Making Progress

Rob & Forest called from 18,800 feet to say they have good weather and the team is making progress toward the summit. They are seeing the beautiful rocks that jut out along the way.
The Mountain is mostly a pluton of granite, lava that built up under the surface of the earth. After it solidified, it got pushed up as the Pacific Plate goes crunching under the North American Plate. Voila', the Alaska Range and the highest point in North America! As it got pushed up, it took layers of rock with it, including ocean sediment that now sits way up there overlooking the rest of the continent.
This pic is from Tom Torkelson's expedition earlier this season. Rob's team is above here, also called the Weather Station. They are about 600 feet above Denali Pass and moving up. There is another team up there enjoying this awesome day with them.
Rob says it is "splitter" up there! That's climber-speak for "awesome", a bluebird day! They are not affected by the haze and the wind has calmed. It's about 85 degrees F here in town!
He said they'll likely call Colby late tonight with an update.
I passed everyone's greetings along!

Cheers,
Julia