navigate_next navigate_next navigate_before 11,000' Camp 11,000' Camp is where the approach ends and the climbing begins. You have officially stepped off the Kahiltna and onto the West Buttress. This is the camp where you typically trade in those snowshoes (we know, you’ll miss them!) and ski poles for crampons and an ice axe.

This is also the camp where you might wake up with a headache, and where the largeness of Denali makes itself known. The bulk of the West Buttress towers above you and you can see almost to the North Summit, impossibly far away. Be sure to reacquaint yourself with your spiky friends, review your French Technique, and visualize how to dance your way efficiently up Motorcycle Hill. Rest step, anyone? navigate_next navigate_before Altitude But in all seriousness, this the place to start watching yourself for signs of altitude sickness and up your self-care. A headache is not a deal breaker. Pound some water, pop a couple ibuprofen, and maybe have an extra cuppa Joe as a remedy (as if we needed another reason to consume more coffee on the mountain), or pick up a shovel and get your heart pumping. You’ll feel better with a higher respiratory rate. If your symptoms are more serious, or your headache doesn't go away with hydration and ibuprofen, don’t be afraid to take a rest day at this camp.

With a conservative rate of ascent, such as 1,000'-1,500' per day, most climbers don't suffer from altitude illness. But, while Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) can present at lower elevations, 11,000' Camp is where we typically start to see it when it does show up. navigate_next navigate_before 11,000' Camp Craft Crevasse hazard should be considered high throughout this camp. Probe your site well and wand the perimeter clearly. A friend stepped out of the boundary I'd probed and dropped armpit deep into what turned out to be a 100-plus foot crevasse, literally a foot outside the probed area!

Rarely do you need to cut snow blocks and build walls at 11,000' Camp. The camp is in a basin that drains to the west, so many camps are on a slope. As you dig into the slope to make tent platforms, you often end up with a wall of snow on the uphill, eastern side of your tent. This protects from winds screaming down from Windy Corner, but can lead to tents drifting in, so be prepared to shovel during a stormy night. navigate_next navigate_before Seracs The photo in this slide is of some of the massive seracs, or ice cliffs, that border the southern side of the 11,000' basin. These regularly calve off blocks the size of houses that can tumble across the basin. It's best to camp north of center in the basin to avoid these monsters. navigate_next navigate_before Motorcycle Hill Strap on your crampons and grab an axe, because this is where the climbing starts! Immediately out of camp, the 1,000' Motorcycle Hill climbs up moderate snow. Bust out your best French Technique for an hour up the hill and you'll find some decent spots to rest just above it.

Be heads up, as there are often crevasses lurking under the start of the slope, and a few others occasionally present themselves higher up. Avalanches can sweep the climbing route from climber's right, and one swept a descending rope team into a crevasse years ago, with tragic results.

Skiers can generally find some great turns down Motorcycle Hill! Pay attention to where you might have suspicion of crevasses on your uphill and plan accordingly for the down. navigate_before Alpine Lines Climbing up above Motorcycle Hill you'll pass some amazing alpine walls. The massive one on the far side of the Peters Glacier is the famous Father and Son’s Wall. First climbed by Steve House (perhaps you know him as the one who devised your Denali training plan with Uphill Athlete?) and Eli Helmuth in 1995 via the route “First Born” with 20-pound packs. It’s a stunning feature with some excellent climbing history. Something to daydream about!

Routes have been put up on some of the couloirs dropping down off the West Buttress, and the West Buttress Direct climbs up from Windy Corner on good granite and up steep snow.