Late Night Update

I heard from Scott at almost midnight from his cell phone in Talkeetna, and we talked for ~25 minutes. He said they shared the shuttle van from the Anchorage airport up to Talkeetna with a couple of other guys, so they were glad to split the cost as well. Once in Talkeetna (~120 miles NW of Anchorage), as all mountaineers must do, they checked in and attended an hour-long orientation at the Talkeetna Ranger Station. Scott said the orientation film was mainly about ensuring they have a very low impact on the environment while they're on the mountain.

Scott and his climbing partner Aaron enjoyed dinner at Mountain High Pizza Pie (like in Jackson, WY!) and spent the evening unpacking and re-packing their gear to correspond with the various loads they will carry and cache* along the way. (*more on that in another post)

From the Ranger Station, Scott found out this info: 4 mountaineers have already finished their expedition this season, and 2 of them summited, which reinforces the average 50% of climbers who successfully summit Mt. McKinley. (much better odds than the ~33% success rate on Mt. Everest) There are currently 112 climbers on the mountain with expeditions in progress.

Because there has been a lot of snow (~3 ft.) above 14,000 ft. in the past 24 hours, the small planes that fly climbers up to the Kahiltna Glacier are all waiting for a break in the weather to fly up there. Scott was excited that they chose Fly Denali as their air taxi company to get them up to Base Camp because there were 6 groups of climbers who elected to use Tahiltna Air Taxi, and now they are all queued up anxiously awaiting their turn. Scott and Aaron are the only group using Fly Denali at this time, so they will get to go as soon as the weather allows. They were hoping to depart at 8am today (9am PT) if the weather allows.

Next stop is the Kahiltna Ranger Station, where they check in and provide details of their itinerary for emergency reasons. Mountaineers have to register 60 days in advance, filling out forms and paying a $200 fee, to climb Mt. McKinley. (2% of the permit costs on Everest!)

We wish them clear skies for their flight!