Category: Uncategorized

It snowed last night. Not a lot, just a little bit on the ground. It also wasn’t so cold. Maybe I got the air mattress the foam pad and the sleeping bag to be friends. I got a decent sleep, maybe the best so far. Sleep isn’t continuous, it has a series of breaks.

After breakfast – ugh, pretty bad, we’re getting to the bottom of the barrel, – grits, like eating sawdust in water -.

Dom asked who wanted to hike up the hill towards Camp 4. I was thrilled. I needed to assure myself that I still had the ability to walk uphill. I also needed a break from just walking up and down Camp.

Three of us took up the offer. The fresh snow made it different to the time we headed up to cache some stuff, whenever that was! We probably only went up 600ft, but we lost sight of camp pretty quickly after starting our ascent. It felt good to test the legs and the body, albeit a short test. The descent was scrunching in deep soft snow. It felt great.

After getting back, with still some energy to expend, I dug steps into the slope that had become the ramp to the loo. It was so slippery I feared my last step would be a slide into the CMC. I couldn’t let that be my demise, so I crafted steps into the ice. My good deed for the day, maybe the week or month!

As I retired to the tent about 1:30 pm, it started to snow. Steadily over the next few hours the splatter of snow against the tent soothed me to a snooze, and then I started my next book, The Blind Assassin for a bit. The snow accumulated, probably to the point that my good deed is rendered pointless.

What will this snow mean to our progress, or should I say to our lack of progress?

At dinner Dominic said there would be no move tomorrow. More snow coming, but there would be a break perhaps on Friday, with a better break possibly on Sunday. The possibility of a break in the weather lifted everyone’s spirits. There are only a few groups remaining here. As the eeek progressed a few more turned back. The Russians are still here. The other RMI group too. They are in a better situation than us, as they have longer left on their permit.

In the meantime we continue to wait, and hope those breaks in the weather come to pass. Friday would be just ideal!

It’s Tuesday. I thought it was Monday. The day doesn’t matter here. All that matters is the weather, not the weather here at 14,000 ft, but the weather at 17,000 ft and above.

The teams that moved up to 17,000 2 days ago are still there. I believe it’s a miserable place to be stuck. Hopefully I’ll see soon.

Last night was cold, about 10f. I made 2 mistakes. Firstly I did not put my socks on, but slept in my down booties. My feet got cold during the night. My second mistake is I didn’t inflate my airbed. I thought it was inflated enough. As the temp dropped overnight, the air mattress ‘deflated’ some more, which meant my sleeping bag got closer to the freezing ground, and I got cold. I guess I made a 3rd mistake in not doing something about it immediately I felt it. I eventually addressed both issues. It’s like when I wake and I need to go pee, you try and ignore the urge, say it’s okay, only then have to do something 30 minutes later, having just tossed and turned in the meantime.

So bedtime from now on means socks on and inflate the mattress! On all my previous climbs this has been standard, but the weather is so mixed here – some nights are much warmer, and I might even take a layer off. Once we move up it will be significantly colder.

Whilst it is boring here, there is no doubt this is the place to wait, and as usual, Dominic’s strategy was correct. Our camp here is luxurious compared to what we will build at 17,000. We have a mess tent in which we all can gather, and we have a ‘decent’ loo. I can’t believe I said that, as it is quite primitive – actually worse than that, or maybe I’ve just crapped in a bucket for too long – , but it is sheltered and private. I recall on Vinson the blue bags behind the rock, and carrying your ‘prize’ like Borat! That was seriously primitive!

Today we walked to the “End of the World”, with precipitous views to the Kahiltna glacier, thousands of feet below. It was a nice day, blue skies, so clothing was alternating between a base layer and a base layer and a fleece. We had a view of Camp 1, and the earlier part of our trail. Some of the team scrambled out to the edge of the rock, but I stayed sensible. I promised Fionnuala I wouldn’t do anything stupid!

We then prep’d the ground for the arriving RMI team. We dug out a platform for their tents. This is a huge help to them, as I recall how exhausting prep’ing was when we arrived here last week. 6 days ago – holy cow! Shoveling snow and stamping ground is no fun! When they arrived, they were mega pleased.

Tonight we heard the forecast, no change in the weather, means no move tomorrow. Dominic continues to contact his 3 friends, who independently send him forecasts. Then he meets daily with the Park Rangers stationed here. He is very thorough, and will await the optimal window. He is very proud of his record of never having anyone get frostbite on Denali.

We have a time limit though. Two factors will determine this. Firstly, our permit expires on Monday – that’s 6 days. Secondly, is our food supply. Carrying all that food here has been a pain, and there was a huge urge to cache some down lower. Whilst I did cache some, I brought a lot. Etienne says he has 2 days worth left. He also ran out of toilet paper. (Luckily descending teams drop by offering up their leftovers or excesses, so they can avoid carrying them back down. Etienne managed to address his toilet paper conundrum in this way).

Some groups have made the decision to turn back. The Lithuanian group have descended to 11,000 ft and will wait there. This doesn’t make much sense, as there is better acclimitization here, but as I said earlier, each team has a different strategy.

So still sitting and waiting….

I awoke to 6-8” of snow. The expected blizzard did occur. I feel for the teams that moved to 17,000ft. I didn’t hear the blizzard. When I awoke I didn’t think I had slept that well, but seemingly I was very asleep around 1:30 when the winds hit!

After breakfast – bagels and smoked salmon (that’s the last of both), – we dug out the tents, and created some new paths around camp. Visibility was about 50ft. It was a white-grey vista, with other groups appearing as shadows or silhouettes. Camp 3 is pretty quiet, not many people here . One largish group – the Russians -, and a few smaller teams, some as little as 2 people.

After a few walks up and down Main Street, we got a tutorial on knots, and then went outside and practiced the running belay. Seemingly above 17,000 at narrow parts of the ridge line, we will attach to installed fixed ropes (not fixed lines, which are for the steeper slopes) using a loop attached to our harnesses, as an additional safety measure. The practice is to detach/attach quickly using bulky gloves or mitts, as we move from one section of rope to the next. “Speed” is important to keep the team moving, as the temps above 17,000 will be quite frigid.

The rest of the day is our own. Too much rest is not good, psychologically or physically. Psychologically, we know today could have been our summit day, and now we don’t know when, or if, we will summit. The uncertainty is a killer. If we don’t summit, we will have wished we had turned for home sooner and not spent days waiting for a weather window. Sitting around and waiting makes one think about home. It’s tough being away, but it is by choice, and one always hopes we will meet the optimistic timeline. However it’s tougher for the folks back home. Of course they want us to succeed, but..

You cannot allow these thoughts to occupy your head for too long. To succeed, especially to stay safe, you must live in this world. This world is eating as well, and as much, as possible, hydrating, and trying to stay fit. These aspects are the physical challenge of being stranded. With each passing day, I feel I’m losing my physical edge. That hike to 17,000 is steep, it’s tough, it’s now covered in fresh snow which is a lot more challenging than a well travelled trail. How will I feel when I eventually get to go up it again? Hence the walks up and down Main Street, but it’s not enough. I really hope Dom makes us go up that hill – no matter the pain – tomorrow. This pre – occupation with fitness, thinking of people back home, are the consequences of waiting. When the team is moving and progressing, one’s mind is fully occupied by the task in hand, by the physical challenge, by the focus on staying safe.

We are likely to be joined by the other RMI team tomorrow. They are stuck as 11,000, but if the weather is good they will move up tomorrow, and wait with us for a window to get to the summit.

The weather forecast continues to be bad, as the wind up high getting to 40 mph, and night time temps sinking well below 0F. We look up at the West buttress and can see the snow blowing off the ridge, and the summit beyond. We just have to continue to wait and see, stay fit, and stay sane.

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!

After looking at Motorcycle hill for a couple of days, and being intimidated by it, today we get to try it.

Today we moved food for our summit attempt to 16,200ft. We brought 3 days of food, that was snacks, 3 dehydrated dinners and breakfasts. This would be all we needed when we’d try for the summit. We would not come back up unless, or until, there was a 3 day weather window to attempt to summit. RMI has a (permanent) cache at 17,000 ft, with more food, tents and cooking gear. This would minimize our overall carry to 17,000. We travelled about 2 miles total – doesn’t seem that far- but went 2,000ft up and down. So, yes it was, steep. Literally straight up!

We headed out at 8:30am. It was cold, about 15F. Surprisingly we were the only team looking to head out. We are surprised in general, that so many teams wait and walk in the heat of the day, where the temps are high, and the snow is slushy.

We had about 1,200ft of steep up hill, until we met the bergschund, and we transitioned to fixed lines. On the steep uphill section it’s important to kick in with your crampons to ensure a good fitting, one foot, rest, kick with the other foot, rest, and on, and on. We took one break on the way to the fixed lines. The camp below was getting smaller, but the view was just getting better. As we approached the bergschund, Dominic dug out a shelf for us to rest. We would leave our walking poles here, as they are no help/a hindrance on the fixed lines on the fixed lines. Fixed lines are used where the slope is very steep, and extra assistance is needed. (We connect to a fixed rope (line) with an ascender, which provides an extra connection point to the mountain. The ascender slides on the rope, and can’t move backwards. However, you don’t (or are not supposed to) use the ascender to pull yourself up).

Crossing the bergschund – which in reality is a crevasse – was a manouver, not achieved on the first attempt, as one pulled oneself upward, and across this gaping slit in the ice, and then a large step up to engage the fixed line.

On the fixed lines we were climbing on blue ice. The blue ice is super hard, and takes a decent “kick” to engage the crampon. Amazing, but not always as assuring as packed snow. Communication on the fixed lines is important. The person ahead gives notice that he has reached a picket, or knot, and has to disengage from the fixed line, and re-attach above the picket. Moving on the fixed lines was less trying than on the earlier steep sections, as each step really moves you upward, and the rope does help!The views behind us back to camp, Mt Foraker, Mt Hunter, and the Kahiltna glacier were astonishing, but nothing compared to the views we had the luck to see when we reached the top of the lines, at the beginning of the West Buttress.

Steep falloff’s on both sides, with Mt Foraker, etc to the south, and the Peter glacier to our north. The vastness of the Alaska range is incredible, with mountains in all directions. What a privilege to see this. As we admired the views, and ate some snacks, Dom, Ben, and Mike buried the food and other stuff we brought up.

The descent was more taxing than the ascent. No ascenders on the descent!! Our connection to the fixed line is by wrapping the rope around your arm and descending slowly – with this massive 2,000 foot slope in front of you.

Another embarrassing attempt to cross the bergschund, pick up the hiking poles, and then the final 1,200 feet to camp.

So far the weather has been on our side, but it looks like that’s about to change. Winds are going to increase to over 30mph, which will make it too cold above 17,000ft, so we’ll have to sit and wait. Pity, as we were on record pace!

Today is a rest day. We got to ‘sleep in’ until 9:30, but the truth is most were awake well before then. The toils of yesterday – to be fair it wasn’t bad – meant people just lay in their sleeping bags and rested. The wind picked up earlier in the morning at about 5am, and the tents rattled a bit. Nothing concerning though.

Leaving our tents this morning, we were met by grey skies and low clouds, nothing much above us was visible. This is a “shock”, as so far all clouds have been largely below us, or non existent. It’s also colder, no sun to distract us from the real temp. 13-15F, but feeling about 5.

After breakfast – pancakes with blueberries- I walked up and down ‘Main Street’ – the main track leading between all the various teams tents and up to the Ranger station (yes, there are full time Rangers stationed here during the climbing season) – to stretch my legs. A bit stiff since yesterday, but the walk is good. I’m not alone, many had the same thought. I met a group from Lithuania, and there was also a Russian team. Plenty room for both groups, so invasion not necessary!

As I walked everything is different. The views and the majesty of the mountains, that we clearly have taken for granted, is replaced with very low grey cloud, getting lower by the minute. After my third lap I have to head back to our camp, as the cloud has dropped so low that the camp is becoming invisible.

Snacking in the mess tent, chatting with friends, is followed by a game of Wizards, a card game brought by Etienne. Good fun! Then a lay in the tent, and read another chapter of Rory Stewart’s “How not to be a politician”. It’s quite good, but he comes across as a bit naive. The solar panel is hanging outside, hoping we can get some stuff charged. The non-stop sunshine has also led us to believe power to charge the phone is no issue. (God, not so long ago people climbed in wool and hobnail boots, and I’m concerned about my solar panel!!!) I don’t want to try and finish Clarkson’s Farm if we don’t have the ability to recharge. I’ll try and save the phone charge for photos.

The weather forecast isn’t looking great. We need 2-3 consecutive good days, one to move to 17,000ft, and then to immediately attempt to summit the second day. The 3rd day is about getting back down to 14,000. Right now, that’s not looking good. The weather for the latter half of the week looks bad. Lots of snow.

The other factor is if the weather is 50/50, Dominic will need to decide can the team move fast enough if we need to. That certainly plays into the 3rd day, when we would have to get back down. The ability of the team is mixed, we have some very fit people, and 2-3 that are more challenged.

I was talking to Mike, the 3rd guide, who has just completed Everest. He says you’re fitness is actually decreasing when you’re on the mountain, and operating at altitude. Waiting around for the weather to change will not help either. We’ll see.

As the day progressed the weather improved and the visibility increased. We saw a team head up Motorcycle hill. I asked Dominic about it, but he said they were putting themselves at risk, as the temp up high was going to drop. He says the forecast is for strong winds, and challenge up high is the wind. As the wind increases it will drop the temperature up there significantly, and he says 17,000 camp is inhospitable, with little shelter. In addition, the wind makes crossing the West Buttress very challenging. I go to sleep thinking about how challenging the West Buttress will be!

After looking at Motorcycle hill for a couple of days, and being intimidated by it, today we get to try it.

Today we moved food for our summit attempt to 16,200ft. We brought 3 days of food, that was snacks, 3 dehydrated dinners and breakfasts. This would be all we needed when we’d try for the summit. We would not come back up unless, or until, there was a 3 day weather window to attempt to summit. RMI has a (permanent) cache at 17,000 ft, with more food, tents and cooking gear. This would minimize our overall carry to 17,000. We travelled about 2 miles total – doesn’t seem that far- but went 2,000ft up and down. So, yes it was, steep. Literally straight up!

We headed out at 8:30am. It was cold, about 15F. Surprisingly we were the only team looking to head out at that time. We are surprised in general, that so many teams wait and walk in the heat of the day, where the temps are high, and the snow is slushy.

We had about 1,200ft of steep up hill, until we met the bergschund, and we transitioned to fixed lines. On the steep uphill section it’s important to kick in with your crampons to ensure a good fitting, one foot, rest, kick with the other foot, rest, and on, and on. We took one break on the way to the fixed lines. The camp below was getting smaller, but the view was just getting better. As we approached the bergschund, Dominic dug out a shelf for us to rest. We would leave our walking poles here, as they are no help/a hindrance on the fixed lines on the fixed lines. Fixed lines are used where the slope is very steep, and extra assistance is needed. (We connect to a fixed rope (line) with an ascender, which provides an extra connection point to the mountain. The ascender slides on the rope, and can’t move backwards. However, you don’t (or are not supposed to) use the ascender to pull yourself up).

Crossing the bergschund – which in reality is a crevasse – was a manouver, not achieved on the first attempt, as one pulled oneself upward, and across this gaping slit in the ice, and then a large step up to engage the fixed line.

On the fixed lines we were climbing on blue ice. The blue ice is super hard, and takes a decent “kick” to engage the crampon. Amazing, but not always as assuring as packed snow. Communication on the fixed lines is important. The person ahead gives notice that he has reached a picket, or knot, and has to disengage from the fixed line, and re-attach above the picket. Moving on the fixed lines was less trying than on the earlier steep sections, as each step really moves you upward, and the rope does help!The views behind us back to camp, Mt Foraker, Mt Hunter, and the Kahiltna glacier were astonishing, but nothing compared to the views we had the luck to see when we reached the top of the lines, at the beginning of the West Buttress.

Steep falloff’s on both sides, with Mt Foraker, etc to the south, and the Peter glacier to our north. The vastness of the Alaska range is incredible, with mountains in all directions. What a privilege to see this. As we admired the views, and ate some snacks, Dom, Ben, and Mike buried the food and other stuff we brought up.

The descent was more taxing than the ascent. No ascenders on the descent!! Our connection to the fixed line is by wrapping the rope around your arm and descending slowly – with this massive 2,000 foot slope in front of you.

Another embarrassing attempt to cross the bergschund, pick up the hiking poles, and then the final 1,200 feet to camp.

So far the weather has been on our side, but it looks like that’s about to change. Winds are going to increase to over 30mph, which will make it too cold above 17,000ft, so we’ll have to sit and wait. Pity, as we were on record pace!

Today was a supposedly a rest day, but in retrospect I think an “active rest day” would have been a better description. We woke up at 6:30, and after a minimal breakfast – coffee and a breakfast bar – we headed downhill at 7:30 to collect our cache’d gear at 13,500. We were back in camp by before 10. Then we had breakfast, bagels and bacon!!!! It’s clearly bagel time, as we don’t want to carry them any further!!!

After a very brief rest we started to “fortify” our camp. Literally! Ice blocks were cut out of the floor of the mess tent – the ice saw is a scary tool -, and those blocks, along with snow blocks we cut from around camp, and we took from previously occupied camps, were used to build an ice wall around camp. This is in case the weather changes and we get a big storm, or worse, if we are stormed in. At 14,000ft we work slowly as moving ice and snow requires a fair effort, so another rest in the tents followed.

At 3:30 pm we were off to practice ascending and descending the fixed lines. It’s a while since most of us used a jumar, so the practice is really worthwhile, especially practicing how to unclip with heavy gloves on. Learning, and struggling, in real life, on the fixed lines is not an option. Nor is stopping and waiting as people struggle to unclip when on the steeper sections of the fixed lines.

It’s been a long few days. Building ice castles today was tough going. I’m pretty wrecked, so I’m hoping for a decent sleep. I really hope I feel better tomorrow!

What a day! A tough one for sure. We have arrived at Camp 3, at 14,200ft. The hike today was the move to Camp 3, so we pulled sleds as well- well most people did but not all. The 4th (last) man does not haul a sled, but he/me carries more weight on their back. We need the sleds up at Camp 3 to bring all the stuff down on our descent. The role of the last person (me in our team) is to control the sled of the person in front.

So it was a tougher day, more challenging than our first trip. Regardless of our attempts to split the weight, the 2nd trip is always heavier!. Managing the sleds up Motorcycle and Squirrel hill was tough, managing around Windy corner was challenging. A steep fall on the right meant a sliding sled could off-balance the sled puller. My role was to maintain a taut rope to prevent a slide. We got through it like experts. Once again the heat after rounding Windy corner was incredible. Base layers only. The new base layer is going downhill fast. We passed the cache and had a long haul in soft snow and heat to Camp 3. A 30 minute break, and then we set about making camp. A sudden wind and snow storm blew up as we did, nearly causing us to lose a tent. A couple of hours work and we were done – 4 tents, the cook tent, and the latrine.

Dehydration, the increase in altitude, as well as the 6 hour hike means a tired team tonight. But we’re at 14,200ft, with incredible views of Mt Hunter, Mt Foraker – it is always there, and seems bigger as we climb higher – the west rib of Denali, the Messner Couloir, and the route to 17,000 camp. What a privilege to be able to stare upon such beauty.

Today was a rest day. A true rest day. Nothing to do, and sleep until 9:30. Given the erratic sleep patterns, there never being any real ‘night’, the advantage of sleeping in had me intrigued. One really never knows how much sleep one gets. We go to ‘bed’ at about 8pm, not ready to sleep. We read, watch a downloaded TV show or something, and we fall asleep at some point. No one sleeps all night, but one never tries to open one’s eyes if awake, as it is so bright. I don’t fall asleep easily or early. I read as long as I can, usually stopped when my hand gets too cold holding my Kindle. I try putting the Kindle in my sleeping bag, but I can’t get my eyes focused on the print. I try adjusting the print size, up and down, but to no avail. When my hands get too cold, I just try and lie there, just rest. A good black out mask is a treasure. The other treasure is the pee bottle. No getting out of the tent at 4am for a quick trot to the latrine. Still the usual questioning “do I really need to go?” After 30 mins, a wasted 30 mins, unzip the sleeping bag, search for the pee bottle, try not to wake Andrew. “Should have done that 30 mins ago!”

This morning I was woken from being asleep at 9:30. My best sleep seems to be just before I wake, or am woken. I needed that sleep. Breakfast, believe it or not, was bagels and smoked salmon. Imagine that!! We were free to do nothing all day, but Dominic strongly encouraged us to do something. He said a day of laying around would make tomorrow’s second trip up Motorcycle hill to 14 Camp miserable. If we wanted to just walk, do it, but stay with the boundary of Camp 2, also known as 11 Camp, Outside the boundary was crevasse country!

Me, I wanted to practice my side-step walking. Dominic volunteered to go with me, and offer me his advice. We roped up and eventually ended up 3/4 way up Motorcycle hill. I learned to imagine how a ball might roll down the hill we were climbing, and to keep my feet at 90 degrees to that, to delaying moving my downhill leg for a micro-second when doing the side crossover step, and which step to use on smoother versus heavily walked on snow. It was a very worthwhile hour.

The rest of the day was relaxing. I spent an hour talking with Nate and Andrew on holiday destinations and restaurants. Nate bases his holiday on top-rated Michelin star restaurants – Barcelona – Mont Bar, Girona – El cellar de con roja. I can’t remember the rest!

.

Andrew shared his favorite NY venues. – Atomix, Daniele and Shuko

After dinner tonight we prep’d for tomorrow’s move to Camp 3. We went through all our gear, and see if there is anything we want to leave here at 11,000ft. Part of this is the base layers and socks we have used since we flew out of Talkeetna 7 days ago. What a relief to wear a new base layer and underwear. You have no idea!! Tomorrow I will wear fresh socks!!

I have a blister on my small toe that needs watching. Ben helped apply a ‘Compeed like’ bandage. It is only bothersome when I descend, as it gets squashed somewhat in the toe of my boot. It’ll be fine.

Tomorrow is a big day – our move toward 14,000 and establishing a base to prepare to attack the summit. This will be our longer term home, and the place we would wait if the weather changes. We have walked most of the route 2 days ago, and we are eager to move on.