Woke up early this morning so I could get my last show for 10 or so days. We got an email from Pete late last night updating us on his progress. The plan was he and David ( the guy who was originally supposed to climb this route with him, but could not due to time constraints) were supposed to finish carrying all his gear and water to the base of the climb and then fix the first two pitches. As it turns out, there are three other climbers wanting to get on the same route. He made a deal with them - they can climb our rope for the first pitch, fix the second pitch for us, and then haul our rack to the top of the second. They plan on doing the route in only three days (ha! Lightweights...) so they jumped on the opportunity. This is good because this particular route is known for being very grassy and dirty - they can clean the cracks out for us, saving a great amount of time.
Due to all of this, we can take our time this morning, have a relaxed breakfast, and then pack up and go. We still need to carry our food, tent, and portaledge to the base - all very heavy, so we'll hire one porter to carry a load. We've already carried and stashed all our water (9 gallons each), gear, ropes, storm & warm weather clothing, and sleeping bags. It's a lot of work climbing a big wall.
If all goes as planned today, Kate and I will be bivvying at the top of the second pitch, Pete and David (David wants to stay for one night) at the top of the first. I'll update this tonight or tomorrow morning.
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