July 8, 2002: Now
we are back at K2 basecamp after our attempt at
Broad Peak was cut short by bad weather. We did
manage to spend three nights on the mountain,
however: From
basecamp we climbed to Camp 1 at 5800 meters on July
4. The next day we climbed to Camp 2 at 6400 meters.
We had hoped to continue to Camp 3 (6900 meters) the
following morning, but high winds and blowing snow
convinced us to change our plans. We also received a
weather report indicating continued unsettled
weather through July 11, so we decided to postpone
our summit attempt on Broad Peak till then.
We are relaxing at
Basecamp, along with other members of the
international team, enjoying the great cooking of
Karim and his staff. Most climbers are now waiting
at basecamp for the next spell of good weather,
expected to arrive in four to five days. Some
expeditions are now poised to make their summit bids
on K2, including the Japanese and Tibetan teams. A
large German expedition will go for the top of Broad
Peak at the next opportunity, too.
Our plan is to head
back to Broad Peak around the 10th or 11th of July,
weather permitting. If all goes well we should be
able to climb the peak in about four days. After
that, we will take a good long rest at basecamp then
go for K2.
