Today we made the traverse across the Shira Plateau, from Shira One to Camp Shira Two. Today was the easiest day yet, with a 3 hour hike and a mere 200 meters of elevation gain. As such we covered the groud very quickly and were the first ones into camp Shira Two. It certainly felt good being the first ones to sign our names on the check-in sheet. Camp Shira Two is much rockier and more sheltered from the wind than Shira One. The dust is also not as bad here, though still present. The most amazing thing about this camp is the phenomenal view. We can now see the end of the Shira plateau, as well as what literally looks like a Sea of Clouds. Below us, as far as the eye can see are unbroken clouds, breaking against the Shira Plateau. We’ve never seen anything quite like this before, and the sight served to remind us of why exactly we go on these expeditions. Sights like these can not be seen every day, and the memory will remain with us for the rest of our lives.

Once again we pitched camp(we are becoming exceedingly proficient at pitching tents), had tea & popcorn(big surprise!), and again headed out for an acclimatization walk. I think we actually descended on this walk, so again it didn’t really do anything for acclimatization. We did however get to see some more awesome views, encountered obsidian debris fields, went inside a cave, and saw the Shira Cave Camp, replete with ranger station & helipad. These light hikes are refreshing after long days, and are some of the most enjoyable moments of the trip for both of us.

Back at camp, it was dinner & then off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a huge day. We go from 13,451 ft(4100 m) to the Lava Tower at 15,000 ft (4700 m), and then back down to Barranco Camp at 12,800 ft (3900 m). Tomorrow will be an informative day. If we weather the day well, our summit attempt should likewise proceed smoothly. Despite being much higher, we won’t be carrying 45 lb packs on summit day so the exertion level should be similar.

Continue to Day 5 – Shira Two to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp

IMPORTANT! Click on any of the pictures below to go to the full photo/video album for Day 4. We highly recommend clicking on the “show info” button at the top right of the album page if you’d like to see our description of each picture. Also when videos play, be sure that the HD box on the bottom right is lit, or the video will look terrible!

(Note: If you are clicking through the pictures manually, be aware that there is a Flickr bug that causes a video to play if you’re looking at the picture preceding the video). We apologize for the inconvenience, but you can mute the audio if it gets annoying.

Continue to Day 5 – Shira Two to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp