June 15, 2015 (Day 11): Cache at 12,900 ft

Team was up at 0100 for a quick brekkie of creamed wheat, dried fruit and granola.  We enjoyed improved efficiency in getting packed and roped up and started on the trail at 0230.  We navigated between a couple extremely large crevasses that bordered the camp and were soon at the foot of the couloir.  I felt a sense of relief as we approached because it definitely was not vertical as it looked...not easy, but not vertical.  Josh zig-zagged his way up the couloir taking advantage of snow, ice, and rock protection along the way.  It was mostly hard snow until we reached the top section of ice that bordered the rocks on climber's left just before gaining the ridge.  We ran into some steeper AI2 conditions with the angle approaching 60 degrees.  Not extremely technical, but when you have 50 lb packs it requires an extra bit of caution.  It took just under three hours to gain the ridge, and I was in awe of both where we came from and where we were headed.  Seeing the NE Fork from above made us realize just how dangerous the route was.

Once we all snacked, Kai and Zach decided to take the lead over a couple more rollers another 900 feet up.  The climbing at this point was not terribly technical, but very very awkward.  We ended up duckfoot walking a majority of it on some hard ice.  When it steepened up some more, I found a good rhythm facing the route, getting low and on my knees and then having one leg sprawled out for balance.  There was a bit more ice than expected and Kai ended up sacrificing one of his cordellettes to make some V thread anchors.  We reached the 12,900 ft cache around 0800.  After burying everything there was a bit of urgency to get down the couloir before it became too soft, increasing the risk of rock fall.  The Climb down the ridge was just as, if not more awkward than the ascent.  I didn't feel fully comfortable and kept switching between down-climbing and cautious duckfoot walking.  We down-climbed the entire couloir and it was definitely getting soft and a few small rocks went whizzing by.  The team was back in camp around 1115 and I was soaked in sweat from the warm temps.  We napped a bit in the afternoon and enjoyed some well-deserved pizza for dinner.  The team made preparations to sort gear for our big day and we were ready for bed at 1930.