Monday, July 4, 2022 - 9:46 pm PT

We woke to a calm but cloudy morning at 17,200'.  There was light snow falling -some of the first snowflakes we’ve had on this trip.  It wasn’t too hard to be out in it for packing though.  We got it all done and got walking at noon.  Many careful steps were taken along the crest of the West Buttress in the clouds.  We got a little surprise when we started down the fixed lines at 16,200. There was an actual squall with snow blowing in our faces as we delicately stepped down and across crevasses.  Things eased as we got to 14,000' at 3 PM and re-established camp.  We then had a quiet afternoon and evening of resting, relaxing and eating, with everybody making mention of how much easier life at 14,000' was compared to 17,000'. 

Tomorrow we’ll hope the clouds go elsewhere as we get down to 11,000' and get set for the big walk out the lower glacier. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn