The team called in from the top of North America yesterday evening!!! Congratulations to the team! We did get a report that the entire team made it back to High Camp last night after their summit. We are so excited for them and happy to hear that they are on their way down. They will…
The team was able to climb up the fixed lines yesterday and move camp to High Camp at 17,200′ (5242m). Hopefully the team only has to spend 3 nights here, but it will depend on the weather and how the team is feeling. The team might be taking a rest day today, as most teams…
Kathryn updates us from Camp 3 last night. The team took a well deserved and no doubt much needed rest day. Rest days at Camp 3 can sometimes include walking to the Edge of The World as pictured below. Or skills practice including using ascenders and running belays with ice pickets. The team is probably…
Yesterday the team left a cache at 16,200′ (4937m). The team climbed up from Camp 3 about 1,000′ (304m) or so to the bottom of the fixed lines. This usually takes a couple hours. From here the team clipped their ascenders into the fixed lines. An ascender is a progress capture device. It allows the…
Catherine (Kathryn?) calls in from Camp 3. The team backcarried today. Meaning, they went back down to 13,200′ (4023m) to dig up their cache, pack it up, and hike for about an hour back to camp. Not much else to report today! The team is enjoying this active rest day with lots of naps and…
Kuntal updates us from Camp 3. They enjoyed perfect, sunny weather as they left Camp 2, rounded Windy Corner, and settled in to their new home at Camp 3 at 14,200′ (4328m). Arriving at Camp 3 is always full of excitement. Many teams end up congregating here as they wait for their opportunity to move…
Nick calls in for the team last night. The team enjoyed beautiful weather up to the cache at 13,500′ (4114m). At this point, the team will leave their snowshoes behind and mount their crampons. This is where the West Buttress route starts to get more interesting. Leaving Camp 2 the team first ascends Motorcycle Hill (named…
Mary calls in from Camp 2 last night to report the team took their first “active rest day”. They traveled back down to their cache site at 10,200′ (3108m) to retrieve their gear and bring it back up to Camp 2. This only takes a few hours, and the team was able to spend the…
This report was pretty tough to make out, but I think this is coming from the May 22 team! I do know they successfully moved camp from Camp 1 to Camp 2 yesterday, and plan to backcarry (walk down to their cache site at 10,200′ (3108m) to retrieve their cache). The team now resides at…
We didn’t get a call in report from the team yesterday, but they did report that they successfully put in a cache at 10,200′ (3108m). Caching is an expedition style of climbing that allows teams to lighten their loads as well as acclimatize to the altitude. The team choses food, fuel, and gear that they won’t…