Mountain Trip Guide Jed Porter called in with an update from Camp 1, located at 7800′ (2377m) on the broad Kahiltna Glacier. Today, the team packed up roughly half of their supplies and carried it all up to an elevation of about 10,000′ (3109m), where they dug a big hole in the snow and buried it all. After marking their “cache” with tall wands and its GPS location, they descended back to Camp 1 for the night.
This process is known as either “double carrying” or “making a carry” in climber lingo. The concept is based in the idea that climbers acclimatize better if they “climb high, but sleep low.” Plus, when you have a veritable mountain of supplies to support a three-week expedition, it helps keep loads somewhat manageable.
Here’s Jed!
