Day 8 - Anchors & Prep

Another gorgeous day in Peru! We spent most of the day on the mountain, practicing working in rope teams and building anchors with ice screws, snow pickets and deadmen. (Not actual dead people just a term for a buried anchor.)

It was great fun as the guides took the second place on the rope teams and allowed us to assess the terrain and make our own judgements about where to go.

I really enjoyed working on rope team with Ian, Oscar, and Alejo. Oscar is so full of energy you practically have to tie him down. Alejo is always happy to crack a smile or a joke. Ian is very focused on learning and seems to want to be sure he understands everything in great detail. The Brits were roped up with Sam today, and the original Jamie seemed less than enthusiastic about his teaching style, to put it mildly.

Angela and Dylan were roped up with Mitcher. Dylan looked right at home at the head of the rope team.  Angela on the other hand was not as excited about it. She has been struggling a bit in the rougher terrain probably due to her lack of experience. But the guides are extremely helpful and make sure that everyone is safe. We headed back to camp a little early today to rest up and check gear.

We had a nice pasta dinner to fuel us for the summit attempt. We should be leaving camp around 1:00 am tonight. So now it's lights out and get a few hours of rest.