Yesterday, or very very early this morning, the team launched from Basecamp to make their way to Camp 1. Basecamp sits at 7,200′ (2194m), on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Leaving camp, the team first descended Heartbreak Hill for about 600′ until the met with the main body of the 40 mile long Kahiltna Glacier. They started to head upstream here and after 5.5 miles and 1,200′ of climbing the team arrived at Camp 1 7,800′ (2377m). This time of year, the glacier is very cracked, and it may have taken the team a bit longer to get to Camp 1 than usual because of the extra navigation to get around these crevasses. This camp sits below Ski Hill, which rises 1,000′ above camp. The force of the glacier flowing down this hill and meeting with the flatter expanse of the glacier below causes a compression that typically keeps most crevasses closed up, providing a pretty good spot to set up camp. Kind of like the calm pool below a waterfall.
This is a photo of a 2021 team leaving Basecamp in the twilight. Mount Forker (Sultana) looms ahead of them. Once they descend Heartbreak Hill, they will head upstream to the right of this photo.
Here’s Will with the update: