Denali summit camera

Hello everyone, we're wondering if your smartphone worked on the summit of Denali (and on an extremely cold day?). This will be our first attempt, and I've been perusing the internet for reassurance that a smartphone will work (keeping warm in an inner jacket pocket) and haven't found much. Thanks for your input! 

there is a good deal of information on how lithium batteries hold up in the cold. Freedom of the Hills has a few paragraphs / a page or two dedicated to batteries and personal devises.

My personal experience in extreme cold is; phones dont hold up well unless kept warm. Sorta like a bic lighter.  if kept warn and taken out for a very brief period of time the phone should be good for some pictures. 

Thank you, Alexander. I hadn't thought of checking Freedom of the Hills. My 9th edition's Table 2-7 is reassuring: Li-ION performance at -40F is 50%. 

What are the majority of folks trusting their (hopeful) summit photos to: smartphones or digital/point&shoot/compact cameras?

Biggest issue with the phone camera in the cold is handling it with gloves on. I’ve had my phone camera work just fine in -40f so long as I keep it close to my body and only take it out for quick moments. But dealing with a touch screen with big gloves is a pain. A small point and shoot is easier to handle (still not amazing with little buttons, but easier). If I have my camera in the cold I typically preset everything when it’s warm, then just use the power and shutter buttons once I’m out. Sometimes condensation is an issue with phones and cameras when they’re too close to your body, so having a plan to manage that moisture can be important. I like to keep it a layer off my base layer and that seems to do okay. Like a puffy pocket rather than the R1.

A small point and shoot also typically does better with shooting in snow as you can usually set your metering at +2/3 or so to account for the increased reflectivity of snow. 

I have a dedicated camera that I use for photos that uses a Li-Ion battery. I also have a backup battery for it. It lives in its own LowePro case. On cold days it lives inside my parka. I can operate with gloves on as the on/off, zoom, a shuttle are mechanical. I would not trust a smart phone as I value my fingers too much.

Thanks Matt for the input. Good point about big gloves. I wouldn't want to be in a situation where I was considering freezing my fingers/taking off mitts just to get the smartphone to take a picture. What point and shoot camera works for you in the extreme cold? Thanks much for the tip about metering, that's not my forte.

EDIT: Thanks Allen! Your message just came through. What camera? I'm super interested.

I’ve summited Denali a number of times with various cheap cameras and older iPhones. On more recent trips (stopped guiding Denali in 2018) I was also using my phone for navigation. On summit day, I’d keep my phone in a breast pocket and plugged into a small Goal-zero battery. The phone would do fine during short stints in the cold while plugged into the battery. If the weather is good enough to summit, you’ll be willing to snap a quick shot with thin gloves on.

Take pictures every day because it’s common to never get a chance to summit. Take more pictures than you think; it’s a beautiful place with wonderful people all around.

Jennifer Zuber wrote:

EDIT: Thanks Allen! Your message just came through. What camera? I'm super interested.

Welcome. My camera is a bit dated. But look at something like the Panasonic LUMIX LX10 or Lumix LX100II.

Nice, thanks for your input Nick. 

I have these cameras. The Olympus Tough TG-5 unfortunately stopped taking nice pictures a few years ago - they became washed out (and resetting to original factory settings didn't fix it). The Lumix is a hand-me-down that I haven't used. It says Panasonic DMC-ZS15. With everyone's helpful/experienced input, I'm going to take the Smartphone and Lumix as a back-up. Thanks you guys!

Summit from this past June 2024 taken with my iPhone, wind chill was around -50°F and the limitation was taking a glove off. I genuinely had about 10 seconds of exposed skin time and got 2 single pictures total on top but the phone worked fine. Kept it close to skin inside the layers in a chest pocket and got a few other pics and videos on the way up and down from 14 to the top

Tanner! Now that's some beta. Massive congrats, what a view

Jennifer Zuber wrote:

Tanner! Now that's some beta. Massive congrats, what a view

Thanks! Shoot me a message if you have any specific questions 

Matt Z wrote:

A small point and shoot also typically does better with shooting in snow as you can usually set your metering at +2/3 or so to account for the increased reflectivity of snow. 

I changed the metering to the +2/3 on the Lumix and do notice a difference. Appreciate the instruction, thanks again

Follow-up question. We have two "NITECORE Summit 20000 Power Bank, 20,000mAh for Low Temperature". And we just ordered a "Jackery SolarSaga 40W Mini Solar Panel". Do you think the two NITECOREs are sufficient for 2 people, each using a smartphone and inReach Mini, on the West Buttress route? Thanks

Yes I had 2 10k Ah batteries and a big blue 28w panel which was more than sufficient for a phone, inreach, and a very old iPad we brought. Make sure you take advantage of any sun to charge up the battery banks because if it’s sunny you’re probably moving and if it’s not you’re sitting in a tent 

Jennifer Zuber wrote:

Follow-up question. We have two "NITECORE Summit 20000 Power Bank, 20,000mAh for Low Temperature". And we just ordered a "Jackery SolarSaga 40W Mini Solar Panel". Do you think the two NITECOREs are sufficient for 2 people, each using a smartphone and inReach Mini, on the West Buttress route? Thanks

I would hope so ... do realize that newer iPhones have sat connection so the inReach might be moot.

iPhones will be fine. Keep them in a pocket for some warmth, and keep them plugged into a battery bank as much as possible. They’ll take excellent photos. The new iPhones have a side button that work with cases, that open the camera and take photos. Don’t even need to take off some gloves unless you’re looking to manipulate zoom or modes. In NH older iPhones were always fine even in ambient temps of -30s with the above method I suggested

Rick Charity wrote: The new iPhones have a side button that work with cases, that open the camera and take photos. 

Check. That side button is great. And yes, don't they take amazing photos!

Thanks Tanner for the specifics of your experience. I'm reassured.