Hey there Mountain Zone cybernauts, this is Vern Tejas with Alpine Ascents Denali expedition known as Dalai Lamas.

The Dalai Lamas are now located at 9,500 feet above sea level on the Kahiltna Glacier just below the Kahiltna Pass. We've been blessed with several days of clear skies and very calm winds; however, now the clouds are starting to move in, it's starting to look ominous.

We also had hazy smoke from a forest fire blowing up our way today and we are getting concerned about the possibility of getting trapped here in the Kahiltna Pass. So tomorrow we are planning a dastardly escape up to camp 3 at 11,000 feet and hopefully we'll avoid getting trapped in the natural... between Mount Foraker and Mount McKinley, the two highest points in Alaska.

So the team seems to be doing very well. They seem to be jelling as if someone set them up with gelatin and basically they're complaining about the high-quality food we've just kept force feeding them with.

So with that in mind we're going to say goodbye and we may not see you for a couple days because 11,000 doesn't have very good coverage. Cheers and ciao for now.

— Vern Tejas, Alpine Ascents International Guide and MountainZone.com Correspondent