Memorial Day

This just in from Lara! 
 
     May 25, 2009 Monday
             On Sunday our team woke up at around 10:30 am and started walking from camp 9700 to camp 11000. After a hard night the night before, in which they fell asleep at 3:30 am, the group started walking to camp 11000 at 12:30 pm and arrived at 5:30 pm. Everyone is fine and in good spirits. The weather has been good to them, and the beauty of the mountains is breathtaking. The sun is a main contributor to the "warm" weather.  Sometimes if climbers don't wear skin protection, they can get sunburn on their noses, (thanks to the sun reflecting off of the white snow, kind of like the tanning reflectors the teenagers use to get their already golden skin to a more prominent brown.) Can you imagine getting sunburn on your nose while climbing in -20 degree Fahrenheit weather?! I would also like to share that the team saw two military helicopters flying over the area, which is unusual unless they are on a rescue mission. Today, the team woke up at 6:00 am and carried half of the equipment to camp 14000 then they walked back to 11000. Now they will have to wait because the officials are saying that they are expecting a storm Tuesday and Wednesday. They say that it is getting very cold but it is still not incredibly cold. They planned to leave the snowshoes at 11,000 and switch to crampons. The goal of the team is to leave to camp 14000 today, before the storm hits. If they are delayed however, right now they are one day ahead of schedule. But I do not yet have the information to be able to tell you guys if they are leaving or if they are going to wait out the storm at camp 11000. From now on the climb gets tougher. Whether it's from weather conditions or tricky crevasses, the team will face some of the most challenging situations in their overall climbing experience.