Wind-battered Mount McKinley keeping climbers short of summit

Fierce winds battering the upper reaches of Mount McKinley in Alaska have made the early climbing season on North America’s tallest mountain an exercise in huddling up and waiting. Or turning back, Alaska Dispatch News reports. 

So far, according to a daily climbing report issued by Denali National Park, only one climber has “officially” reached the summit in 2015. That’s Lonnie Dupre, the Minnesotan who completed his record-setting solo winter ascent Jan. 11 after more than three weeks of climbing alone.

Typically, winter climbing is far more difficult and dangerous than in May, the heart of the season when up to 1,200 climbers aim for the summit.