Follow me on Denali!

Not long now!!  Final prep is underway and I’m headed to Alaska in just a few days.  I’m excited, admittedly also a little nervous, but feel ready for the adventure and challenge to come.

Follow the Expedition

My updates

I’m planning to post to social media as we go using the DeLorme inReach Explorer satellite communicator and GPS device.  These updates will be posted to Facebook and Twitter, and my GPS location will be tracked and viewable on my MapShare page along with the messages I post.

Send me a message

I’ll also be able to send and receive messages through the inReach device, so drop me a line and say hi!  I should have a lot of downtime in the evenings to write back.

To send me a message, follow these easy steps:

• Go to my MapShare page
• Click on “Message”
• Add your email address or mobile phone number
• Type a short message (up to 160 characters)
• Click “Send”

Updates from Alpine Ascents

My expedition company will be providing updates for all of their teams on the mountain through the Denali Cybercast blog at their website and on WordPress.com.  Look for references to the team I’m on: Alp Team 4, departing May 18th with Vern Tejas as lead guide.

I believe these posts will also be made available on AAI’s Facebook page.

Mountain conditions from NPS

Denali National Park & Preserve has set up a mountaineers blog with daily dispatches covering current conditions and status on the numbers of climbers on the mountain and how the season is progressing.

Denali West Buttress Route

While I’ve previously shared some information on the West Buttress route in an earlier post, I found the American Alpine Institute – another commercial expedition outfitter, not to be confused with Alpine Ascents International who I’ll be climbing with – has a great virtual tour of the route with descriptions, photos and even some video.  You can click on the links below to learn more about the West Buttress route as we climb the mountain:

• Base Camp (7,200 ft)
• Lower Kahiltna Glacier
• Camp I (7,800 ft)
• Camp II (11,200 ft)
• Motorcycle Hill & Windy Corner
• Camp III (14,200 ft)
• Fixed Lines to High Camp
• Camp IV/High Camp (17,200 ft)
• Summit Day (20,320 ft)

They also have a great short video that really gives you a taste of what the Denali West Buttress expedition experience is like – looks like a big challenge and a lot of fun!

Well that’s all for now.  Back in a couple of weeks with – if Denali will let me – a summit of North America’s highest point to show for it!  While there is only a 50% probability of summit success (and it was even less last season), it’s sure to be a grand adventure nonetheless…