Why Climb Denali with Alpine Ascents?
Like a well-oiled machine, the logistics for the entire trip were flawlessly executed by administrative and office staff at all levels. Well done! This is one of the reasons why I go on trips with AAI. You have your act together and I trust you to get things done. – 2018 Denali Climber
AAI’s strength is the experience leading years of successful expeditions on Denali—knowledge of the terrain and weather, logistics, local support networks, relationships with NPS and other guide services, the climber community, the ability to attract and retain quality guides, and vet and assemble high quality teams of climbers! You have it down, keep it going. Looking forward to other worldwide trips with AAI. – 2018 Denali Climber
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Since the inception of our Denali program, Alpine Ascents has continued its industry leadership on Denali with extremely high summit success. Much of our success can be attributed to our outstanding guide staff and climbing teams. With strong praise from the National Park and media, and excellent working relationships with other guide services, we look forward to achieving equal success this year. We continually assist with rescues on the mountain. In fact, many of our guides have received “Denali Pro Pin” awards from Denali National Park in recognition of their high safety standards and selflessness in aiding others. As Alpine Ascents operates an intensive mountaineering school, we often get to know our climbers before they embark on such a climb as Denali.
Much of our guiding reputation was forged on Denali and we are a longstanding concessionaire of Denali National Park. We handpick lead guides and assistants and since we operate a mountaineering school and concession on Mt. Rainier, our guides are employees and not hired on a first-time basis for Denali. We have an office and launch facility in Alaska, providing both smooth logistics and well-needed resources for getting climbers on and off the mountain.
Recent Success
Alpine Ascents has been running successful Denali expeditions for nearly 20 years. Our 2018 was one of our most successful years with 9 teams reaching the summit and 2 turning back due to extend days of poor weather. We are always happy to provide summit statistics and reviews from past years but we are confident that our success rate and guide staff in strongest in the industry.
Key Elements of our Climb and Success
Alpine Ascents carefully selects each Denali guiding team, aiming for the highest experience level possible. Our team of lead guides is composed of established climbers, instructors and regional experts. Guide bios can be found here.
Our climber-to-guide ratio for this climb is nine climbers plus three guides for all departures.
Our climbers must prepare for the challenges of the ascent and the safety of their fellow team members. Every team member must have climbed with us in the past or have their climbing history evaluated by our guiding staff. Please see the Denali Screening page of the website. While there is always a level of trust when reviewing a bio, we work hard to have the strongest overall teams on the mountain. Many of our climber comments reflect being part of a team well-suited for the challenge.
Alpine Ascents’ Denali trips are renowned for their safety and their summit success. We encourage you to contact former climbers to discuss their experiences.
We have been a concessioner on Denali for 15 years, and our guides have been working on the mountain for over 20 years. We are one of five authorized Denali concessionaires (all other outfitters must act as subcontractor), and one of two companies with concessions on Rainier and Denali.
Each team is equipped with satellite phones, and we offer cybercasts for each team. Alpine maintains an office in Talkeetna. We have postings on our website (Cybercasts) noting team progress.
We offer as many as 14 trips per season, allowing teams to assist each other.
We are competitively priced for 2017. All meals are included (we ask you to bring some supplemental snack foods). Meals are preplanned and purchased in our Talkeetna office (airplane hangar) with great care to ensure that meals are of the highest quality.
Every effort is made to provide quality gear such as tents, as well as preplanned menus. We provide all meals but do ask climbers to bring preferred snack foods as outlined in your confirmation package.
If you are interested in climbing Denali and need to review or hone your skills and/or physical conditioning, we offer a number of courses to help you prepare. Contact us with questions and feel free to speak with former expedition members.
Having said all of this, I have to say that my 6-day Alaska course and my Denali climb last year were the highlights of my life! The 6-day class by itself was extremely fun, interesting, and educational.
