We woke up around 0730 to the unfamiliar silence of a beautiful Alaskan high pressure system. This was the first time in four days that we didn't hear the pelting of frozen precipitation hitting the tent. As our groggy eyes opened up, you could tell from the brightness inside the tent that today would be different. The sky was as blue and cloud-free as you could imagine. At breakfast, the guides gave us the good news that we would be heading up into the fork to stretch our legs. We filled our tummies with English muffins, cream cheese, and bacon, quickly grabbed some water and suited up for a light hike up.
We left around 1100 and returned around 1430. It felt great to get back into the left right left rhythm. Considering that we got over 3 feet during the storm, the snow was wind-scoured and solid, which was a huge plus for our move tomorrow. We had a small dinner of quesadillas and sorted gear in preparation for an efficient start. The weather forecast looked great for the foreseeable future and the team was very positive. Just getting on the West Rib felt like our new summit. I ran through our baseline agenda and thought our chances to summit were quite slim, but the guides reassured us that we could still take advantage of intermediate camps and good weather. Rest days from this point out would probably be few and far between. We rolled back into our tents around 1830 with an early wake-up planned.
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