Yesterday the June 2 team left camp to climb 1,000′ to the start of the fixed lines, which took about two hours to get to. Once arriving at the bergshrund (where a glacier meets steep ice, creating a crevasse that sloughs dramatically away from the steep ice and continues across an entire mountain face) the team found themselves at the bottom of the headwall, and thus the fixed lines. Here, each climber attached an ascender to themselves and to the fixed lines. An ascender is a progress capture device, that allows climbers to slide up the rope but when pulled down the rope its teeth will engage and prevent an unexpected fall. The fixed lines are two strands of 600′ rope, one going up and one going down. This ginormous rope is anchored into the steep ice and snow every several meters. After a few hours the team made it to the ridge at 16,200′ (4937m) where they chipped their cache into the wind buffed snow. After a bit of a break to enjoy the view, they made their way back down to Camp 3 at 14,200 (4328m).

A 2021 team at the top of the fixed lines

Here’s Caroline with the update:

recording