Yesterday was Day 6 of their adventure, and the guys made it to Camp 3. The trek up to Camp 3 is exhausting, gaining 3,000 feet in elevation over just 1.75 miles, meaning this is STEEP.
On their climb, they took a lunch break after 3 hours during a whiteout. They would have gone up Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, and Windy Corner. Windy Corner is known for having poor conditions. Finally, after 8.5 hours of fighting their way uphill, they made it to 14,200 camp. Here, they can take a short walk and look out over “the edge of the world”.
This camp is considered the most “social” camp. The NPS (National Parks Service) maintains a second base here (the first being at “base camp” where the planes land to deposit climbers). They have medical services and weather stations. Multiple Guide groups also maintain bases here, increasing the amount of people able to help higher on the mountain during an emergency.
Jay and Brent are about a day ahead of their proposed schedule, so as of our last communication on Thursday evening, they planned to take Friday as a rest day. Its easy to want to push yourself and to burn out on your climb. Taking the time to rest and refuel will increase the odds of a successful summit.
As of right now, the current summit rate is 38%. This means that out of all the climbers who have gone up and come back down, 38% were successful. In 2018, the summit rate for the season was 45%.
