General information and Denali resources [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

Start here: Denali National Park & Preserve Mountaineering Home

From: Jacek Maselko, 5/10/1995

For registration forms and an information packet (including a nice little booklet with some good info on mountaineering in Denali National Park) write:

Denali National Park And Preserve
Talkeetna Ranger Station
P.O. Box 588
Talkeetna, Alaska 99676

or call at (907) 733-2231

From: Gordo, 7/9/1998

What would you consider good books to read on climbs to Denali?

Minus 148 - the first winter ascent (outstanding book)

Mount McKinley - a large format coffee table book with a great selection of Washburn route photos

High Alaska - good general route descriptions

From: Alex, 5/14/1999

There is also a very worthy book, Denali's West Butress by Colby Coombs, that will give you a great review of everything you need to know to be on the mountain.

From: James Ellers, 7/9/1998

If you're comfortable with glacier travel, all you really need is Glenn Randalls McKinley Climbers Handbook. If not, get Selters' Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue and/or Freedom of the Hills. Don't bother with the Colby Coombs book.

See also:

Denali National Park & Preserve - Mountaineering from the NPS
Denali Climbing Guide by R. J. Secor
Resources for Denali from Alaska's Mountain Magazine
DenaliGuide.com

What time of year should I go? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Tom Kelley, 9/18/1994

I guess I'll risk stating the obvious, may is colder and june is much more crowded, especially on the West Buttress. Rain on the lower Kahiltna Glacier isn't unheard of by mid-june. This seems like it could make skiing unpleasant.

Regardless of the dates you choose, expect spectacular surroundings, and a lot of company. The West Buttress is not a wilderness experience (unless perhaps you decide to go in january). Have fun and Don't forget to pack some warm socks.

From: Bob Breivogel, 9/20/1994

Mid may to mid june would be my choice. A little colder, but more stable weather.

From: Jacek Maselko, 5/10/1995

I was on Denali last June, and am once again planning to be on it this June. The two biggest reasons why you should move your date earlier in the summer are:

1 - The WEATHER is much more favorable in the spring and early summer than in the fall and the WEATHER is going to be the greatest factor that will affect your success on the mountain (esp. West Buttress route) - last year we got stopped at the Archdeacon towers (el. 19,500 feet) due to high winds and driving snow, and ended up spending 8 days holed up at 17,200 during which time it snowed over 10 feet!! And we totally depleted our food supplies, so it was going home time.

2 - The glacier that you will be travelling on will become much more crevassed, making the journey up (and it is about 20 miles of skiing, and/or 'hiking' from the 'airport' on Kahiltna glacier) a lot longer (due to winding around crevasses, and dangerous, as snow bridges are much thinner. During my trip, while it snowed at 17,200, the lower camps didn't get much snow, and the lower glacier opened up quite substantially since the time we started up 16 days earlier (on June 10).

Of course I am not saying that it can't be done in September, as the Sourdough expedition( the first to climb Denali, although they made the North, not the main South summit) made their trip at about that time. And a number of the earlier expeditions also seemed to start out pretty late in the summer, but the chances of success are diminished, besides it can get pretty cold in September - Fairbanks already gets temperatures below -10 C, so you can imagine it will be much colder up high. When I was there in June, the lowest temp dipped down to around -25 to -30 Celsius.

How warm a sleeping bag do I need? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Alex, 5/13/1999

-20 is fine. Down.

From: Clyde Soles, 2/5/1998

I'd go with the -20 range. FF, WM, and Marmot all offer equal quality bags -- superb. It would be a lie to say one is better than the other.

From: Steve Cochran, 2/4/1998

My experience is from late May/early June. -20 was enough. I carried a VBL too, but didn't need to use it. If you go in early May, you might want -40.

From: George Bell, 2/4/1998

You do not need a -40 degree bag to climb Denali in May, IMHO.

From: Steve, 2/7/1998

I agree that a -40F bag should not be necessary in May. The vapor barriers can be clammy for some people and loss of warmth due to vapor buildup takes quite a long time. If you don't get hit by long storms you are more likely to get a damp bag from the outside than from the inside. A bag with a waterproof/breathable outer or use of a lightweight bivysack type cover may be of more use in keeping the down dry.

From: Armin, 5/11/1995

-20F will do but -30F or -40F will make the trip more enjoyable. I used a -20F Feathered Friends bag and ended up wearing a lot of my clothes in it on the really cold nights up high.

From: RMB, 2/10/2000

I'd absolutely bring a VBL ($20 from Campmoor) if you're going with a -20 bag. It'll add another 10-15 degrees to the bag and prevent evaporating sweat from freezing in the down under extreme conditions.

Don't let people tell you that you NEED to blow $800 on a bag to climb Denali. I did, but I could afford it. Buy the best gear you can afford and train and practice with it. You'll do fine..

What gear should I bring? / Where can I find a gear list? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Jacek Maselko, 5/10/1995

The West Buttress route is not especially technical, so be prepared for 3 weeks of glacier travel, on mainly flat terrain for the lower part, and moderate slope to 14,000 camp, and some occasional steeper parts higher on, but no biggies. So bring your crevasse rescue gear, warm sleeping bag, two mattresses (i.e. ridge rest and thermarest). Good wind shedding tent a plus, unless you want to dig snow caves. Good high altitude white gas stove - as the dispatcher for the flights will give you fuel on the glacier, but you can't haul it with you on the plane, so gaz bottles are out. Also there will be plastic sleds for you to use at the glacier 'airport'.

From: rbmack, 5/13/1999

I would also recommend, btw, not being too frugal on comfort items. Bringing things like hollofil booties, thermarest-chairs, and the like are WELL worth their weight - don't forget, you'll be out there a long time...

From: Brandon Lampley, 1/31/2002

If you plan on taking your time, the biggest luxury.....grab a five gallon bucket, a padded toilet seat, and contrive a way to attach such seat to the top of the bucket so its removable, for the addition of plastic bag. You'll get to laugh your ass off every time you see some chump in the knee busting squat over hole pose, and its a real conversation piece when it's riding on the sled.

Gear lists online:

Steve Dundorf, 5/98 (downloadable Excel file)
Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking
Stan Justice, 1997
Climb for a Cure, 2001
Chris Ferro, 1998

What boots should I wear? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Dean Williams, 7/27/2000

I'll say it once. TAKE WHAT'S COMFORTABLE!!! Ok, now wipe the spit from your screen. If the boot is uncomfortable, it is ten times more likely to ruin your trip than a boot that may be "somewhat" better in certain conditions. Yes we'd all like to have equipment that is perfect for the conditions we meet. Unfortunatly, we never know what conditions will be like on Denali when you climb. Plan accordingly...

From: Gordo, 12/3/1998

One Sports will be WAY too hot lower down the mountain. I used Sorel Snowlions to 11K (West Butt) and then switched to my One Sports. I brought the Sorels up to 14K. Heavy but worth it.

The Sorels make camp life excellent and keep your feet dry and fresh. They also enable you to dry out your One Sports. I did not use a vapour barrier sock but would recommend it if you tend to have cold feet. I normally have pretty warm feet and didn't have any problems all the way up to the top.

It is not worth bringing the Sorels above 14K.

Remember that your feet will swell at altitude.

If you are doing one the the technical routes then try your One Sports out well in advance. My heel tends to lift when front pointing in them. This is not an issue on the WB.

From: Bill Foote, 7/10/2000

I've been on Denali twice, with Lowa Denalis (how apropo [sp?])

Talking to some who had Everests, their opinion was that anything less would demand overboots, but that the overboots are not necessary with Everests. With that and your desire for something more versatile than Everests, I would recommend a good all-around plastic like Lowa (I think it's called the Civeta now), the Scarpa (you might want to get theirspecial high-altitude liner), or the best Koflach, with "40-below" neoprene overboots.

From: Jacek Maselko, 7/10/2000

Although One Sport Everests are great, at the time you're going to Denali they're overkill. Most plastic boots would be sufficient and are a lot more durable than the fragile "Everests". If you tend to have cold feet, then by all means get one of those 40 below neoprene overboots. They work great with any plastics and are still compatible with all crampons without modifications to the crampons and/or overboot.

From: David Van Baak, 7/20/2000

I've used the Forty Below overboots, or overbooties, that fit over my XC backcountry boots, and found them very useful.

On the Denali trip I'm not so sure the combination would be ideal. There I found the double boots by themselves were fine up to 14000 or even 17000, and the overboots made for great additions on days really high--not that it's so much colder there, but that metabolism is that much less effective in keeping toes warm. With the leather-single-boots method, you would likely have to be using the overboots not just on summit day, but lower down also; there's nothing bad about this, but you have to think about the durability of the neoprene under crampon straps, and the compression of the noeprene by the straps, and such issues.

It'll depend on the general warmth of your feet, your acclimatization, the degree to which your leather boots are insulated, and (of course) your reluctance to spring for a new set of plastic boots.

From: Rob Williams, 7/10/2000

I HIGHLY recommend AGAINST using Makalu's on Denali. Although on clear days the temperatures can get very warm and you feel plastic mountaineering boots are over-kill, the temps can drop dramatically very quickly. At the very minimum you should use plastic mountaineering boots with an inner bootie. I used Scarpa Invernos for my trip to Denali last year and they worked great. You should also take along over-boots to use at the higher elevations. The boots you buy should be about a half size larger to allow for altitude expansion and thicker socks.

From: Bill Foote, 7/20/2000

Many times I have heard people say things like "in 19xx we took only blah, blah, blah, and it was fine..." To that I say that they were simply lucky and did not experience the worst that Denali can show. Many people have received frostbite on Denali, and many of them were wearing much more that single leather boots with overboots.

For a more concrete reason to wear double boots, how about this: You won't want to put your cold wet single boots in your sleeping bag at night to dry them out and have them nice and toasty warm in the morning. But this is pretty standard practice with double-boot liners.

For me personally, I've found that if I start my feet out warm, in warm boots, they stay warm fairly easily. But if I start them out in cold boots, its very hard to get the warm in the first place.

Which guiding service should I use? / Can I climb Denali without a guide? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Breck, 10/28/1999

I would check with Colby Coombs, seems like a nice guy. And he wrote the book. He is with the Alaska Mountaineering School.

From: Robert Williams, 10/28/1999

I don't have any personal experience with the guiding services except for what I saw while I was up there. Just from watching them I would say that Alaska-Denali Guides (lead by Brian Okonek) seemed like tthe way to go. But again, this was just from watching how they (and other services) acted and not based on any personal experience with them.

From: Peter Dushkin, 7/16/1995

The National Outdoor Leadership School offers some of the best guiding services around. I have been on a three month and one month expedition with them and have only good things to say. Their attention towards safety is very calming.

From: S. Nelson, 7/22/1995

The best guide service for Denali is probably either Mountain Trip or Fantasy Ridge (note: no longer guiding on Denali). Both offer smaller groups than the other outfits. I went up with them MT. TRip last year and while our group didn't make the summit due to bad weather destroying our tents, it was a small group and much better that the other guided groups..

From: Robert Williams, 10/28/1999

If you have very much mountaineering experince and plan to do the West Buttress of Denali a guide service may not be necessary. Its not a lonely place and the route is not very technical--but I am not encouraging you to go it unguided if you are not very competent in the mountains. Know your limitations!

From: Tom Kelley, 9/18/1994

The decision to go without a guide should probably be based upon your experience and comfort with idea of spending 3 to 4 weeks in a very cold environment. How adept are you at crevasse rescue, treating cold injuries, altitude sickness, etc.. On my first trip to the Alaska range, I was impressed by how important cold weather survival skills were for everyday living.

From: Bob Breivogel, 9/20/1994

The W. Buttress is really not that technical, and is well traveled (crowded.) If you have a lot of winter camping/climbing experience you should be OK, just as long as you are conservative as being prepared for extreme cold (-30F). You definitely need to be experienced in crevasse rescue, esp. when using skis! I would suggest that your expedition group do a "warm up" on a major snow peak in the lower 48 (Rainier would be best, either the Muir or Emmons routes) with skis under early spring or winter conditions. If you plan to use skis with sleds, practice it first, it is not that easy.

From: John Evans, 1/30/1996

Winter camping experience is important, 'cause thats basicly what the West Buttress route is, a three week winter trip with beautiful views and nasty storms. It also sounds like you're approaching the whole thing with respect and proper preparation. Just don't cut corners on safe glacier travel (rope up, minimal slack, don't stand next to each other without probing for crevasses, etc, etc) Surviving Denali by Jonathan Waterman is a great book that describes all the possible ways to die on the mountain, and how to avoid them. Personally, I wouldn't get a babysit, opps, I mean a guide. That would take half (or maybe most) of the fun out of the whole thing. Also, don't hurry unnecessarily. Take your time and enjoy being on the mountain.

Authorized Guide Services (9/2002):

Alaska Mountaineering School
Alpine Ascents International
American Alpine Institute
Mountain Trip
N.O.L.S.
Rainier Mountaineering

Should we use skiis or snowshoes for the approach? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Armin, 5/11/1995

Tough call if the half the team can't ski. Depends how athletic they are and how fast they can learn to ski. However skiing downhill through cravasses while roped up is a challenge even for experienced skiers. You might want to think about having the skiers ski and the non-skiers use snowshoes if your team is big enough. Going up it's all the same anyway, and going down you'll just have to stop and wait for them once in a while. Most likely you'll cache your skis at around 12,000 feet anyway and walk the rest with crampons.

I used AT skis and binding and my Asolo plastic climbing boots. If you plan to ski from the summit and/or down the West Butt you'll probably want to use AT ski boots as well. It worked OK in plastic climbing boots but would have been a lot more fun with AT ski boots.

From: rbmack, 5/13/1999

We snowshoed and it was fine. You only have a couple or three days on either on the way up. With skiing you may save a day getting down. Unless of course one of one of your inexperienced friends skis him/herself into a crevasse, and the other inexperienced friends don't know how to stop on a dime and get pulled into the crevasse as well...

From: D. A. Van Baak, 2/4/1997

Last two times I walked up the Kahiltna I was very pleased with my old 9" x 30" Sherpa showshoes (tubular aluminum frame, neoprene deck, with the claw-type binding). I had to add a bit of length to the strap on the binding to get it to accomodate my double boots. As elsewhere, I found a pair of ski poles helps markedly in reducing the energy spent in mere balancing; with this setup I found it easy to carry a pack and pull a sled up any of the slopes on the W. Buttress route (up to 14000').

From: John Evans, 2/12/1997

My two partners and I used snowshoes on the West Buttress in May-June 1995. Or maybe I should say carrried snowshoes on the West Buttress. We didn't put them on (other then to make sure they worked) until we were stormbound at 14,400'. And then it was only to do laps around the camp to keep from going crazy from inactivity (igloo building is another good way to blow off some steam and fill the day).

We went with snowshoes for several reasons;

1) We planned on traveling roped up on the glacier (plunging a hundred feet, breaking various important body parts, wedging to a stop between two walls of 50,000 year old ice, and then slowly dieing of hypothermia and/or internal bleeding sounded like a real bummer, maybe we're just cautious). Anyway, coming down the mountain, with packs, sleds, and roped up, sounded like a disaster waiting to happen (and we are decent skiers). Broken leg/torn ACL/twisted ankle??.... none for me, thanks.

2) Snowshoes are _fairly_ idiot proof (I didn't say 100%). You could use duct tape and webbing to attach your foot and probably not notice a difference from the normal binding. Also, snowshoeing is really easy to do when you're fatigued, its snowing like hell, the altitude is getting to you, whatever. Not much special skill involved (no offense to snowshoers).

3) Snowshoes are really light. No skins to bring along, or ski crampons. Also they work great with plastic mountaineering boots. You can use an AT binding on skis, but they're kinda heavy, and expensive.

My experience with AT bindings (admittedly brief and of limited scope); I tried out some Silveretta 404's in the San Juans (Yankee Boy basin) two months before our trip to Denali. I was wearing the Scarpa Inverno's I would be taking to the mountain. After climbing Snefaels (sp?), I fell while skiing back to the tent. The tip of the ski punched into the snow, I fell in a twisting motion and the binding didn't release, but my ankle gladly absorbed some of the force. The bindings were set at a very low release setting. I'm not blaming the binding specifically, but it just wasn't a radical fall, and I've fallen thousands of times skiing and so I know how to fall (practice makes perfect!) It was probably the boot/binding combo and the twisting motion. Anyway, that was all I needed to sell me on snowshoes (for Denali, I still try and get in about 30 days a season :)

From: Lee Purvis, 2/12/1997

When I went to Denali last year we used snowshoes because they seemed to be more idiot proof, cheaper, etc.

BIG MISTAKE! I will never use snowshoes again. They sucked. Our friends on skiis had it made.

If your an intermediate (or better) skier... take the skiis.

From: Dagmar Wabnig, 2/14/1997

I have done it in May and it was far better to go with skis up to camp 14 .especially to go down was far better and faster

From: Dmitry Freitor, 2/14/1997

I used skis on Denali last year and I think it's a better choice. They allow you to move faster than snowshoes. Skis are better in deep snow; they are also better for glacier travel: skis would bridge over crevasses, while snowshoes won't. Of cource, if you never done any downhill skiing, descent may be troublesom, but in no degree do you have to be a skiing expert to be able to get down.

From: Andrew McLean, 3/31/1998

Functioning skins are essentially for a Denali trip. I used a set that had a front steel bail, then sewed a thin nylon loop on right behind the heel piece (AT set-up) that connected to the heel/tail with a fastex buckle. It's kind of hard to explain, as well as get on and off, but it's really bomber once you do. The advantage of this set-up is that it supports the skins at the mid-point as well as at the tips/tails. The disadvantage is that it's hard to get on/off, but on Denali you might go for days without taking your skins off.

Before you go, make sure you put a fresh coat of glue on, as well as a light coat of silicon on the hair, as it can get very hot and caking skins is a major problem.

If you are pulling a sled, you'll be putting a lot more force on your skins, so it's a good idea to really have them buffed out.

From: George Bell, 2/13/1997

I would suggest skis, but some skiing skill is necessary. The other factor is that in deep snow a sled usually pulls better behind a wide snowshoe track. My experience ahead of a sled in a ski track is that those cheap plastic sleds often are often flipped by the narrow track. So unless you are quite comfortable on skis, I'd suggest snowshoes.

The third option (not really serious) would be to take neither. When I climbed Denali, we did this. But this was only because we were doing a traverse, didn't want to have to carry them over the top. It worked out OK becasue we didn't have a huge dump but is not recommended if you are going up and down the W Butt ...

From: Russ Schwartz, 2/13/1997

Having used both snowshoes and skiing, I tailor the choice to my goal. If it's to ski the mountain, then I try everything to minimize weight to make the skiing more enjoyable. If my main objective is to climb the peak,(then for me) shoesnowing is the preferred option. Of course there are moments when I wish I was on skis because the conditions are primo; but far more often conditions suck for skiing with a heavy pack. [I've never pulled a sled, so my comments do not extend to that] On some trips we've had a mixture of snowshoes and skis - in general, the snowshoer's had an easier time.

From: Brutus of Wyde, 2/19/1997

On the lower Kahiltna, skis and snowshoes work equally well. Let's face it: with a 60-pound pack, towing a 35 pound sled, on an almost flat glacier, it's a trudge.

From Motorcycle Hill upwards, it is easy to stand in envious frustration as skiers swoop with apparent effortless abandon down slopes which will take your snowshod team hours of plodding.

Our team used snowshoes. Reasoning: negotiating any kind of a turn, while roped, wearing a moderately heavy pack [let's say 45 pounds] and towing a sled [let's call it 25 pounds] and braking the sled of the team member in front of you, is a recipe for disaster between 11,000 feet and 14,500 feet, unless your entire team is expert at skiing. Often the snow is packed through here. Often it is not. [Translation: this can be posthole country]

[When I say expert at skiing, This is my definition -- Ski roped down an intermediate slope off-piste with a 45 pound pack for a half hour, either towing a 25-pound sled or carrying one on your lap, without falling or jerking your team-mates off their feet. You're definitely ready to use skis on Denali. Have fun. I'll be the one standing enviously on the snowshoes, watching you swoop, glide and turn. Of course, if you're willing to go unroped on the Kahiltna things are considerably simpler, until the airlift of the body bag.]

Personally, in deep powder, the steeper the slope the more I prefer skis for ascent and snowshoes for descent. This when carrying a heavy [technical winter mountaineering -- 70+ pounds] pack for a multi-day outing.

As Russ said, YMMV.

Should we buy, build, or borrow a sled? [back to top] [FAQ contents][Mountaineering FAQ]

From: Armin, 5/11/1995

Get them from the company that you fly in with. They usually supply them at no extra cost and they keep them at base camp so you won't have to spend a bunch of money flying them in and out. They're pretty basic but they have worked for thousands of climbers. Of course if you have way too much money you can buy a special sled and fly it in... but I found the ones they supply adequate. Bring some extra cord for rigging them though. 30 feet of 6mm. cord should do the trick.

From: Alex, 5/13/1999

Whatever you do, dont buy the deluxe model! All the air taxi services provide cheap sleds at Kahiltna base. They are beat, but serviceable. Dont bother with your own, but you may want to buy a cheap toboggan plastic sled and practice packing it and pulling it through snow. Learning how to pack a sled will be a good skill for you when you go into the range

From: rbmack, 5/13/1999

The ones you get there are pieces of crap, but entirely adequate. Not worth the effort of making your own or buying a fancy one.

From: Robert Williams, 1/27/2000

I've done a lot of mountaineering in the NW and just don't see a big need for sleds. I may do another expedition style climb sometime in the future but for now my memory of sleds lingers on like a painful, oozing sore.

We did the sandwich thing too and it worked great. But it still sucked when traversing to have the sled suddenly start sliding down the hill and yanking you off your feet or over on your skis. Our load was not high on the sled--as a matter of fact, our sled was generally nothing more than food and fuel tightly bundled into the bottom of the sled.

When you go to Denali, Mike, I suggest bringing your own sled with rigid poles. We tried to configure a rigid pole system (a la Rock and Ice tech tips) and it sucked. Total waste of time. The only respite we found from wrestling with the pig was to keep the rope between me and my partner pretty tight. Also, a prussik on the back of the sled to the rope linking you and your partner helped keep the sled tracking correctly.

From: Rockrat, 1/27/2000

My personal experiences with sleds do have a basis on height...the load height not the mules height. It seems that every time I get a little lax and let my load creep up instead of taking the time and keeping it as low in the sled as possible I am hating life. With a high load the sled is constantly tipping over or extremely unmanageable. If the load has to be high then I would suggest keeping the heaviest items on the bottom. Another thing that we always have problems with is the width of the load. the ski track is usually somewhat narrow and anything that hangs or even pokes out under the snow line drags and generally forces the sled to ride up on the walls of the trail and flip. I got so frustrated on one trip I actually tied two sleds together so the entire load was sandwiched in-between the two. It worked surprisingly well. Even when it was riding on its side it pulled fairly well. I haven't done a lot with one this year but I have a few ideas on what I would consider the perfect sled for me, and it would be a bit longer and a bit narrower than the ones I've been using and I'd like a hard shell top of some sort that hinges. A back braking mechanism of some sort that would double as a rudder would also be nice. Even with solid poles connecting you to the sled the downhill aspect is sometimes really frustrating.

From: Manny Freitas, 1/27/2000

The idea is to keep the load not much higher than the rim of the sled. My sled never tipped over.

For about $5 I bought a piece of 1" angled aluminum which I cut into 2 11/2ft long pieces and drilled some holes. Then I bolted these to the bottom of the sled. Kinda like two keels that kept it from sliding sidways.

I also used 2 plastic electrical insulation pipes, though which I threaded the nylon rope used to pull the sled. The rope was tied to "keychain" binners for easy clipping/unclipping.

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