As you can tell from their dispatch today, the May 17th team is bonding well and having a blast! There’s something special about the early days of an expedition, when a group of climbers who started as strangers begins to come together as a team. By the time they’re navigating the glacier, sharing meals, and trading stories around the cook tent, the chemistry usually starts to show. The May 17th team has clearly found that rhythm, and the energy coming off the mountain has been a lot of fun to follow.
On the climbing side, the team officially made the move up to Camp 2 today, and by all accounts they did a great job. Moving from Camp 1 to Camp 2 is a significant step on the West Buttress, gaining about 2,000 feet of elevation as the team climbs Ski Hill on their way up the Kahiltna Glacier. It’s a long day with heavy loads, and successfully arriving at Camp 2 puts the team in a strong position to continue working higher on the route. Camp 2 sits at 11,200 feet and serves as the home base for the next phase of the expedition. Teams will typically use this camp as a launching point for caching toward Windy Corner and eventually for the move to 14 Camp higher up the mountain.
With a strong move day behind them and clear team chemistry on display, the May 17th team is in a great place. We’re hoping the momentum keeps building from here, and we’ll be tuned in for the next dispatch to see what tomorrow has in store.
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