As I've mentioned before, Alan Arnette is currently climbing Denali as the fourth leg of his Seven Summits for Alzheimer's project. Having already knocked off Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, Aconcagua in South America, and Everest in Asia, he has been hoping to finish Denali, the highest peak in North America as well. Unfortunately, the weather has not been cooperating, and his window is starting to run short, as he awaits an opportunity to add one more summit to his already impressive resume.
According to his latest dispatch, Alan is currently sitting at High Camp on Denali, which is located at about 5242 meters (17,200 ft). He, and the rest of his team, are hoping that weather forecasts hold true, and the projected change in weather takes place tomorrow, which would clear the way for summit attempts on Thursday. If the high winds and snows continue however, his opportunity to summit may disappear. The expedition has set a deadline of July 17th, which is Sunday, for when they'll need to leave the mountain.
Alan and his squad, which is being guided by Mountain Trip, are making a late season climb, and as a result, they are practically the only ones on the mountain at the moment. That could prove to be very beneficial if they do get the opportunity to summit, as there won't be any traffic jams headed up to the 6196 meter (20,327 ft) summit. On the other hand, with all the snow that has been hitting the area recently, they'll be forced to break trail themselves. I'm sure at the moment however, they're just all hoping they'll get a crack at the summit.
Stay tuned for updates later in the week. Hopefully there will be at least one more successful Denali climb this season.
