To Zee Top 2

It was a quite morning at 14,000' Basin Camp.  It was snowing when they woke up and continued to snow until early afternoon.  Around 2:00 the snow stopped, and they decided they would attempt to carry some gear higher on the mountain.  Dave, Billy & Joe started out first, followed by Rob and Kenny.  Stony and Chris stayed at camp.  They climbed the headwall to the top of the fixed lines at 16,200'.  They decided to cache the gear at 16,200' and not go any higher due to their late start.  They returned to camp mid evening, happy with their progress. They plan to hang out and rest at 14,000', acclimatize a bit more and see what the weather has in store for them.

Acclimatizing properly is essential to safely ascend to high altitudes. Climbers acclimatize by ascending slowly, resting one day for every 1,000 feet  they climb in one day. They drink plenty of liquids and eat healthy food. They also practice a rule of thumb: climb high, sleep low. Climbing high, then descending to lower altitudes allows the body to build up and gain strength with fresh oxygen, digest food better, get sounder sleep and any wounds can heal and they'll feel much stronger by descending. It will also allow them to build up their bodies, worn from the low O2 content, with fresh oxygen.