Yesterday the team packed up and moved from Camp 2 (11,200′ 3413m) up to Camp 3. They climbed first up the mile long Motorcycle Hill, cresting then Squirrel Hill, landing on the Polo Field, a basin of the glacier sloping upwards to Windy Corner. Atop another hill lies Windy Corner. The large granite buttress, the namesake of the West Buttress, looms above climbers on their left. The route wraps below this monolith, where winds speed up due to the shape of the terrain thus earning the name Windy Corner. It lived up to its name yesterday as the team arrived at this point of their journey, high winds buffeting against them as they made their way below the granite face. Once out from under it, they descended a shallow dip in the glacier and up a short, final hill into Genet Basin where Camp 3 lies at 14,200′ (4328m). Behind camp, the Headwall leads up to the ridge at 16,200′ (4937m) which climbs higher and higher, eventually to the summit. Several iconic ski lines drop through wide and long rock gullies, called couloirs, from 17,000′ (5181m) or so back into camp. And looking out, back towards the airstrip, climbers can admire the full expanse of Mount Foraker (Sultana) as it rises from the Kahiltna Glacier into the sky at 17,400′ (5303m).
Looking down on Camp 3, Mount Forker (Sultana) looming in the background.
Here’s Gary!
