The guys woke up in Camp 2 at 11,000 feet to 2°F temps this morning. After breakfast they loaded up gear to cache just past Windy Corner, at 13,500 feet. They ascended a steep and icy Motorcycle Hill before going up Windy Corner, which is known for its inclement weather but Jason and Brent report it was fairly warm and sunny today. To cache gear, they dig a hole in the snow, bury their gear, and mark it with “flags”, wooden poles with duct tape and their team name (Butter Bagels) on it.
Gear and food caching becomes important as you go higher up the mountain for many reasons. It lightens the load as the terrain steepens, as well as lightening the load as you gain elevation. The higher you are, the more strain it is on your body.
After caching their gear, they descended back to Camp 2 at 11k. Hiking high but sleeping low is good for acclimatization. As they descended, Jay said they saw clouds coming up the mountain and it began to lightly snow. As of writing, the weather is still holding, so they may push up to Camp 3, at 14,000 feet tomorrow, depending on how they feel in the morning.
Jason said they ate some of their “Nutella croissants” today. Brent has a vacuum sealer, and he spread Nutella between two croissants and then compressed them by vacuum sealing the bag– sounds like they were a hit!
