Good News on Denali!

All reports coming out of Alaska this late winter and early spring say that for the first time in a few years, the mountains in the Alaska Range have received a healthy blanket of snow which will insulate and protect the glaciers. As a result, AAI is announcing the addition of one more Denali Expedition departure for the 2008 season. The dates for this new expedition will be June 18-July 8. Please visit our program page (http://aai.cc/ProgramDetail/denali) for more details.

An AAI team on the summit of Denali, 2007.

Typically, the Denali season starts to wrap up in early July. The main reason for this mid-summer closure is due to conditions on the lower Kahiltna Glacier. In most years, teams have to quit climbing during one of the best weather and conditions windows on Denali to ensure that they can readily navigate the lower glacier and get picked up by a glacier plane for the flight home. Over the last few years, our mid-June trip has reached the summit consistently. Because of the forecasted good conditions this year, we are very excited to offer one more departure during this normally great weather window.

We currently have four climbers enrolled on the expedition, and we can take a total of six.

AAI climber Will Baumann at the top
of the fixed lines at 16,200' on Denali

Things are rolling right along here in preparation for the Alaska season, and the buzz grows with each passing day. Climbers are still signing up for expeditions, but we're beginning to move from the registration and consultation process into the more logistical efforts of ordering food, packing gear, making travel plans, and ensuring that everything is in place before our first trip gets underway. Our first Alaska Range trip will hit the glacier on April 24th, and our first Denali trip arrives on the ice May 4th. Please contact us soon if you would like to join us in Alaska this season. It's going to be a great year up there.

Cheers and happy climbing!

Coley Gentzel
AAI Alaska Program Coordinator and Guide