Logan Attempt, Early Bird Buttress.2 Patrick Peterson and I waited for five days at Klaune Lake for flying weather. We flew to the Seward Glacier on May 11, where we waited out another three days of storms. When the weather cleared, we left Base Camp on May 15 and began climbing on our route early on the 16th, but two feet of fresh snow made for slow going. The route requires a sustained push from 9000 to 14,000 feet as safe bivouacs are unavailable. We could not posthole fast enough to reach 14,000 feet safely. Avalanches indicated highly unstable snow conditions. We had a near miss on our route and retired. With new storms predicted, we knew we did not have time enough to wait for the face to become safe. We skied 35 miles to the base of the east ridge in three days and arrived as another storm blew in. Two other climbers who had attempted the east ridge reported similar thigh-deep snow. Eventually we flew out on May 21.

Tom Lohuis*

*Recipient of an American Alpine Club Mountaineering Fellowship grant.