Mount Mckinley | Denali Cybercasts

Meet team “Crevasse-Holes,” our May 14th Denali Expedition!

Hey, this is the May 12th crew checking in from the base of ski hill.  We did a single carry today from base camp to here, it was heavy, but everybody did well.  Tomorrow we’re gonna cache somewhere up ski hill towards 10,000 feet. Thanks for following!

Dan Corn

Hello friends and family,

We are checking in for our first cybercast post of the 2026 Denali season! Our team assembled yesterday for a gear check and skills review before heading in to town for a briefing with the National Park Service and team dinner. We are currently heading to the air taxi service to queue up for a flight to basecamp. Spirits are high and our clothes are all smelling fresh. Our team spent much of the evening debating a team name and have decided to earn a team name rather than assign one. We will keep you updated over the next couple days when and let you know once we have reached enlightenment.

love to all,

Matt Hallstead

Greetings Fellow Climbers,

The Cascades climbing season is now fully underway, and overall climbing conditions across Washington remain quite good for mid-May. Over the past two weeks, our teams have been active on Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, and throughout the Cascades, with guides reporting generally favorable travel conditions, strong route coverage on the upper mountains, and several successful summits.  The major theme unfolding this season continues to be the below-average snowpack across much of the Pacific Northwest. While conditions on the upper elevations of Rainier and Baker remain solid for this time of year, the lower mountain is melting out quickly due to the unusually warm and dry spring pattern we’ve experienced over the past month. Looking ahead, the current forecast calls for a transition away from the extended high-pressure pattern we’ve enjoyed recently. A more active and seasonable weather pattern is expected to return later this week, bringing cooler temperatures along with periods of precipitation and new snow at higher elevations on the volcanoes and throughout the Cascades.

Tahoma (Mount Rainier)

On Mount Rainier, climbers can now expect mostly snow-covered travel beginning near Paradise, with the trail to Pebble Creek rapidly emerging in places. The Muir Snowfield remains in very good shape with a well-established bootpack to Camp Muir. Above approximately 8,000 feet, snow coverage remains solid for this point in the season, though guides are already noting melt patterns and exposed terrain features appearing earlier than normal below that elevation. Guides on Rainier continue to report cold temperatures and firm conditions during the early morning hours, and a transition to soft snow travel later in the day with warm daytime temperatures. Climbers should be prepared for rapidly changing surface conditions and increasingly soft snow on descents as daytime heating continues.

North Cascades

In the North Cascades, climbers should continue to expect snowline around 5,000 feet depending on aspect and terrain. While many alpine objectives still remain firmly in spring conditions, the warm temperatures have accelerated melt-freeze cycles and route transitions are beginning earlier than what we would typically expect in mid-May. For climbers heading into the mountains over the next couple of weeks, now is the time to be diligent with equipment preparation and layering systems. Despite the warm temperatures in Seattle and low elevations, conditions in the alpine remain very much winter-like, especially during overnight and summit pushes. Goggles, warm gloves, hard shells, and proper cold-weather systems remain essential equipment on all glaciated climbs.

As always, our guides will continue monitoring conditions closely and providing updates from the field as the season progresses.

We look forward to seeing many of you in the mountains soon.

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday we reached Camp 2 under perfect conditions and zero crowds.  The team made good time with a relatively easy hike in the Western CWM to Camp 2.  It can be very hot sometimes in the CWM but we were blessed with perfects conditions and a slight breeze to keep the heat down.  After a long rest last night we woke to beautiful clear skies at C2 and after breakfast we went on a short hike towards the base of the Lhotse face.  Another day of no crowds and perfect weather.  Our Sherpa team left C2 after dinner last night and carried oxygen bottles to the South Col (C4).  We have a very strong team of climbing Sherpa and they all safely made it to the South Col and back to C2 before breakfast.  It’s a really long and tough climb and we can’t thank the team enough for getting this hard job done.  With high winds coming high on Everest our Sherpa team will leave again tonight for the South Col with their last loads of oxygen for our summit attempt.

Tomorrow morning our climbers will climb part of the Lhotse face to touch C3 for our high point in our acclimatization.  We will spend part of the night at C2 after touching C3 before heading back down to EBC early in the morning.

We also heard the great news that the fixing team made it to the summit of Everest this morning and we are thankful for all of their hard work in making this happen to open up the route for teams to start summiting!  Things are going well here!

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones

Today officially kicks off the 2026 Alpine Ascents Denali Season! Our first team has arrived in Talkeetna, completed their gear check, and is headed to the hanger for their flight onto the Kahiltna Glacier. With our next two teams arriving in the next week, things are getting busy here in Alaska! Stay tuned for more updates from the field.

Our Full 2026 Schedule

May 12 – June 1, 2026
Lead Guide: Dan Corn
May 14 – June 3, 2026
Lead Guide: Geoff Lodge
May 18 – June 7, 2026
Lead Guide: Stephen Williams
May 23 – June 12, 2026
Lead Guide: Bobby Cosker
May 24 – June 13, 2026
Lead Guide: Arielle Todd
June 5 – 25, 2026
Lead Guide: Stuart Robertson
June 6 – 26, 2026
Lead Guide: David Gottlieb
June 9 – 28, 2026
Lead Guide: Don Nguyen
June 15 – July 4, 2026
Lead Guide: Jangbu Sherpa
June 16 – July 6, 2026
Lead Guide: Emma Lyddan

Hello Everyone,

Well I think the winds were starting to calm last night but they have continued throughout today but not as gusty.  We went for a short hike today above Camp 1 and the winds were quite welcome to keep the temperature down while hiking.  Usually there can be a bit of a technical section leaving Camp 1 heading to C2 but not this year, it is actually a very easy hike out of Camp 1 into the Western CWM.  Memories can fade but I feel like mine is pretty good and can’t remember the icefall and route to C2 ever in better condition in the last 15 years.

We are back at camp resting and are looking forward to moving to Camp 2 tomorrow morning.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

Today we left at midnight from Basecamp and climbed through the Khumbu icefall to Camp 1 at 19,500ft.  With all of the talk about the route through the Khumbu icefall this year I thought this is the most straightforward and easy route through the icefall I have experienced in 15 years.  It’s never 100% safe but the route is not very technical this season so it makes it much more efficient to get through somewhat fast.  Our team did great and we didn’t encounter any crowds whatsoever.  We are tucked into our tents now after finishing dinner and the wind that was blowing a little most of the day is now dying down.  Tomorrow we will hike towards Camp 2 for a couple hours and come back to Camp 1 for one more night before moving to Camp 2.  Good night from Everest.

-Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

Well, our plans have changed again as the weather has not been great the last couple of days to be able to helicopter to Mera peak.  This is mountain climbing on the world’s highest peak and we have to be flexible.  Our team has been incredibly patient and flexible throughout this entire expedition and it is much appreciated to have a team that is willing to roll with the changes we need to make.  So tonight we will head up to Camp 1 on Everest to do our normal acclimatization rotation up to touching Camp 3 in the next several days.  The hope is by now there will be less people moving through the icefall up to Camp 1.  The plan will be to spend two nights at Camp 1, and 3 nights at Camp 2 before returning to Basecamp.

We are excited to be heading up tonight!  Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones

Hello Everyone,

Well, our plans have changed again as the weather has not been great the last couple of days to be able to Helicopter to Mera peak. This is mountain climbing on the World’s highest peak and we have to be flexible. Our team has been incredibly patient and flexible throughout this entire expedition and it is much appreciated to have a team that is willing to roll with the changes we need to make. So tonight we will head up to Camp 1 on Everest to do our normal acclimatization rotation up to touching Camp 3 in the next several days. The hope is by now there will be less people moving through the icefall up to Camp 1. The plan will be to spend two nights at Camp 1, and 3 nights at Camp 2 before returning to Basecamp.

We are excited to be heading up tonight! Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones