Lucyna Kolodziejska called in on the team’s fifth day waiting to move to High Camp. The weather has been quite unsettled, meaning that for the first few days, it was blustery each morning, but cleared in the late afternoon/evening, but today it was snowing and blowing up high for much of the day. From the tone in Lucyna’s voice and the chuckles in the background, the team is in good spirits and found constructive ways to pass the day.
Reading and snow wall building seemed to be the theme for the day, with climbers building thick and tall walls from snow blocks cut with saws and shovels. One team made a snow couch!
The plan is to wake up early once again (they have done so each day) tomorrow and prepare to move to 17,200′ (5242m). They headed up once before, hoping that the morning gusts of wind would dissipate, but upon reaching the base of the fixed lines, they turned back, as there was no sign of the wind abating. Frustratingly, the weather cleared that afternoon. The challenge is – if you start up to High Camp in the afternoon, you could well find yourself still constructing camp when the sun passes to the north. When the 127,200′ camp is in the shade, temperatures plummet to -20 – -30F, making the probability of frostbite a very real concern. They have been holding tight, hoping for a sufficient weather window in which to make their push.
Here is Lucyna!
