MT. BLACKBURN
MOUNTAINEERING
Multi Day
- Ski
Climb the king of the Wrangells
Towering over the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska with irresistible allure, Mt. Blackburn (16,390ft) is the tallest peak in the remote Wrangell Mountain range and the 5th tallest peak in the US! Since the true summit was reached in 1958, less than 50 parties have climbed the mountain. The wild nature of the route challenges climbers with exposure, steep snow and ice, wicked storms, over 8,000 vertical feet of climbing, and extended pushes with limited space for camping on the high, thin, and exposed ridge. A feat of epic proportions, a successful ascent rewards climbers with some of the longest views in the state and the serious bragging rights at having tackled this untamed heavyweight of Alaska big-mountain climbing.
- Most successful commercial ascents in history
- Wilderness-style climbing tests experienced mountaineers
- Complex Alaskan expdition logistics made easy
- High latitude means stronger effects of high altitude
- Great preperation for Amadablam or Manaslu
- 5th tallest peak in the US!
Trip Details
Elevation
16,390′
Expedition Length
12 days
Total Mileage
14mi
Total Elevation Gain/Loss
8,000′
Max Group Size
6
Difficulty
Alaska Grade 2+
Rates:
Private Solo
$19,900
Private 2 Participants
$12,250/person
Group
$8,380/person
Group Trip Dates:
May 2-13, 2023
Private Trips with custom dates may be available. Schedule a call with our Expedition Coordinator to plan your Private Trip today!
The following is a sample itinerary for our Mt. Blackburn Alaska Mountaineering trip. Due to individual abilities and goals, as well as the strong environment swings of Alaska, all of our trips are customized as they unfold. Your guide will fluidly make decisions based on weather, conditions, logistics, safety, and group dynamics to maximize each day’s experience. There can be quite a bit of variation, but we always strive to make every trip your best ever!
Sat, April 29th
Sun, April 30th
Mon, May 1st
Sat, May 2nd
Fly out directly North, passing over the striated Kennicott Glacier and the endless icefalls making up the skyline. Landing at about 7,000’ on the Nabesna Icefield, you’ll set up your basecamp and make your plan to start the ascent tomorrow.
Navigating up a crevasse-ridden glacier, you’ll gain the NW ridge of Mt. Blackburn at 9,800′ and set up the Ridge Camp there. The next section of climbing to 13,000′ is heavily featured and ever-changing as ferocious winds carve away at the ridge of the vast massif. Requiring steep snow climbing with exposure, this is the most technically challenging portion of the climb! You’ll make an intermediary camp in this zone before reaching your highest camp at 13,500′. The summit is still 3,000′ and 2mi away, but the terrain here is the easiest so far, gentle slopes to the top! This summit push requires a lot of energy and a solid weather window as you are quite exposed, so extra days are built-in for weather, acclimatization, and rest.
Reverse the route for the descent and make your way back to your basecamp.
Sat, May 13th
Sun, May 14th
- Customized trip planning
- Van transportation to and from Anchorage*
- Lodging in our historic bunkrooms*
- Two 30min scenic bush flights to and from the Nabesna Icefield
- An orientation day at headquarters and group packing
- Your professional guide(s)
- All the food on the expedition and in McCarthy
- Group gear (ropes, sleds, cookware, fuel, tents, etc)
*Upgrades to more comfortable lodging or bush plane transport may be available.
What’s not included?
- Gratuities
- Personal camping and climbing gear
- Lodging and logistics in Anchorage
- Trip insurance (required)
Easy peasy! This trip is run as a Trip Package so logistics are included and taken care of! You’ll get picked up in Anchorage and brought to McCarthy where you can stay at our historic HQ bunkrooms, sleeping on the same bunks that held many of the first explorers of this Park! Food is included and provided by your guides while in McCarthy and out in the backcountry. Upon return, your guide will stoke up the sauna for you and tuck you into bed in the bunkrooms again, providing a ride back to Anchorage the next morning. Upgrades to more comfortable lodging or transport logistics are available.
The more climbing experience you have prior to climbing Mt. Blackburn, the more comfortable and safe you will be, and the better chance you will have of summiting. This is an advanced climb that requires a dedicated training regime. The mountain is too severe to be learning some skills for the first time. The following is required of every climber:
- All climbers are required to submit a climbing resume
- Several steep mountaineering climbs that required roped glacier travel, extended winter snow camping, and the extensive use of an ice axe and crampons in exposed locations
- Some examples include – Mt. Bona, Mt. Bear, Casaval Ridge route on Mt. Shasta, West Buttress route on Denali, Ptarmigan Ridge route on Mt. Rainier, Cho Oyu
- Familiarity climbing knots, rope handling, and belaying
- Extensive preparatory training and excellent fitness are required
GALLERY
GET IN TOUCH
WITH AN EXPEDITION
COORDINATOR!
FAQ
A unique grading system to help decipher the remote, cold, stormy nature of Alaskan climbing. It is important to remember that even Grade 1 may involve climbing on snow and glaciers in remote locations and cold weather.
Grade 1 - Single day, easy glacier route
Objectives up to 8-11,000’ with prominence of up to 3000’
Intro to Mountaineering Course, Chugach Backcountry Ski Basecamp
Grade 2 - Long day or multi-day, non-technical, but exposed to knife-edged ridges, weather, and high-altitude
Mt. Bear, Mt. Sanford, Mt. Bona
Grade 2+ (the + signfies increased technicality)
Mt. Blackburn, Mt. Steller
Grade 3 - Multi-day hard to difficult, with sustained technical climbing
University Peak
Grade 5 - Multiday sustained hard climbing over several thousand vertical feet requiring high commitment
Mt. St. Elias
Some of our mountaineering and ski expeditions, especially the objective-based trips, require participants to submit a climbing resume. A climbing resume lists out your relevant outdoor and climbing experience. We use these to get to know you a little better and to make sure you are signing up on a trip of an appropriate level for everyone’s safety and enjoyment.
This does not have to be a formal document with fancy letterhead, there is no particular format to follow and as long as the info is there, you can email this to us at any time. You can include mountaineering expeditions, rock climbs, ice climbs, alpine climbs, scrambles, and traverses – you can definitely include attempts that didn’t quite make it, but please make that clear in your notes and why. The important details to include about each outing are the name of the area or mountain, the route name, the difficulty rating, the month and year you did it, and your role on the team (was it a solo attempt, where you guided by a professional, were you guiding a group of friends?). You may choose to include other details about your climbs like the distance or elevation gained, how the climb felt to you (was it super easy or were you at your limit?), or anything remarkable that happened during the outing. It can also be helpful to know a little about your general fitness and outdoor experience so you can include information on your workout habits or other relevant athletic feats (extended backpacking trips you’ve been on or how many miles you run a week, for example).
We will review your resume and may have follow-up questions and from there we’ll be able to advise you as to which expedition is best for you!
Likely, at some point or another, at least a little bit, yes.
On a Rafting Trip, you can help the guides unload the boats, set up camp, and carry your dry bag(s) to your tent nearby. After breakfast, you can help take down camp and load up the boats.
On a Basecamp Hiking Trip, you will need to carry your gear about 5-20min from the backcountry airstrip to set up camp at the beginning of the trip and then pack up and carry it back to the airstrip at the end. Throughout the trip you will hike with a small day pack – this is usually 5-15lbs.
On a Basecamp mini-Backpacking Trip you will need to carry all your gear between the airstrip and your camp, which will be 1-3mi away. This means at least 2 one-way trips with the big backpack (usually 30-40lbs). After setting up camp you will enjoy day-hikes with a much lighter day pack (usually 5-15lbs).
On a Backpacking Trip, you will move camp almost every night and will need to carry everything you need with you. For a trip up to 4 days in length, you can expect packs in the 35-45lb range and for trips in the 6-8 day range, please be prepared for weights closer to 45-50lbs. The burly gear that is required for the Alaskan backcountry isn’t very light so forget “ultralite” and think heavy-duty!
For all Basecamping and Backpacking Trips, the pack weight will really depend on what you bring, so we do recommend having a minimalist mindset. In addition to your own gear, we will be giving you a bear canister full of food and supplies, potentially another item like a fuel canister or a stove, and maybe a part of a tent if you’re not bringing your own (we recommend sharing tents to save weight). Your guides are weight-conscious packers and will never burden you unnecessarily. It’s likely that over the course of the trip you’ll be able to start adding your own things into the bear canister and your pack should get lighter as you eat your food and use supplies.
If you would really like to do a Point-to-Point Backpacking Trip but are concerned about the pack weight, we also offer Porter services. Porters cannot take your entire pack for you, but they can help alleviate your pack weight significantly and offer other assistance as an assistant guide on the trip.
On our objective-based Mountaineering Expeditions, you will be required to carry all your own gear and some group gear between camps. Depending on the terrain, you may bring sleds with you for all or some of the route. Depending on the route, you may do stretches of the route multiple times, caching gear as you go, so you may not always have the full weight of all your equipment with you at all times. At maximum, you can expect weights of 80-160lbs to be split between a backpack and a sled and at minimum a 30lb bag for single-day excursions.
