The team packed up camp and began to move up the mountain, but after a bit of a hike, they decided to turn back to camp, as they could see strong winds screaming spindrift across a long section of route known as the Polo Fields.

It was a cold morning, so they took their time breaking camp, opting to wait for the warmth of direct sunlight, which doesn’t hit the 11,200′ basin until late morning at this time of year.  Heading up Motorcycle Hill, they caught up with a slow moving team from another guide company and followed them to the top of the hill.  At that point, they could see that the route above was very windy, a perspective they could not see from deep in the basin.  They have plenty of food and time, so they opted to drop back to camp, instead of trying to force their way around Windy Corner.

Back at the 11,200 camp, they kicked back for the afternoon, enjoying some tasty quesadillas and resting.  They’ll try again tomorrow!

Here is a report from Seba and Chris Silkwood!