We received word that the June 4th team turned back during their summit bid today.  They made a hard push for the summit, but the weather was not in their favor and the decision was made to drop back to High Camp and wait for another shot at the top.

One Mountain Trip team did make the top, moving quickly through deteriorating weather.  Several other teams, including teams from other guide services had very difficult times today, with a number of climbers suffering frostbite in the extremely cold temperatures and windchill far below freezing.

Turning back is always a difficult decision.  After working so hard, gearing up and making the trek up and up, the call to keep going, despite inputs informing them to do otherwise is strong.  Given how the team was moving, and the information gathered from the previous weeks of climbing, Lead Guide Jacob Schmitz felt that continuing into the poor weather was imprudent, so they turned back.  The good news is that the weather forecast for the coming ays looks like they will see lower wind speeds, but still cold temperatures.  They plan to rest tomorrow and take another stab at the top on Saturday.

Let’s think warm thoughts for the team!