It’s Sunday. No mass today, so I will have to double down on the prayers.
We are staying at 14 camp. Weather outlook is not good. We didn’t get up until 9:30, and had a slow breakfast. Based on conversations yesterday, and last night, this was not a surprise. When you don’t get a wake up call at 6:30-7:30, you know we’re not moving. During breakfast we had a helicopter arrive to bring supplies to the rangers. Very exciting – at least we know we can be rescued!After that a couple of laps on Main Street to keep the muscles moving. Andrew and I then set about doing something with our tent. We have been sleeping in a convex position, seriously, with our sternums being our highest point. So we literally disconnected the tent from pegs holding it down and moved it out of the way. When we moved the tent, we had a mini mountain range beneath us. A bit of hacking with the ice axes, a bit of shoveling, a bit of stomping, and we’re optimistic. It may not be Sleep Number or Tempaduric, but it is certainly flatter.
Living in a tent means you have to be organized. There a lot of stuff in the tent, so you need a system – putting your stuff in the same place, so you can put your hand on it easily. Thankfully there’s only the two of us, which means more space and more pockets.
I have my hat, my beanie, my gloves, my muff, my harness, in one pocket. If those things aren’t on me, that’s where they are. My phone, Kindle, glasses, sunglasses, coffee sachets, Nuun, toothbrush, in a different pocket, with my spork. My satellite phone hangs from the ceiling. Cup, plate, water bottles, pee bottle, charging chords, beside my sleeping bag. Down coats, trousers near the top of the sleeping bag – easy to use to prop yourself up when resting in the tent. My food – snacks- are buried outside in a trash bag. Stops them melting. Crampons and ice axe are beside my walking pole outside – the pole will be the marker if they get buried. My boots, and backpack stay in the vestibule at the front of the tent.
The rest of the day was walking, reading, podcasts, chatting, and enjoying the views. Everyday it’s different as the winds and the clouds give us different aspects of Foraker, and Hunter, and then a smaller replica of Hunter far beyond it called Mt Thunder. And the clouds, incredible, and were looking down on them. Thankfully we have this amazing view to gaze at, as we could be snowed in, or in a whiteout, or just surrounded by grey low level clouds. Having the view, the blue sky and looking down at the clouds is kinda weird, as one hand the views and visibility are great, but we are not moving. It feels like we should be! You literally have to remind yourself that it’s the wind up at 17,000 and above that is the issue.
The team morale is good. Generally everyone is pretty sound and staying sane, interesting and friendly. So it’s easy to get on with people. No complaining, no tensions, albeit some annoyances!!!
As I mentioned yesterday a team from AMS did leave and headed to 17,000. Dominic doesn’t like the weather so no move. At dinner he shared that maybe a window will open on Tuesday, but there’s a better chance on Wednesday. He has some weather experts back in Seattle, and a guy in Pennsylvania that he trusts. In addition, there are regular updates from the Park Rangers, and there is a team stationed her at 14,000. We have until Sunday, that’s when our permit expires. I really hope we don’t wait that long!
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