Photos: Basecamp on North America's tallest mountain

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Denali basecamp, at 7,200 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier, was a flurry of activity early in the season, as climbers waited for the perfect weather window to start their climb up Mount McKinley, North America's highest peak. May 15, 2013

Welcome to Kahiltna base camp, the starting point for most assaults on the 20,320-foot summit of Mount McKinley in the heart of Alaska. On a clear day, North America's tallest mountain looms above the mountaineers camped along the seasonal airstrip here and the throngs of tourists who fly in oggle the climbers and admire the scenery.

The latter end their day back in Talkeetna sitting down to dinner and drinks. The former start theirs with the beginning of a long, two-week to 20-day trudge along a ski- and snowshoe-packed trail that works its way camp by camp upward for a dozen miles along the Kahilta and then around the rocky face of Windy Corner to 14,200 feet.

It's at this elevation that the environment fundamentally changes. Below 14,200 feet, climbers are exposed to, and killed by, crevasse falls and rock slides. Above 14,200, the greatest danger looms. It's here that another community forms around a National Park Service ranger base and medical camp, where mountaineers prepare for the serious climbing ahead.

Rescuers stationed here hang out hoping nothing goes wrong. Usually something does go wrong; above 14,200 feet, climbers will find no compassion for human failings.

READ MORE: Glory or death await climbers hopeful to summit McKinley