Denali 2011 Returns Victorious!

(photo courtesy of Aaron Divine)

Exactly a month after their departure from NOLS Alaska, the 2011 Denali Mountaineering course returned to the branch as a proud and victorious bunch. With a combined total of 450+ weeks in the field, instructors Aaron Divine, John Stoddard, and Brian Kasavana led the young expedition of 9 students up the mighty mountain.

Athabaskan for “The High-One”, Denali reaches into the sky at a staggering height of 20,327 ft. Thankfully, the experience of the instructors as well as the students in this all-alumni group gave them the edge to conquer Denali’s toughest challenges. After 28 days on the Muldrow route, all 12 members reached the Southern Summit. Instructor, Aaron Divine recalled that while the views were not expansive due to cloud coverage at 14, 000 ft, the mild winds and relatively warm temperature of 0˚F made for a great summit day.

To add to the glory of their success, this year’s Denali Mountaineering course was the first group to break trail up to the summit after a heavy snowfall, giving them a unique opportunity to enjoy the summit’s splendor unaccompanied by any other expedition groups. From all of us here at NOLS Alaska, congratulations to the graduates of Denali 2011, we can’t to see what mountains you’ll climb next!