Heidi called a bit a go to say that they were hunkered down at High Camp at just under 20,000'. The weather is a bit rough right now, with snow, thunder and lightning down below them! Heidi described it as exciting and pretty wild.
The lemonade from the storm lemons is that when they arrived at High Camp, there was very little snow, which they need to melt to make water. Now they have plenty of snow, right outside their tents!
The storm was not a surprise, because the forecast actually called for a flurry of snow and some lightning. The forecast for tomorrow is for clear weather and low winds in the morning, with building clouds and light snow in the evening. As Heidi put it, she'll wake up and look outside, rather than rely on the forecast, but they have been remarkably accurate lately.
The team is in a great position, with plenty of time. If the weather doesn't look great when they awaken, they can hang out in camp and give it another go on Monday. There is no pressure to head up if the weather doesn't look great. The challenge is that it is often hard to make a good weather call in the dark of the early morning hours...
Everyone is doing well and they made good time up to High Camp, so they should do well when they get a summit window. It only took them about three hours to hike from Camp to up to High Camp, which is a really good time!
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Sounds very exciting... snow, thunder and lightning - not to mention lemons. Seems you can't get away from "lemons", even at 20,000' ;-).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the best of luck to you, David and Heidi for your attempt on the summit. Thinking of you every step of the way. Being 6 hours ahead here, I guess you will be leaving camp about now if you are going up. In bocca al lupo... bahati njema x