The May 16th team officially made the move up to 14 Camp today! After working their way through the lower mountain, it’s a big step forward and a well-earned arrival at one of the most important camps on the West Buttress.
Getting to 14 Camp is no small day. The move from Camp 2 covers roughly 3,000 feet of elevation gain through some of the more demanding terrain on the route, including the climb up Motorcycle Hill, the icy traverse around Squirrel Hill, and the long push around Windy Corner at 13,500 feet. From there, the team continued along the upper traverse before finally rolling into camp at 14,200 feet. A long, physically demanding day with heavy loads, made even more interesting by about a foot and a half of fresh snow on the route. New accumulation like that can soften the climbing in some places, add work in others, and is a clear reminder that the mountain is alive and constantly changing this time of year.
14 Camp itself sits at the center of any West Buttress expedition. It’s the staging ground for the upper mountain, the launching point for summit pushes in the days ahead, and a noticeably different environment from the lower camps. It’s bigger, busier, and home to climbers from all over the world, all working toward the same goal. From here, the team’s focus will shift to settling into the new elevation, recovering from the work of the move, and looking ahead to the next phase of the climb.
For now, the May 16th team is at 14 Camp, getting tents pitched, kitchens running, and bodies fed after a big day of climbing. With this move behind them, the upper mountain is now firmly in view, and the team is in a great spot heading into the next chapter of the expedition.
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