Jeremy.0

Pair of Black Diamond Rage tools. One adze/one hammer. They have leashes that are removable if you don't want them. Still have plenty of climbing life in them-I just don't use them anymore and haven't for a while. Asking $75 for the pair OBO.

Potentially interested in sahale. Pm sent

I feel like just about any softshell would work. OR cirque pants and enchaintment jacket is what I took and pretty much lived in the entire trip, then added a light down jacket when it got cold and the big puffy jacket came out at 14 camp and above and the puffy pants on summit day. I put on my hardshell jacket once and never used hardshell pants. In general I'm a fan of softshell over hardshell in that they are just more comfortable in how they fit and are more forgiving to stuff like crampon point snags, plus they are usually cheaper to replace than goretex if you thrash them.

I agree with what they said. A night at Muir and moving up to IF the next day was the most enjoyable Rainier climb I have done. It shaves 1000 ft and at least an hour off the summit bid, which you can use to either sleep in a bit or get ahead of the crowds. It's never a bad thing to bring a shovel, but I have done it without having one and without much issue found a vacant tent platform on a busy summer weekend. no guarantees you can find a vacant one though.

I never have used the stiffer cord but have been told it's a little easier to slide when not loaded and releases a bit easier after being loaded.

Ditto to what others have said. I bought a GoPro specifically for Denali and i wish I would have put the money to upgrading my phone instead for pics and video. The newest ones might be an improvement over the one I have, but the sound was very muffled inside the waterproof case and footage super shaky, so most of the footage I took was not worth watching.

Cloud cover wasn't an issue. Even on cloudy days it would somewhat charge. The solar panel itself did okay, although it was small, but the little power pack that comes with was the issue. It had a male USB connector where you Unfolded it, and Then plug it to the female USB connector to the panel. The fold out male USB part it would frequently come out of contact and not charge (see middle image). It was brand new too, just a crappy design so It was just difficult to put on sled, pack, or on top of tent without it coming out of contact. The anker one just seemed more robust and we never had issues putting on sleds, etc.

I brought a small goal zero solar panel to keep the GoPro and phone charged. Worked for my purpose but was very finicky to get it to work. and A team mate bought one of the larger anker ones off Amazon (which I liked a lot better) for his phone and in-reach, which he was using a lot more electronics than I was.

Was looking to be cool and wet a couple months back with a la nina watch, but that has since shifted to a more normal outlook now.

It's been a while since I was up there but maybe halfway up pitch 2 on the far right there was a block that people would sling and use for a rappel anchor and even belay anchor. Using that It can be done in a total of 4 single raps. I recall the anchor being far from textbook, so maybe it has grown out of favor

This may not be your issue, but if your boots are wet at all on the outside, try coating them with Nikwax or something to add some water repellency to keep the outers dry so they breathe better. I only get blisters when the outside of my boot gets wet, even with a goretex boot. The goretex liner keeps the water from seeping in, but with a wet leather outer, the boot doesn't really breathe anymore since there is little to no gradient (difference in moisture content) from a damp foot to a saturated leather boot outer that is required for moisture transport to occur. Keeping the nikwak coating up has helped keep the outside of my boots dry, which in turn has cut down on pretty much all my blister issues. As will others suggestions about antiperspirants, sock changes, drying your boots, etc.

Permits aside, Colchuck could also be an option.

We climbed Dome a few weeks ago as part of the Ptarmigan Traverse, so I don't have experience following the "trail" uphill, only downhill. We never crossed the creek near there, and stayed on the north side From about 4600' down to Downey creek (best guess on the numbers, I could be way off) and did as you mentioned, staying in the trees as much as possible. I'd recommend doing that if at any point the trail disappears (it did several times for us) and the depths of slide alder hell looms ahead of you. Good luck.

Climbed it last year. Was back up in Alaska a month ago doing the tourist thing this time. Seeing Denali, talking with some climbers in passing, and seeing your recent pics kind of make me "miss the misery". Congrats!

If you don't have any experienced partners, then the Mountaineers or Washington Alpine Club both have basic classes which are popular (There's plenty of opinions out there you can google for better or worse out there; I'll just leave it at that). Most any guide service will offer some sort of basic program as well, which will cost more, but you'll have certified guides as instructors.