June 4th, 2023
Cold day at a well defended 17 Camp (Eric Simonson)
As of today there has been no change to the teams’ status. Both Team 1 and 2 arrived to 17K camp on Monday and Tuesday respectively, but the weather took a turn for the worse. They are still hunkering down at 17K camp while they wait for the storm to break before potentially descending. Everyone is in good spirits and are staying busy by minding camp and making stormproof snow walls. These teams are getting a full Denali experience after spending almost a week up there!
Back in Talkeetna, Teams 3 and 4 are grounded until this storm blows through. To pass the time, the teams have been practicing their rope systems for the glacier and enjoying a John Denver cover band playing nightly at local restaurants. You’ll be the first to know when these teams are able to catch their flight to the Kahiltna!
Team 5 will be arriving in Anchorage in just a couple days, and will be just on the heels of Teams 3 and 4 getting on the mountain.
For now, all teams are doing well. Keep checking back for more updates from Denali.
Audrey Simonson