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It’s not just you, the air is much thinner up here! Moving up the Ridge is one of the toughest days on a West Buttress climb, and the 17,200' elevation makes it tough to simply tie your boots, so don't let your panting freak you out—it's just science.
Due to Denali's high latitude, there is about half the oxygen in a lungful of air than you'd have at sea level. Your body needs O2 to make energy, so your ability to do work just takes a bit longer at this elevation.
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Conditions at 17,200' Camp can vary wildly. Even if you're graced with a clear, mild day on your move up to High Camp, it's important to build snow walls to fortify your camp. We've seen winds scour walls built from 20-30 pound blocks of snow. Double- or even triple-thick walls are not overkill up here.
Cutting blocks one time back in the '90s, we'd finished cutting our first row when the first block we started to remove fell down and out of sight! Our first thought was CREVASSE, but it turned out to be an old snow cave. That was pretty exciting.
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Most mortals will benefit from a rest day after moving up to High Camp. Unless your team is exceptionally strong, it's probably best to plan for a rest day and only veer from that plan for compelling reasons. You'll not only feel more rested, but you'll gain additional acclimatization as well.
The 2021 season saw a handful of individuals and teams attempt the summit from 14,200'. Some of those attempts resulted in rescues. The upper mountain of Denali demands respect and unless you're fully acclimatized, and super strong, please don't even consider a shot from 14,000' Camp.