Moving to 11k on the West Buttress

Jared reported in last night from 7,800k camp. The team carried a heavy load of food and fuel to 11k camp and reported that the team was strong and moving well. Most teams carry to just before Kahiltna Pass and then move past the cache to 11k the next day, but all plans are relative to the strength of the group; Jared and Greg recognized that they could ask their team to work a little harder. A strong group is a good thing for a route like the West Rib. Their plan was to move to 11k today on the West Buttress route and dig into a safe spot for camp.
There are several ways to approach climbing the West Rib, Jared's strategy involves acclimatizing at the West Buttress's 14k camp and carrying a load of supplies up high on the Rib before moving back down to 7,800k camp where the Northeast fork of the Kahiltna meets the main flow of the Kahiltna. From there they will move up the Northeast fork to start climbing the Rib proper. Having acclimatized and carried supplies up higher on the route means they will be able to move more quickly and comfortably. The TAT web cam (www.talkeetnaair.com/web-cam) shows some beautiful weather this morning, so our team should be hitting the trail in the next few hours.