Five climbers are celebrating the latest successful 65 Degrees North (65DN) expedition.
The military veterans made it to the top of 20,310ft (6,190m) Mount Denali in Alaska after an exhausting and at times frustrating climb.
A vicious storm trapped the team in camp high up on the mountain for two days, but a break in the weather allowed them to make their bid for the summit, where they captured their victory on film and shared the image on social media via Inmarsat.
Inmarsat is a committed communications sponsor of 65DN, which was set up to rehabilitate wounded ex-servicemen and women through adventure. For the Denali expedition, we provided the climbers and their support team with an IsatPhone 2 satellite phone, an IsatHub terminal to use with their own smart devices, and an ultra-portable Explorer 510 BGAN terminal.
Throughout the three-week expedition the team posted regular updates and had their morale boosted by being able to read messages of support. Ahead of their push up to the highest camp, expedition leader Richard Morgan posted: “We have been training for the next phase and the challenging headwall, which will need some effort, as at present it looks icy on the fixed lines – so axes, crampons, harnesses, ascenders and lots of other kit to hopefully get us to the start of Washburns Thumb and then onto High Camp.
“Conditions on the mountain have meant people have not been able to move between camps until late last night due to high winds and heavy snowfall. Morale is good, the food has been outstanding and everyone is ready to go!”
65 Degrees North Team celebrating on the Mount Denali summit
