How long does it take to climb Denali?

About three weeks. A successful climb of the West Buttress lasts about 18 days on average, from the flight onto the Kahiltna Glacier to the flight back, and most guided expeditions are sold as 17 to 21 days. To give yourself a real chance of the summit, plan for three to four weeks and keep the dates after it flexible.

Why it takes so long

Denali is climbed expedition style. You pull a sled and carry a heavy pack, and on the upper mountain you carry each load up twice: once to cache it higher, once to move camp. That cache-and-carry rhythm is also how you acclimatize, so the days are not wasted. Then there is the weather: storms can pin a team in its tents for days, at camps where the night can reach minus 40 degrees.

I climbed to the summit once in 11 days and another time in 13, so shorter is possible. But in both cases we brought 3-4 weeks of supplies, and planned our flights accordingly. It's better to have a few spare days to spend visiting beautiful Alaska, than having to abort your climb because work at home is waiting.

When to go

The season starts in early May, most successful summit bids are made in June, and most teams are off the mountain some time in July, before the crevasses open and the snow bridges collapse. In June the daylight lasts almost around the clock, so a summit day does not have to race the dark.

Days you cannot plan

The flight from Talkeetna to base camp only goes in clear weather, and so does the flight back. A team can wait in town at the start, or on the glacier at the end, for several days. Book your flights home with that in mind.

The stages of the West Buttress, camp by camp, are in our guide, starting with Getting to Kahiltna Base Camp, and the load-carrying system is explained in The cache-and-carry system. What it all costs is in How much does it cost to climb Denali?