August 1, 2006

Jason called again this evening with a brief dispatch. He was calling from a narrow valley, where the satellite quickly disappears over the valley walls, and so he kept his message short, fearing losing the connection.

He let us know that they had just hiked into the Ishinca Valley and arrived at their base camp. It took about four hours to hike in, and everyone did great. Jason said that just as they set up their tents, the skies let loose and the rain came pouring down, so they relished their good timing and waited it out in their tents.

When the rain stopped, the sky cleared dramatically and the team was gifted with a "phenomenal view of Toqllaraju." Many photos were taken.

Jason says that their base camp is similar to those in Bolivia's mountains - a wide open field with mountains surrounding them and other climbers from barious parts of the world. The team saw several animals, including many "vicuñas" (a leaner, fast relative of the llama or alpaca.)

Tomorrow they plan to spend the day working on glacier skills, and then after that they will attempt Ishinca's summit.