Spencer called in from Camp 1 at 7,800 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier, the site of the May 24th team’s Camp 1. Today, they carried loads of supplies up glacier, climbing a long, moderately steep section known as Ski Hill. At an elevation of roughly 9,600 feet, they dug a deep pit in the snow and buried their supplies, effectively staging them for the coming days when they move their camp higher up the route.
This is known as “making a cache” or “making a carry.” They packed up roughly half their supplies and any extra clothing and kit they won’t need in the coming days and carried it higher up the mountain. This serves two purposes – it makes it somewhat easier to move three weeks of supplies, and it enables the climbers to get a taste of a higher elevation, which aides in acclimatizing. After making their cache, they descended back to Camp 1 for the night. By carrying high, but sleeping low, they can better enable their bodies to adjust to higher elevations.
Spencer’s shout outs were a bit garbled due to the challenge of satellite connections at extreme latitudes, but here ya go!
