June 19, 2023 –

Climbers standing in the midst of a cloud on Denali (Ann)

IMG Denali Teams 3 and 4, led by Forrest Baldwin and Jonny Schrock, were both stymied by windy weather yesterday and turned during their summit attempt at 18,000ft. The teams have safely descended to 14 Camp and are in good health and spirits. The teams will rest and descend to the Kahiltna airstrip in the coming days.

IMG Denali Team 5, led by Rowan Stewart, remains at 14 Camp awaiting good weather to ascend to High Camp at 17,000ft for a summit bid on the highest peak in North America.

All is well on Denali!

June 17, 2023

Heading down around Washburn’s Thumb with big loads. (Photo by Michael Bellamy)

IMGD Teams 3 and 4, led by Jonny and Forrest, have made their final bump to 17K camp. From here all the team needs now is a compatible weather window before they push up to the top.

IMGD Team 5 led by Rowan is making their final carry and cache to the top of the fixed lines. This team will be making their move to 17K camp tomorrow, and will just be on the heels of Jonny and Forrest’s teams.

Audrey Simonson

June 16. 2023

17 Camp with Denali Pass behind (Eric Simonson)

Jonny and Forrest’s teams successfully cached gear at the top of the fixed lines yesterday and returned to 14K camp. Today their teams are resting and prepping for their move up to 17K camp tomorrow if the weather and conditions cooperate.

Rowan and the rest of Team 5 are taking another rest day at 14K camp. Tomorrow the team will carry gear to 16,200′ to cache and return to 14K before a move slated for Sunday.

Audrey Simonson

June 15, 2023

Camp at 14K (Heli Suokko)

Team 5 has successfully made it to 14K Camp where they were greeted by familiar IMG faces from Teams 3 and 4. Today, Team 5 is taking a well-deserved rest day while Teams 3 and 4 look to cache gear at 16,200′ just above the top of the fixed lines. Once Teams 3 and 4 make their cache, their sights are turning towards a summit in the coming week if the weather holds out. Now that Team 5 is at 14K, the team will be prepping for their move onto the upper mountain.

Audrey Simonson

June 10, 2023

IMGD climbers breaking above windy corner (Audrey Simonson)

Teams 3 and 4 led by Jonny and Forrest have been patiently waiting for their turn to move to 14K camp, and their time is almost here. Yesterday the teams cached at Windy Corner and took a rest day back at 11K camp today. Tomorrow the teams will finally make their push up and around the corner to 14K camp. Teams are doing well and progress is being made!

Team 5 led by Rowan is back at ski hill camp again tonight after caching at 9800′. Tomorrow they will move up to 11K camp and plan to back-carry the next day. Team 5 is making good progress so far!

Audrey Simonson

June 9, 2023

Denali Base airstrip. (Heli Suokko)

This season on Denali has been nothing but bad weather, but our teams continue to persevere in true Denali fashion. Teams 3 and 4 led by Jonny Schrock and Forrest Baldwin are moving in tandem. These teams are carrying to 13K today to cache their gear before an anticipated move to 14K in the coming days. Team 5 led by Rowan Stewart was able to catch one of the last flights to the Kahiltna last night and are making their move to Ski Hill Camp at 7800′.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Audrey Simonson

June 6, 2023

IMG Denali climbers gear in front of snow carving of “IMG” [Drew O’Brien]

IMGD Team 3 & 4, led by Forrest Baldwin and Johnny Schrock, respectively, are moving onward and upward! Both teams cached gear at 9,800ft today, returning to their camp at 7,800ft to rest and recuperate before moving uphill in the coming days.

IMGD Team 5, led by Rowan Stewart, landed in Anchorage today, will travel to Talkeetna in the morning, and hopes to fly on the Kahiltna on Thursday.