Its Sunday afternoon, and Rob says the temperature at Camp 2 was 0 degrees outside the tent, 21 degrees in the tent, and in his sleeping bag 150 degrees, he hoped. Sense of humor: intact! Team One was belted with 50mph winds all night which made sleeping difficult.

In Team One’s first itinerary modification, they’ve decided to wait a day before depositing a cache at Camp 3 since they will not be making the projected Wednesday summit bid. They did go ahead and hike up to Camp 3 at 19k feet and then on up another 1k feet for acclimization. He said the winds were “howling” the whole time.

They are back at Camp 2 tonight and its cold. They know that the forecast for their two summit days predicts bleak winds up to 100mph. On Monday, if the forecast by mid-day is still bleak, they will move back down to Base Camp (Plaza Argentina) and regroup there. Ever the realist, he seems aware what this wind-storm might mean.

Guide Geoff Schellens posted a blog entry and voice dispatch on the RMI blog today, too. Guide optimism and temperament… truly one of the best things about these trips with RMI. Thank you, JJ and Geoff!

Day 14: Carry to Camp 3 (Piedras Blancas at 19,600′). We continue traversing high above the Guanacos Valley to our High Camp and leave a cache of gear before returning to Camp 2.* Sunday, December 16th, 2012

* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides