Greg Johnson called in from High Camp before the team packs up and starts their descent down to Base Camp.  Two of the team reached the summit yesterday, Greg and Newall Hunter.  Congratulations to those team members!!

This expedition has been, in Greg’s words, “a testament to getting us there…”  What he means by this is that the guides on his team worked closely with other Mountain Trip teams to help make it possible for Greg and Newall to summit, when they might well not have been able to do so, had they not had the support of other Mountain Trip expeditions.

One team member remained back at the 14,200′ and, due to National Park Service regulations, one of our guides had to remain with him, so Karl Welter stayed below.  En route to the top, another team member needed to stop his ascent, which (due to the same NPS regulation) would have necessitated the entire team turning around.  Fortunately, we had other teams climbing up at the same time, so Greg and Newall tied into the ropes of our other expeditions and were able to summit!  Tenacity and flexibility were the traits of the day!

Today, they plan to make the entire 13,000′ descent back to Base Camp, as they have flights home booked that they’d like to make.  Thoughts of home, friends and loved ones are powerful motivators!

Great job everyone!  Strong work by all the climbers and a special thanks to the other Mountain Trip groups who made it possible for Greg and Newall to reach the summit.

Here’s Greg: