I've seen several blogs/posts by climbing teams on Denali that hire this real smart weather guy from, I think Colorado. You arrange communication with him before your trip, and then on the mountain, he gets real accurate projections for the best weather window, etc. I can't seem to find the blog/post that mentions his name. I'm putting a Team together for June, 2017, and need his beta. Does anybody know this guy or, know who might be able to help me contact him? Or, does anybody have good experience with another such person like I've described? Thanks for your help!

You may want to try contacting John Frieh http://www.johnfrieh.com/. John is the master of the 'smash and grab' style of alpinism, having pulled off an astounding list of impressive climbs in Alaska using very accurate forecasting to make very quick trips from Seattle to Seattle. I'm sure he can hook you up with the forecasting he uses.

zachman wrote:I've seen several blogs/posts by climbing teams on Denali that hire this real smart weather guy from, I think Colorado. You arrange communication with him before your trip, and then on the mountain, he gets real accurate projections for the best weather window, etc.

So, do you use a satellite phone to contact him? $$$

Puma concolor wrote:If you're not already aware, Denali Base Camp on the Kahiltna (Lisa Roderick, I believe) puts out a weather report every night at the same time. Any team with the right radio frequency can tune in for the upper mountain and lower mountain conditions as well as a two or three day forecast. Gets followed up with a nightly trivia question that is a lot of fun for anyone who is listening.

Basecamp Lisa (Paul Roderick's sister (owner of Talkeetna Air Taxi) and wife of Mark 'King of the Kahiltna' Westman (Denali climbing ranger and most experienced AK Range climber out there) was base camp manager in the past. Not sure about this upcoming season though, as Mark is dealing with cancer. Hopefully he will be fine and both will return to the mountain.

At any rate, yes, the basecamp manager transmits forecasts, but you need a radio to listen to them, which is a good idea to have any way.