We're leaving for Alaska next Thursday. Conditions on the mountain look good at this point. The following report was called in yesterday morning from a guide (Paul Ivaska) who is leading a group up the West Buttress route:
"We are at Camp 2 today, taking a rest day. At some point today, we will go down to cache at 10,000, but return to Camp 2 for the evening. And tomorrow, we will head for Windy Corner and make another carry.
Everybody is doing excellent, and the team's spirits are high. The bad weather never came, and although it was overcast today, the skies have been blue and sunny. Yesterday we ate a hearty breakfast of cereal and bars, and had some pasta for dinner. The team worked like clockwork to put together camp last night, and we are completely on schedule. This morning, we really relaxed by cooking a big dish of eggs and hasbrowns, and we all slept in late.
Overall, the conditions are great here - the lower Kahiltna is in incredible shape, compared to last year when there were four serious crevasse falls. This year, the snow has really set up well on the glacier."
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3 comments:
Will the ORCA team have a guide?
No, we won't have a guide. Ben and Steve both went with guide companies on their first trips (as did Paul from the GAP team), but all perfer to go self-guided now. The advantage a guided trip is that logistics are easier (they plan the logistics and provide food and group gear). The disadvantegs are cost ($5,000/person) and the fact that you don't get to choose your climbing partners - Steve ended up not going to the top on his first trip because the other clients all pooped out. A guided trip is a good way to go, but we have the advantage of the experience from several team members having been on the mountain.
Hey Guys- Sorry to not wish you farewell before this. I shall sacrifice and environmentally clean object on the altar to the weather gods. My legs are still hurting after Dog Mountain; I don't even want to think about how they'd feel with a sixty pound pack on my back.
Good luck & God's Speed
Barry
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