The duo as they move camp. (Photo: Michael Schmidt)
On Day 10 of the expedition, the duo made it to Camp Steele, at 4,694 metres, despite unending winds. Their climb was simultaneous, carrying another five days worth of food and fuel with them.
After traversing Mount Steele to the base of Mount Lucania, landing at High Camp at 4,724 metres, the team was in position to make an attempt for the summit — but an unstable weather window brought concern to the team on the ground.
“The plateau was perfectly firm,” said Marceau about getting from Mount Steele to Mount Lucania. “We’re exhausted, even though it was a short day today … we’re just done from going so hard. We’re going to rest up today so we can do the big summit day tomorrow. It’s a race against time.”
Marceau also noted that the weather would need to hold for the descent from the summit, to make it safely back to camp — and hold it did. The women did a 914-metre climb to the summit on April 26, with a live tracker updating their progress every 30 minutes. They made it to the peak at 3:34 PDT.