Today we woke up at 6am and had pancakes with blueberries and chocolate chips, and bacon, for breakfast. After that, we packed up and left at 8. Today was our first day on crampons with ice axes. We were going to cache a load at 13,000 feet. We went up Motorcycle Hill first, which went really well. I practiced the rest step and the french technique up the hill and was amazed at how much easier crampons are compared to the snowshoes we had been wearing until now. Once we got to the top, we took a break before Squirrel Hill. I tried to practice the duck step, which I am not as good at, but the time passed quickly and before I knew it, we were going around Windy Corner. Then we cached our stuff and returned to Camp 2 for the night. Going down is always pretty painful; controlling the rope is a little stressful on steep slopes. We got back in just under 6 hours and rested before dinner. June 18, we woke up at 5:30am and prepared to move to 14 Camp (at 14,000 feet). This move was really hard with a heavy pack. My guide had to physically place my backpack on my back every time we took a break, and then I was able to carry it. But getting it on was tough - it was taller than me! When we got to 14 Camp, I was exhausted, but really happy. My guide said that I was an “animal”, and he had seen men twice my size struggle carrying the same weight. The next day we had a rest day, and I slept until 10am. We ate brunch and then worked on practicing fixed lines. Fixed lines are not hard, but they are complicated doing it as a team. After that, we did some running protection practice, had dinner and went to sleep.
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