May 29, 2019
Ed and crew tried to sneak one in and just couldn’t get the break needed. They snuck up to high camp, hoping to get a break which would let them summit while STILL leaving a margin of time and weather to ‘sneak’ back down. Just wasn’t happening and none of the forecasts showed a window within a reasonable amount of days. Tough, but discretion is always the better part of valor, and the team decided yesterday to leave high camp. Cold, windy and snowy just didn’t make for a good summit attempt combination. They likely fly out today.
Like climbing in another world (Jason Edwards)
Andy and crew are heading for 14K. They’re just ticking right along and hoping Alaska is a bit more kind to them when it comes time to move higher.
And, let’s not forget Austin Shannon and team who flew onto the mountain yesterday. They’ve got some ‘hauling’ days ahead on the Kahiltna Glacier but those are actually some of the most important days. Building that foundation of acclimatization is key to success above 14K.
Phil Ershler