.

If the weather is favorable, we’ll push for the summit. It is important to be patient on a big peak like Denali and we will only try for the summit when the weather is good; meaning mostly clear and calm. Our guide staff is the most experienced on the mountain and your guides will make this sometimes difficult decision. The round-trip climb will take eight to twelve hours or more. Usually you will depart camp early (7-10 a.m.), climb up to Denali Pass (18,000’) and follow the route past Arch Deacon’s Tower and the Football Field to the slopes leading to the Summit Ridge. On this spectacular ridge you can often see down into the Ruth Glacier with views of beautiful peaks such as the Moose’s Tooth, Mount Huntington and Mount Hunter.

The descent from High Camp takes one to two days, depending on the team’s strength and motivation to get home. The descent can beat you up more than the ascent, as we often shoulder our heaviest loads of the trip hiking down from High Camp to Camp 2. Weather dictates when we can fly out to Talkeetna for food and showers. Not much beats a steak and salad at the West Rib Tavern after working hard on Denali!

We build seven “contingency days” into our schedule. Denali has a well-deserved reputation for arctic weather, and it is common to take weather days at some point on the mountain.

We will provide group transportation back to Anchorage and you can make plans to fly home as early as this evening. If you are staying in Alaska, we are happy to assist in making any necessary lodging reservations; however, lodging after the climb is not included in trip cost. This is a true transition day from the intensity of the mountain to the relative “big city” life of Anchorage.