Mountain Trip guide Travis Baldwin called in a quick update for the May 12 Rib Team, who are still camped at 14,200′ due to bad weather, where they have been for over a week. Despite not being able to move higher, the team is in good spirits and still determined to make the summit. They said that “good food and bad jokes” have been their salvation for the past week in Janet Basin, where 14-Camp is located, relatively sheltered from the wind.

The high winds that have been plaguing the upper mountain for the past week are gradually dying down, but snowstorms and clouds still are settled around 14,000′ and above. The team is holding steady and still waiting on a weather window to push to the summit, and they remain optimistic about their chances. Due to the technical and committing nature of the route, they need clear weather and good visibility.

After leaving 14-Camp, the team will head back out on the upper section of the West Rib, which they will climb up to rejoin with the West Buttress at High Camp (17,200′).

The next couple of days look decent for traveling higher–aside from the persistent low temperatures, which have also improved. The winds have finally abated and the sky has begun to clear. Hopefully the team’s next dispatch will come to us from High Camp!

Here’s Travis: