July 2, 2016 - 11:13 pm PT It wasn't really supposed to be a perfect day. It was still snowy and socked in yesterday evening, the forecast called for the same thing it always calls for -more snow- but when we poked heads out of tents this morning for a 7 AM check.., it was perfect. No clouds above and no sign of wind on the crest of the West Buttress. It was about as cold as we've been though, getting up and fed and ready in the shadows. The sun doesn't hit 14 camp until 9:20... Which is when we started climbing today. Things were slightly tougher because we did a fair amount of breaking trail uphill through new snow, but there were a couple of other climbers out who seemed determined to stay ahead of us -so that helped. We took two breaks before the start of the steep "fixed rope" section of the climb. Most had been looking up for a few days and wondering how we'd get up something that appeared to be so difficult from afar. It still looked hard from close up, but we did it anyway -step by step. We topped out at the magical little notch in the ridge at 16,200ft to find magnificent views and a steady zero miles per hour in the wind department. It was tough climbing, most said... but they said it while grinning from ear to ear. Five of our twelve climbers broke altitude records today. We dug a raven-proof hole in the snow and cached supplies. Then it was back down the ropes, saying hello to several groups still on their way up to sleep at high camp (17,200ft). It was hot and still on our way down, but our packs were light and the distances were small. Clouds had formed up and we were enveloped by them before we reached 14 camp at 4:15PM. Sure enough, it started snowing lightly as we climbed in the tents for a rest. A few hours later, it was still snowing but we were sheltered in our dining tent, eating dinner and talking about another great day in the mountains. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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