I just got off the phone with Zach Johnson, who called to report that the team is taking a leisurely rest and acclimatization day at Camp 2 today (Dec 31). They will bring in the new year by moving camp up to 20,000 feet tomorrow morning.

It sounds like everyone did really well yesterday on their carry up to high camp. They are fueling up by eating loads of quesadillas and some of our guide Fermin’s famous “18,000′ cakes.” The cakes are layers of cake, “dulce de leche” (carmelized sweetened condensed milk), and fruit. Wow! I hope they can motivate to work tomorrow, after such a feast!

Yasushi will call in an audio post in Japanese this evening, with a translation by Hideko, so stay tuned for another update from the team.

Happy New Year everyone!