In the summer of 2024 we are attempting to climb Denali via the West Rib or Upper West Rib Route. Between May 19th and June 13th we will be ascending the mountain, some of it on our own separate from the many guided groups that use the West Buttress route. The West Rib is an aesthetic, technical line given Alaska Grade IV. It diverts from the well-traveled West Buttress at the entrance to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and follows the prominent ridge that erects from the glacier below.
The West Rib courtesy of the American Mountain School
We will be attempting to climb Denali without the help of guides or fixed lines, being self reliant on this expedition. Both Adam and Ewan have experience on Denali from an attempt during the 2023 season with the National Outdoor Leadership School. Although unsuccessful it provided them invaluable insight into climbing Denali which was used throughout the planning process of this attempt. Since September 2023, the team has spent countless hours training and met weekly to discuss the logistics of the climb.
The first portion of the trip will be spent acclimating on the mountain following the West Buttress route to Camp 14. There we will evaluate the state of the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier by scouting and seeking the advice of the climbing rangers based at Camp 14. In past years, the Northeast Fork has proved impassible due to severe crevasse and avalanche hazard. If this is the case during our expedition, we will divert to the Upper West Rib from Camp 14 via the West Rib Cut-Off.
The schedule above is a best case scenario for each of the route options. Although, we recognize the odds of having the best case scenario during our time on the mountain are very slim—there will be storms that keep us in our tents or at least one of us will have a difficult time with the altitude. We scheduled multiple contingency days to combat these inevitable situations, which will increase our chances of a successful summit. We will climb in a hybrid expedition/alpine style. The first part of the trip will be done in expedition style ferrying loads to and from cache's with heavy packs and sleds while moving up the mountain. Once we gain the West Rib, we will climb in alpine style, leveraging the fast and light mentality to make quick progress on the upper mountain to its summit.
Route overview of Denali. Courtesy of Paul Roderick, Supertopo.