Lead Mountain Trip Guide Elías de Andres Martos rang in from 7,800 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier. He, Brian, and Steven moved up to what is the traditional Camp 1 for most climbers attempting the West Buttress, West Rib and Cassin routes.
Located at the mouth of the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna, their camp is on a section of glacier at the base of a 1800 foot in the elevation of the Kahiltna. Glaciers tend to compact at the base of steep descents, meaning there tend to be fewer crevasses where the ice is compressed. Tonight, they plan to hike from this compact zone into the Northeast Fork, which is riddled with crevasses, posing route finding challenges for the team.
Traveling during the shade of the Alaskan night, the climbers will try to take advantage of colder temperatures, which should make travel easier and help mitigate the risk of the crevasses.
Here’s Elías!
