Denali Team 6: June 5 to June 25 Dispatch #12 Summit Reached!

Denali Team 6: June 5 to June 25

Guides: Aidan Loehr, Andrew Yasso, and Erin Smart

Climbers: Simon Thomas Gower (Australia), Richard Van Der Sprenkel (UK), Alan Laidlaw (UK), Anna Koufos-Slade (Virginia), Chok Lin Lui (Australia), Kevin Fourie (South Africa), Luke Richmond (Thailand), and Bill Strycharz (Oregon).

Aidan called at 7:05pm Alaska time on Saturday, June 17th with this dispatch:

Hey everyone.  This is Aidan calling from the summit of Mount McKinley / Denali at 705pm.  Erin and I are here with four very happy climbers, Bill, Luke, Alan, and Simon.

Richard and Chok are resting today and will try tomorrow weather permiting.  Everyone is in good shape – all the effort considered – and we are very glad to be here!  We’re going to take our time heading back to camp. 

Conditions are good, but we are going to be super cautious.  Too many people tend to get hurt on the way down.  So we’re going to take it slow and steady and enjoy ther views.  We’ve been in touch with high camp by radio, and we know that Andrew is going to have hot drinks and dinner ready for us when we get back. 

OK, that’s it for now.  Everyone sends an enthusiastic hello to family and friends back home from the top of Denali!”