| A large group of
U. S. Army soldiers had left camp earlier that day, so when we arrived at the 9,000' camp
we had our choice of wonderful camp sites already dug. I had let myself get wet on the way
to Camp 2, and was shivering when we first got into the tent. We got our first taste of
cold weather. It dropped below zero during the night.This was the first night that I used
my VBL sleeping bag liner, and it worked like a charm. Day 4 - We woke to sunshine and were able to dry out all our stuff. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| We decided
to leave for a carry to 11,000' at 2:00 PM. It was really a tough grind, especially the
last hill past Kahiltna Pass. We strung out our wands a little
more, and wound up with a few dozen extra at the end. Once again a storm rolled in for our
return to 9,000'. The wands were really a life saver. We had to look hard for some because
of whiteout conditions. It was on our way back to Camp 2 that we first ran into the Taiwanese group led by Makalu Gau. They were like an army of robots, all dressed alike, marching onward through the storm. Some were roped up, some were travelling solo. They wore colorful outfits sporting a beautifully embroided team patch. They were climbing Denali as a training climb, while in preparation for Mount Everest in 1996. Little did they know what tragedies lay ahead for them on both expeditions. We wondered what they'd be doing if it wasn't for our wands. As we neared our camp, we passed a straggler from the Taiwanese group. His foot hurt and he had been left behind by the others. He was without water and asked us for some. We were able to give him about a liter. In the middle of the night we were woken by Makalu Gau. He was taking the straggler back down to the landing zone, and they needed water badly. Bill made them two quarts of warm water, and they presented us with a large pouch of sesame paste. |
|
 |
 |
| Day 5 We moved to our Camp 3 at 11,000'. | |