Mountain Trip Lead Guide Yoshiko Miyazaki called in from our May 23rd team’s Camp 2. The team packed up camp from their previous encampment on the Kahiltna Glacier at 7,800′, shouldered heavy packs, clipped themselves to loaded sleds and started hiking up the long “Ski Hill” in very blustery wind this morning. Ski Hill rises immediately north of their Camp 1 and climbs to about 9,600′ over the course of a couple of moderately steep slopes.
The team passed their cache from yesterday and picked up some shovels that they had strategically placed atop the cache, and hiked another 1000′ up and into a small basin to establish their second camp of the expedition. The basin is a really pretty spot, with steep ice and ice cliffs soaring up to the south, a moderately steep snow slope known as Motor Cycle Hill to the west and snow and dark rock slopes framing the northern side. The eastern views look out over Mount Capps and further to innumerable creeks and rivers flowing from the Alaska Range out to the Bering Sea.
The wind abated as they climbed and it was quite warm by the time they arrived in camp. Tomorrow will be a much easier day for the crew, when they drop back to their cache site to pick up their supplies.
Here’s Yoshiko!
Great news! Thanks for the update!
Gutted can’t be with you but willing you all on from the UK!! Best of luck! Chris Burt