After a quick dinner consisting of instant soup and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I sacked out early to try and get some sleep before our 1 am departure. The second day of the climb would be much more difficult than the first day since we would first have to climb the remaining 4,222 feet to the summit, and then descend 9,010 feet back down to the RMI guide house at Paradise.

Strong winds buffeted the cabin at Camp Muir throughout the night, which made sleeping difficult. Shortly after midnight, the alarm sounded and everyone was bustling to eat a quick breakfast and get geared up for the climb. It took a few minutes to get dressed, put on mountaineering boots, lace up crampons and get into the climbing harness. With everyone geared up, we roped together with a guide at each end of the rope teams. The wind continued to blow hard making communication somewhat difficult as we began our climb under a brilliant full moon.