Denali is a mountain of many extremes. The temperature extremes this time of year can range from below zero at night to above freezing during the day. During the day the radiation from the sun is very intense as it comes through the thin, high-latitude arctic air, and bounces off the snow beneath your feet and all the surrounding mountains. This solar radiation zaps the energy from the climbers and softens the snow making it less safe to cross snow bridges that make crevasses crossable and hiking in the snow less efficient as climbers are often post-holing with their heavy packs. As the team makes it higher on the mountain they will transition back to a normal daytime schedule because the daytime temperatures will be lower than they are on the lower Kahiltna glacier.
Tomorrow they plan to carry a cache up to 11,000'. This cache will consist of extra food, fuel and other gear that the team will not need until higher on the mountain.
We will continue to post as the team moves higher up the mountain. As always, communication from the mountains is by no means perfect. Some days the team will be busy moving and building camp and staying healthy so there may not be time to make a call that day.
Teams are always excited to know that so many people are reading these blogs and keeping track of their trip. Thanks
Thanks Ben for the quick posts on team updates. Quite impressive; though I cannot imagine what your work hours are? :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers, Art H.
Nice job and congratulations to all for this first achievement.
ReplyDeleteWe were happy to hear the voice of Edward and to know that everything is going well. Hard to believe that you are in a place with snow and cold temperature while we just came back for a short trip northern Bangkok with temperatures as high as 36°C !!
All the best for the coming days. Gros bisous from Aude, Mamoune, Bonpapa and Papa