Day 16 - Move to High Camp 4 (Ha Ha) ?

Forecast is for it to be windy today so I don't even bother packing or waking up early. Unsurprisingly, there is no call and the day is much the same as the others. Reading and doing bits of exercise to keep active.
The updated forecast now has Fri, Sat and Sun all with low winds so good for summiting. The camp continues to fill so the slopes are going to be absolutely packed on those days.

These pictures show the difference between the strong winds higher up and the clear sunny conditions in camp:

Strong winds blowing snow off the ridge

 

Hot sun and clear skies in camp

Interestingly, rumours are coming in of sustained bad weather from Sun night on. The big problem with this will be the delay in flying off the glacier and being stuck at base camp for a number of days just as we are here. There should be little backlog there as all groups ahead of us should be off the mountain having summited 4 days ago or so.

The plan for tomorrow is to start at about 5am - really need to get ahead of the other groups to set up camp and get some rest in advance of our summit attempt the day after. We are splitting into a fast group and a slower group so that we can get there early and get camp set up and hot drinks on for when the others arrive.
One of the team has not been on a mountain before and it has been decided that it is not going to be safe for her to come as she just does not have the experience in mountains or the technical skills required - I have probably been making light of the conditions as well as a number of guides here still seem to be concerned about them. I feel very sorry for her but do not know what conversations the company had with her about her lack of experience when she was booking. Right from the start I have been concerned about her (not so much on the fitness front) but all the small things you learn about looking after yourself on a mountain and which you can only learn from time spent in harsh conditions. What is right for one person is not right for another and unless you have learnt those things about yourself you put yourself in danger and the success of the expedition at risk. Denali, which is meant to be one of the toughest of the 7Summits, is not the right place to learn!!

At the same time, this should allow greater latitude with the weather so hopefully we should finally be setting off tomorrow. From chatting to a few other groups, it appears that a few people aren't going up from here - the short window and difficult conditions predicted for the descent and way out has been giving a number of guides and climbers food for thought.

If we don't go tomorrow, it looks as though our last option will be a one day charge on Saturday - bound to be an interesting conversation if we get to that!!

Food:
Pancakes, oatmeal and cereal
Quesadillas and noodles