We just returned
from a successful acclimation climb on Broad Peak.
On July 15th under cloudy, dark skies, we climbed to
the 6400 camp on Broad Peak. The weather reminded us
of a normal Washington Cascade day. The next
morning, (16th) greeted us with clear skies and
crisp air. We climbed higher to 6800 meters, where
we dug a platform and set up camp. Later in the day
we climbed higher to 6900 meters and scouted the
route above. From there we descended back to camp
and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon sun. The next
day we moved our camp to 7300 meters. We cut a
platform for our tent in the icy slopes beneath the
summit pyramid. We brewed hot drinks, made dinner
and prepared to go higher the following day. We woke
up at 11pm to cloudy and stormy skies. We felt it
would be difficult to navigate higher, so we made
the 18th a rest day. The skies cleared in the
evening. We received word by radio that the Koreans
and other members of the K2 International expedition
where going for the summit of Broad Peak from 6400
meters in the morning.
We left our camp at
midnight to climb towards the top. We took turns
breaking trail in the deep snow. The Koreans caught
up to us at 7700 meters and took
over making the trail. We reach close to 7800 meters
when our friends from the K2 International team
caught up. At this point, just below the col, we ran
into poor snow conditions and everyone decided it
was safer to descend. We were back at our tent by
6am. We warmed up a bit before breaking down camp
and returning to K2 base camp. It took us the rest
of the day to get there, since we were carrying
heavy loads.
Our plans are to
rest for the next 5-6 days at base camp drinking
plenty of Starbucks coffee and eating a lot. After
our climb on Broad Peak we feel we are sufficiently
acclimated for an attempt to summit K2. Now we just
need to be well rested before our K2 attempt. We
received news that the Tibetans made a summit push
on K2 today. They reached approximately 8400 meters,
fixing rope through the bottleneck and reported
knee-deep snow. They turned around because they were
exhausted and encountered high winds, it is
reported.
Our plans are still
to climb the south face via a variation to the
Polish route. We hope to climb to our stash at 6400
meter around the 26th. Weather permitting, we hope
to make the climb in 5 days, but we are prepared to
spend more time on the face if necessary. We are not
using fixed ropes, oxygen or porter support.
Now it's back to
drinking coffee, lots of reading and preparing for
our climb ahead!
