AMS Denali West Rib Expedition
Advanced (Alaska Grade III)
20,310′ / 6190 m
22 days
4 climbers : 2 guides
Custom Pricing (Contact AMS)
The West Rib ascends a direct line of 13,000 vertical feet up the south face of Denali to the summit ridge. The West Rib’s rating is several degrees harder than the West Buttress. The approach to the base of the route up the Northeast Fork presents many hazards, and AMS will only use it after a thorough scouting. If the approach is in poor condition, the expedition reroutes to the West Buttress to rejoin the West Rib at 16,300 feet. The West Rib is steep and exposed and requires expert crampon skills and clipping of protection while roped. It is a true climber’s route on Denali, with exposed camps and phenomenal views. The West Rib is an outstanding mountaineering challenge and an advanced-level expedition-style mountaineering experience.
History: Denali’s West Rib was climbed first in 1959 by Jackson Hole climbers Jake Breitenbach, Barry Corbet, Pete Sinclair, and Bill Buckingham. Their first ascent was a major milestone in North American mountaineering written up in the 1960 American Alpine Club Journal. Pioneering mountaineer Bradford Washburn described the route as “so continually steep and difficult, and so exposed to the full force of the southwesterly storms that none but the most uniformly experienced and powerful team of climbers should even think of attempting it.”
Advanced (Alaska Grade III)
20,310′ / 6190 m
22 days
4 climbers : 2 guides
Custom Pricing (Contact AMS)
Schedule
Contact us about custom options for your Denali West Rib expedition.
What's Included
- AMS professional mountain guides
- National Park Service mountaineering special use and entrance fees
- Base camp fee
- Roundtrip glacier flight
- Field food and fuel
- Group camping and climbing equipment (tents, ropes, snow/ice protection, kitchens), emergency supplies (maps/ GPS, radios, satellite phone; repair, trauma, and drug kits)
- Pre-rigged custom sleds
- 24/7 support during the expedition from AMS headquarters
- Knowledgeable advice for training, equipment and travel
- Camp area at AMS in Talkeetna, regular updates on social media during the expedition
- Copy of the book, Denali’s West Buttress: A Climber’s Guide by Colby Coombs
Advanced (Alaska Grade III)
20,310′ / 6190 m
22 days
4 climbers : 2 guides
Custom Pricing (Contact AMS)
The climb starts at Kahiltna Base and travels up the Kahiltna Glacier to the base of Ski Hill and the intersection of the Northeast Fork. Our next camp is “Safe” Camp in the Northeast Fork. After negotiating an ice fall, we establish camp in the bergshrund at the base of the Chicken Couloir. Using fixed lines, we climb the couloir and cache. The following day, we climb to 12,900’ and establish the Apex Camp. Climbing along the ridge, we establish the next camp in a bergshrund. Continuing along the ridge, the next good camp location is in a bergshrund at 16,300’. When the team is well-rested, and the route is in suitable climbing condition, we leave for the summit. Otherwise, a higher camp is established. Picking our way through the rock bands high on the south face of Denali is an awesome mountaineering experience. The West Rib proper ends at 19,300’ when we exit onto a large plateau called the Football Field. A final climb along the summit ridge leads to the top. Summit day can take up to 16 hours by the time we return to Camp. From our High Camp, we descend onto the West Buttress route at Basin Camp and return to Kahiltna Base via the West Buttress Route.
This itinerary is a rough guide. Our style on the mountain is flexible and will fluctuate on a 24 hour basis depending on conditions. With lucky weather, most expeditions return a day or two early. Un-flyable weather and/or storms at high camp may result in delays. It is possible at high camp for us to extend the length of the expedition and allow more time for those who wish to tough it out and who have a flexible schedule.
Day 1
1:00 p.m., meet at AMS: Orientation and gear check, with time to rent or purchase gear from the AMS store and to select and pack mountain lunches. 4:00 p.m. team NPS registration and orientation. You are free at 6:00 p.m. to enjoy the evening in Talkeetna.
Day 2
8:00 a.m., meet at AMS: Denali skills review, lunch at AMS; final packing, weighing, and loading gear for a 2:00 p.m. flight to 7,200 ft, Base Camp; distance: 60 miles, elevation gain: 6,850 ft.
Day 3
Base Camp to Ski Hill, 7,800 ft: Glacier travel and crevasse rescue drill, pack and single to 7,800 ft, Camp 1; distance: 5.5 miles, elevation gain: 600 ft.
Day 4
Carry to “Safe” Camp, 9,500 ft, distance: 6 miles, elevation gain: 1,700 ft.
Day 5
Move to “Safe” Camp, 9,500 ft, Camp 2, distance: 3 miles, elevation gain: 1,700 ft.
Day 6
Carry to Couloir Camp, 11,000 feet, distance: 3 miles, elevation gain: 1500 ft.
Day 7
Move to Couloir Camp, 11,000 feet, Camp 3, distance: 1.5 miles, elevation gain: 1,500 ft. Fix lines up the Chicken Cou-loir in the evening.
Day 8
Carry to 12,900 ft, distance: 1 mile, elevation gain: 1,900 ft.
Day 9
Move to the Rib, 13,900 ft, Camp 4, distance: 0.75 mile, ele-vation gain: 2,900 ft. Pick up cache, distance: .5 mile, elevation gain: 1,000 ft.
Day 10
Rest day / acclimatization / weather contingency day at 13,900 ft camp, Camp 4.
Day 11
Carry to the West Rib cut-off at 15,800 ft, distance: 1 mile, elevation gain: 1,900 ft.
Day 12
Move to Upper Ridge Camp, 16,300 ft, Camp 5, distance: 0.75 mile, elevation gain: 2,400 ft.
Days 13, 14, 15, 16,17,18,19
Summit days, weather contingency days, 20,310 ft, distance: 2.5+ miles, elevation gain: 4,000 feet.
Day 20
Descend to 14,200 ft, distance: 1 mile.
Day 21
Descend to Base Camp, 7,200 ft, distance: 11.25 miles.
Day 22
Fly back to Talkeetna.
Advanced (Alaska Grade III)
20,310′ / 6190 m
22 days
4 climbers : 2 guides
Custom Pricing (Contact AMS)
As an advanced climb, the Rib requires a dedicated training regime and a significant amount of prior climbing experience. The mountain is too severe to be learning some skills for the first time. Applicants should be in excellent physical condition and should have the following experience:
- Steep mountaineering climbs that required roped glacier travel, winter snow camping, and the extensive use of an ice axe and crampons.
- Experience at altitudes above 15,000′
- Technical winter climbing and winter travel experience for extended periods of time. This is essential training, since cold on Denali is a daily challenge.
- Familiarity with knots, rope coiling, and belaying with gloves and mittens
- Ability to arrest a fall on a steep icy snow slope with a pack
- Ability to use crampons with a 60-plus pound pack on slopes up to 40°. Some sections of the route require you to bend down and clip through running belays.
- Ability to clip through running belays efficiently
- Ability to move to high camp with a single load
A non-technical, high-altitude climb is a great way to train for the altitude. Our most prepared expedition members have taken a mountaineering course, climbed Denali’s West Buttress, and trained for a year or more before joining our West Rib expedition.
Advanced (Alaska Grade III)
20,310′ / 6190 m
22 days
4 climbers : 2 guides
Custom Pricing (Contact AMS)
Perfect trip, professionally guided, good organization and sense of humor!
— Elisabetta Pallavicini, Upper West Rib Expedition
The guides MADE the trip. The route was great, but the guides made it spectacular.
— Steve Gabbert, Denali Upper West Rib
Given the weather window, our guides put us on the summit perfectly. It would not have been possible without them.
— Fred McGuinness, Denali Upper West Rib
A first class operation — run locally by people who know the mountain.
— Si Matthies, Denali Upper West Rib
