at 7,800' camp

Here's the expedition, sitting down to their lunch during the pre-trip day in Anchorage. Guide Dave Ahrens is in the red, and 2nd guide Mike Burmeister is in the blue.

The first field report from MT guide Dave Ahrens came in last night; Dave called to say hello and report that the team had moved out of basecamp to 7,800' camp. They carried all of their expedition on their back and in sleds and slogged onward- the route descends down the southeast fork of the Kahiltna to the main flow of the Kahiltna and slowly climbs through crevasse fields before depositing the team at 7,800'. From 7.8 camp the team can see the Kahiltna peaks, Kahiltna Dome, Mt. Crosson, Mt. Foraker, Mt. Francis, Mt Hunter and the Denali massif- quite the view!- and look directly up the northeast fork of the Kahiltna. Camp is set in a nice compression zone of the glacier, which means crevasses are for the most part squeezed closed and human-friendly. The team was up at 4am to avoid travelling in the day's heat, which can feel like you're in the tropics; as pleasant as that sounds remember that the climbers are dressed in long underwear at the very least- any exposed skin will burn in as little as 15 minutes if not protected with sunscreen- so the heat is something to be avoided.

Dave was just settling into camp for the evening, reporting that everyone was eating Au Jus roast beef sandwiches and enjoying the camp, everyone seemed strong and excited to be out on the glacier. Today, weather permitting, they will carry a load of gear up higher on the route and return to camp. More later....