Carry to the ridge atop the fixed lines.

We received a report the team made a carry on Thurs. to the top of the fixed lines about 2000 feet above the 14,200 ft camp. Arguably, some of the most spectacular climbing on the route exists between the top of the fixed lines and the 17,200 ft camp. The team had a taste of it Thurs. Sounds like everyone did really well.

This is the steepest section of the route, protected at the top with about 800 ft of fixed rope to help climbers gain the remarkable ridge. In addition to staging food and gear for their future move to High Camp, the trip up high is an important part of the acclimatization plan.

On Friday the team will likely rest at the 14,200 ft camp in preparation for the big move day to High Camp at 17,200 feet.

We'll wrap up today's blog post with some trivia. The mountain is commonly referred to by one of two names. What are the two names and what is the cultural significance and origin of each?

Until next time...think warm sunny thoughts for the team.

Happy trails!

Back Carry Day at 14,200 feet

This podcast just came in an hour ago! The team is at the 14,200' camp, doing great. This morning they back-carried their supplies from where they had cached them two days ago at a spot located at about 13,500'. This is a pretty easy day, as they dropped back down about 20 minutes walk to the cache site, dug up their goodies and then carried it all back up to camp, which takes a bit over an hour to hike.

Enjoy the message from Craig Maxwell:

Podcast from 11,200' Camp

Just in case you can't make it out easily- Leigh Williams's wife should probably replay this message!!

Tucked in at 11K!

Nick checked in to let us know the team has made it safely to the 11K camp. He mentioned the travel conditions were still challenging but everyone was doing well. They had a huge dinner and all retired to the tents soon after.

The 11K camp is situated in a small basin right under the West Buttress. I imagine the excitement level is really starting to ramp up for the group. Up until this point the glacier travel is not super steep. From here the team is looking at steeper sections such as Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, and of course, Windy Corner. Based on other reports from the mountain, the team will likely have to deal with less snow on the route for awhile.

Their plan was to try make a carry on Sunday up near Windy Corner. This carry & cache day is a big one. I'm sure they will enjoy a huge breakfast prior to sending off. The crew wishes everyone at home well. Until next time...happy trails!

Antics on the lower glacier!

Nick called with an update, which I'll post below. They are working hard and have gotten quite a bit of new snow in the past couple of days. They are still camped at 9,200 feet, but plan to move up to a beautiful spot in a mid-sized basin, ringed with steep ice walls and towering ice blocks, called seracs.

Here's the message from Nick:

Podcast from the Kahiltna!

Camped on the Kahiltna Glacier

The team moved out of Base Camp this morning and dropped down onto the immense Kahiltna Glacier. Leaving Base Camp, the route actually drops downhill as the Southeast Fork merges with the main body of the Kahiltna. They then slowly gained altitude as they made their way through a couple of crevassed areas on their way to camp.

One of our Kobler friends decided not to head out of Base Camp, and flew out to Talkeetna this morning. He is fine and just decided that the time for this expedition was not right for him.

The team single carried their way up glacier today, meaning that they packed up all of their kit and moved it up in a single push. From now on, they plan to "double carry" or move roughy half of their supplies at a time. This will enable them to carry their kit up to (or near) the next camp and then return to their previous camp. Climbers call this "Climb high and sleep low," and it allows you to acclimatize a bit, but sleep lower, thereby easing the transition to the next altitude.