Logan Expedition Blog 3, Decision making and team dynamics, Football Field Camp 3 - Team split at Camp 4

King Peak and the view from the Football Field Camp

Monday 16th May - Rest day at the Football Field Camp 3

The forecast for the next few days was neither good nor bad, some snow, some sun and some wind.  Long due a rest day we had agreed that today we would rest having had some longer days in the sun carrying loads.  This meant a lie in and leisurely breakfast.

Some snow arrived at 13:30, and shortly afterwards at 15:00 we meet the team of 4 Quebecois who had summitted yesterday after a 13hr day from camp at 5150m the other side Prospector Col.  They looked knackered, however we managed to have a chat about their route choice and at least it seemed to tie in with the one the guided group behind us were going to take.

The cheese selection we found in a cache left by another party that had to fly out early 

More eating, drinking and resting commenced, and we made plans for the next few days, the summit in our minds.  Every two days we would be texted a detailed weather forecast from Lisa, our incredible weather forecaster.  This would then enable us to get a good idea of the next three days and a rough idea of what could lie in stall.  It seemed as though the high pressure had left us and more unstable weather would be arriving.

Tuesday 17th May - Football Field Camp 3- just below Prospector Col and back

Originally the forecast was not that great, so we had planned to have another day in camp.  Around midday the sun popped out for a bit and we thought it would be worth our while skinning up towards the col to stretch the legs and have a look.  Four out of six of us went up, and interestingly, us four would turn out to become the summit team later on.  Upon arrival at the Football field, coinciding with the changes in the weather, I think our team started to have differing ideas about what weather we should be moving in, what weather was good, acceptable, bad and awful.  It was challenging, as these next few days would be very mixed, and neither safe nor unsafe to move in, but we would all agree that they weren’t ideal.

Cathy and David concentrating hard on the navigation when we 'lost' the skin track

Starting up the first ramp left from camp, we switched back right, past a more crevassed area and along the never ending 2nd flattening.  By now the fog had arrived and we were navigating by GPS and compass bearings.  I took my turn being out front and while at times you couldn’t even make out the shape of the terrain in front of you, it was quite nice to be out in the type of weather we expected to encounter.  After all, we had all packed endless warm clothing, and all we had experienced so far was baking sun and a bit of snow!  (While I don’t wish storms upon anyone, one of the challenges to overcome on the mountain was surviving the notoriously bad weather!)

After 2.25hrs we made it to the ‘Yukon boys’ campsite at 5300m below the col.  It was quite cold and windy, so a hasty retreat was made back to camp.  Initially seeking out the old skin track, and later following our GPS track.  I tried out the GPS tracback function on my Garmin watch and was amazed at how accurate it was.

Plans were made to begin a move to a higher camp on this side of the col, upon returning to camp.

Cathy and David happy to have found the best Map and compass:GPS ratio!

Wednesday 18th May - Football Field Camp 3 - Prospector Col Shoulder Camp 4 and back

We awoke to another day of mixed weather, and opted to carry to a higher camp, destination currently unknown, and then return to move camp the next day.  Many decisions were made about how much food and fuel to carry up, and in the end we took most of it, just leaving behind some of the extra food we had found in another teams cache that had had to abandon their trip.  I think this was 10days food and fuel in total.

The carry didn't take long, and we soon found a suitable campsite on the side of the glacier where we should be quite protected from the wind forecast.  Upon arrival we began digging out our tent platforms so that tomorrow’s day would be shorter.

The huge tent platform for Camp 4 Photo by David Williams

Thursday 19th May - Football Field Camp 3 - Prospector Col Shoulder Camp 4

The entire camp was packed up, with a cache made of our extra food, fuel and rubbish, before we headed up to our higher camp.  It was another short day, but we thought the extra height gained would help us acclimatise during the mediocre weather forecast, as well as being that bit closer to the summit.  This was a huge weigh up, the benefits of moving higher were: a chance to acclimatise more, being closer to the col and summit, and filling our days with something proactive.  The negatives were, not everyone would keep their appetite and sleep well, the weather wasn’t ideal, and would this counteract our gains?

Is Camp 4 the best campsite on Mount Logan?

Friday 20th May - Stormy day at Prospector Col Shoulder Camp 4

Much of the day was spent digging our tents out and discussing the weather, what was acceptable weather to move over the Col in, whether we would all go to the summit, and what our plan should be.  This debate raged on for most of the day, and only increased with every new bit of weather information we received!  Our tent platform and walls, while great at keeping the wind out, weren’t so good at keeping the snow out and would fill up every 30mins or so, at times with over a foot of snow around them.  Still, it kept us busy.

Digging the tents out Photo by David Williams

In hindsight I don’t think we had fully discussed what would be acceptable weather to attempt the summit in, and what the team would be happy with, as well as what we would do regarding splitting the team.  These conversations are hard to perceive in advance of them actually happening.  The forecast had said that if we wanted to try for the summit we should move over the col this weekend and attempt it early next week, returning before a big storm was due to arrive on Thursday.

Saturday 21st May - Rest day at Prospector Col Shoulder Camp 4

More indecision.  The weather was mixed once again, and we couldn’t decide whether to move or not, or whether we should move.  By this stage one of our team members had had enough of sitting in the tent, bearing the cold, altitude and hauling loads, and didn’t want to move unless we had 3 days of good weather (sun, no wind or clouds).  Other’s of us were unsure what to make of it, and some just wanted to go before our chance was up.  Could we make a decision everyone would be happy with?

Prospector Col lay ahead of us like some dark gate to be crossed onto the hell of the plateau with no escape!  It was a psychological barrier.  Nearly all rescues happen on the plateau, and once there, the only practical way off the mountain is back over the col, complete with around 300m of ascent.  It is high, exposed to all the weather, and nowhere to be caught out.  But this doesn't mean you should be scared of it.  With preparation, the right equipment, some luck, and a reasonable forecast, to summit you need to cross it.

Cathy skiing back down to Camp 4 (middle right, just below King Peak)

Sunday 22nd May - Camp 4 - Prospector Col - Camp 4

Alarms at 8am, the sun hit us later here, and we set off at 10:30, some of us carrying 5 days of food and some equipment to cache at the col, despite the fact that we still hadn’t decided upon a summit attempt or who would go to the summit.  After just over an hour of skinning in perfect visibility we arrived with great views through the col.  Once there we did a quick recce over the other side for a few hundred metres, but not too far as it was incredibly icy.

Looking over Prospector Col

The weather was perfect and I couldn’t help thinking that we should be moving over the col to camp on the other side for a summit attempt.  But we still couldn’t make a decision on this.  It seemed easier just to ascend the col as a team and have a final good day together.  This made for difficult team dynamics, who would go up, who would go down, why, and when?  At least, lets put it to one side for now and enjoy the views and company.  We cached in the old snow wall at the col and headed back down for more discussions.  Then the guided party, and the Kiwi/Australian party committed to the move over the col, and we watched them skin past that afternoon.  Oh.

David enjoying the ski back down from Prospector Col

Finally this evening we agreed on a plan.  Two of the team decided to head down and the rest of us would continue up for a summit bid.  We would split tomorrow.  Relieved to have a plan again, the rest of the trip could take some shape and continue moving forwards.  (A lack of forwards momentum can be awful when on expedition, leading to uncertainties, boredom, tiredness and reluctance to continue)  Gear and other logistics were discussed and the plan was to summit on Tuesday or Wednesday to be as far down the mountain by Thursday evening for the Armageddon storm to hit us with 1.5m of snow and gale force winds.