Day 18 - 17K camp, retreive cache from 16K

I was really concerned that our thirst on the first night at 5,220 meters 17K camp might trigger Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or even worse conditions like High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). To make matters worse, I had lost some water from my system due to a bout of diarrhea on the 16K ridge. Despite my offers to share the remaining water mixed with snow, Vera refused.

In the morning, after sunrise, we packed our stove and headed down. The weather was good, a bit windy and cold, but still climbable. We descended the 16K ridge to the top of the fixed lines in 1.5 hours, retrieved our cache and melted snow, and cooked some Mountain House.

After a break, we returned to 17K camp. Some guided teams followed us and passed ahead. I thought they were moving too quickly after climbing the fixed lines, and their speed seemed to have exhausted them. Their original plan was to move the cache to 17K, but after reaching Washburn thumb, they changed their mind.

Back at the camp, hydrated and rested, at 8:00 PM we listened to the weather forecast, which wasn't favorable - snow was on the way. We had to choose between waiting it out or climbing Denali immediately.

Of course, Vera suggested "or else" - climbing Denali right away, as she was always eager for an adventure. I, on the other hand, took a more conservative approach. Besides, we never start climbing before sunrise, which is our standard practice. However, Vera made a valid point - if we waited, our food and fuel might run out, and it would be difficult to get back to 17K if we needed to descend.

A young couple from Anchorage, who were our neighbors in the next tent, returned at 9:00 PM after successfully summitting. Vera went to ask for some beta and was told to "put on all your available clothes, it's very cold up there. Take all carabiners - some of the fixed pros on Autobahn are missing. One stretch is 50 meters." This was useful information.

So we packed our climbing gear. Vera would carry a light day backpack with essentials and two 1-liter thermoses, while I would carry an expedition pack with essentials, a steel spade shovel, and a tarp for an emergency bivouac. We planned to take a 30-meter 8mm rope and one straight ice axe each. The news that one stretch was 50 meters long made us nervous, as our 30-meter rope would not be enough to protect it. Autobahn had a history of serious accidents, and its name - "highway with no speed limit" - indicated that if you slipped and fell on the traverse, you could reach a fatal speed.

We set our alarm for 2:30 AM and went to bed, excited for the possibility that tomorrow could be "THE day".