May 30th Team in camp
Cache Day
Guide/Chef
The May 30th team brought their cache up from below Camp 2 today, consolidating their supplies and setting themselves up for the next phase of the climb. With everything now in one place, the team is in a strong spot to keep moving up the route.
Back-carry days are a steady part of the expedition-style rhythm on Denali. The team heads down to the cache, digs out the supplies, repacks everything into sleds and packs, and hauls it all back up to camp. The loads are heavy on the return leg, but the route is familiar at this point, which makes the day go more smoothly than a brand-new push higher.
To cap off the day, the team enjoyed pad thai for dinner, which on a glacier camp is no small luxury. A good hot meal at the end of a long day has a way of resetting morale and reminding climbers that even on the side of Denali, dinner can still be something to look forward to. Camp food on Denali is a balance of fueling for the climb and keeping spirits high, and a creative dinner is one of the small joys of expedition life.
Looking ahead, the team is gearing up for a cache around Windy Corner tomorrow. Windy Corner sits at around 13,500 feet and is one of the more notorious sections of the West Buttress, known for funneling wind off the upper mountain. Caching through that section is a key milestone on the way to 14 Camp, and the team will be ready for it after today’s solid day of work.
For now, the May 30th team is settled in at Camp 2, well-fed and resting up for tomorrow. With the back-carry done and Windy Corner on the horizon, the team is climbing well and continuing to make steady progress.
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