Rough time at High Camp

We received word last night that, after spending the day resting and acclimatizing at High Camp, after moving up from 14,200 feet, lead guide Dave Ahrens became ill. Details are unclear, but he is descending under his own power, with support from National Park Service personnel and four other Mountain Trip guides.

I wish I had more details to share, but all I can say is that Dave, who was doing fine up to yesterday, felt weak and ill yesterday. He checked in with some friends on the NPS patrol at High Camp and they gave him access to some bottled oxygen. He did not feel better this morning and by the afternoon had called down to other Mountain Trip guides at 14,200' to tell them that he felt it prudent to descend. As Michael Burmeister needed to remain with our four climbers at High Camp, our friends with the NPS volunteered to walk with Dave as he descended the ridge from 17,200' to the top of the fixed lines at 16,200'.

Another party of our guides and probably some other NPS friends who were camped at 14,200' are climbing up to meet Dave and will hike back to camp with him. There is a doctor at the 14,200' camp and Dave will be in good hands.

Guiding is an incredibly demanding profession. We work hard day in and day out, and often feel that we are, or at least need to portray ourselves as being, invincible. Our climbers depend on us to be anchors in the seemingly endlessly shifting sea of the day to day big and small decisions necessary to run an expedition. Every now and then we are reminded that we guides are just folks who love the mountains, and are just as subject to health issues and other afflictions as any climber.

All my best wishes for a speedy descent and recovery go out to my good friend Dave. I'm sorry you'll not see the remote north side this trip, but, to probably mis-quote my climbing hero Don Whillans, "The mountains will always be their lad, the key is for you to be there too."

The rest of the team will continue waiting for a summit bid. We might do some guide shuffling to bring one of our other guides on to their team, but we'll keep you posted as to how that all shakes out.