A Little Ice Climbing

Wes was able to go outside the hut tonight to make his phone call. He said it is very clear with no wind and he can see a ton of stars. He said the moon is reflecting off the mountain and it is pretty cool. He hopes the weather will be like this tomorrow night when they go for the summit. Curtis and Wes had a hard night last night with really bad headaches due to the altitude. However, they are feeling strong and good today. They hiked over to the base of the glacier and did some ice climbing. Curtis belayed Wes while he would climb up and set an ice screw and then clip in. Then Wes would climb a little higher and set another ice screw, etc. Then Wes belayed Curtis while he climbed up. They set up a repel station and Curtis repelled off the glacier. Wes said it was a good day. The three girls that were going for the summit last night said that it was a lot harder than they expected. They left at 11:30 pm last night and made it about halfway before they turned around. They got back to the hut at 8:30 am. A guided group from IMG got to the hut today. They have 12 climbers in their group. They are also planning on going for the summit tomorrow night. Wes said there is a bergschrund (crevasse) that has to be crossed on the way to the summit. They have to cross it on an aluminum ladder. Tomorrow they plan to take it easy, do some short hikes and maybe do some ladder work to prepare for their summit attempt. They hope to leave by midnight tomorrow to go for the summit.