Broad Peak 2016 (Unsuccessful)

Broad Peak Expedition Summary
Here’s my summary (sorry for the delay). As some have already read from my diary and videos (on public FB page), many things went wrong in my Broad Peak expedition. I have had time to cool down and thus there will be much less expletives in this summary than if I had written it immediately upon my return.

Things that went wrong:
1) SummitClimb is a very poor organiser of Pakistan expeditions. I had met Dan Mazur in a couple of times before, once in Cho Oyu and more recently on Manaslu. I had never used his company (SummitClimb) but we did chat and I thought I’d give them a try after my Manaslu expedition. I signed-up for their Broad Peak expedition and paid very early for the expedition (deposit in January 2016 and then final payment in May as requested). At this point I confirmed my expedition dates and locked-in my flights. The expedition guide would be Felix Berg.

a. Before I left for the expedition the dates changed -the expedition start and end a week earlier. I was told this as past experience was that the weather heated up earlier and that snow conditions would be worse. Thus I changed my flights at my expense.
b. After point a, I was then advised that they wanted to bring the expedition forward even earlier. I shared my “disappointment” as I was not going to change my flights again. If SummitClimb were experienced, and had details from previous years, then they should have used that information to set their original expedition dates.

c. I continually asked to find out how many other expeditioners would be in the group. I was never told. I only found out that when I arrived into Islamabad -there were two of us (the other was the Icelandic) and the guide…but there were other Spanish climbers (a handful of them) on the same climbing permit. We would work together but this was a very tiny group! If I had known that it was this small, I would not have joined.

d. There was a last minute change in expedition guide from Felix Berg to Oscar Cadiach. I found this out I believe around 1-2wks before expedition departure.

e. When we were in Skardu organising the group gear it was a bit of a mess. It took some time to get the gear from Nazir Sabir Expeditions (NSE) and organise it. We were using Lela Peak Expeditions this time so there may have been to tension. Not sure but it took a lot longer than was required.

The whole planning was amateurish and it was clear that the change in guide dictated a lot of planning decisions at the last minute. Very unprofessional organisation. I could never recommend SummitClimb as an expedition company. I recognise that things can and do change, but not one thing in their expedition information pack was delivered (no individual radios, different hotel, plan to and from base camp was shortened etc).
2) The cock-up at camp 3 (C3) on summit night demonstrated the poor planning and organisation with team members and High Altitude Porters (HAPs):

a. When we arrived at C3 the lack of tents and setup made it a potentially dangerous situation. It was a mess when I got there last and some very upset people. The guide Oscar just stayed in his tent with another Spanish climber whilst the rest struggled through. The guide was ineffective and relied on the HAPs to get things sorted. The porters were trying to establish their tents. The Spanish Lady and guy (Rosa and Iniko) were trying to finalise their 2 person tent, and at the last minute, the Icelandic and myself were told that we were to also sleep in that tent! It was ridiculous and it was never going to happen. The three HAPS were to sleep in one 3-person tent and I made the ‘executive’ decision that I was going to share with them, and the Icelandic would share with Rosa and Iniko…it was dark, freezing cold and we were all very tired…I wasn’t messing around and was ready to sleep. No dinner that night. Leadership was required at this point, but it was lacking.

b. The pre-agreed plan to establish C4 by the parties was a massive failure by the guide. At C3 we found out that there were no additional tents to take to establish C4! The plan was out the window. This was why Rosa and Iniko cancelled their summit attempt early next morning and went back down. I had put in too much effort to give up so I’d give the 1km to summit a go.

I could have done a better job in organising this! So disappointed that no communication and lack of leadership in getting the basic camp setups compromised my summit attempt. I plan for something and this huge curveball change was difficult for me to adapt to.

3) Guide and Lolo (SPN) taking a second attempt after Rosa, Iniko, Icelandic and myself left base camp to Askole. They decided to take another attempt approx. 10 days later, but this time with the intention of setting a launching pad from 7,500m (move C3 camp after use to 7500m). I wonder if they used my expedition money (or a portion of it) for their own second summit attempt? They were unsuccessful as conditions beat them. But the realisation that I was correct in having a higher camp really p**sed-me-off. We could have done that the first time around and we would have all been in better shape and more chance of summiting. Doing it later was selfish and rightfully they did not summit – snow was in worse condition and they would have been more tired. They should have listened to me from the onset.

I do not ‘hate’ the guide or the Spanish expeditioners individually, but I am angered by the situation that the guide put me in. I paid for his service and it was severely lacking. Poor decision making and even poorer communication that took away my summit opportunity. SummitClimb was a catastrophic failure! DO NOT CLIMB WITH THEM IN PAKISTAN!
Things that went right (ish):

4) I saw the wonderful and raw terrain of Pakistan and met some truly wonderful locals. They have so far to progress (economically) and hopefully they can build themselves to a higher level (like how the Nepalese have progressed in mountaineering and economy). The locals were friendly and welcoming. I will revisit Pakistan for mountaineering again :-).
5) Besides my personal misadventures, which was more exciting than the summit attempt, I truly did not learn anything from this expedition (expedition specific). I learnt that I can grunt through survival situations (good to know) and that I had the mental and physical fortitude to stay composed even though I was bordering on total physically failure.

And I learnt…that I hate one Icelandic person.

I’m mentally 'done' with Broad Peak 2016. Time to move on to the next mountain.

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DIARY
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Fri 22 January 2016

Ok.  The expedition deposit has been made.  I am now committed to it.  It is now time to organise my flights, equipment and training plan.

Need to finalise logistics:

1) Book flight with good baggage provisions.  I don't want to be paying for excess baggage if I can avoid it.

2) Start getting the paperwork ready for an entry visa into Pakistan.

3) Fix my Black Diamond crampons from the Manaslu expedition.  The warrantied parts were received earlier in the week (there were cracks on the heel lever for both crampons).

4) Install the Hotronic insoles into my La Sportiva Olympus Mons boots.  Important to mitigate frostbite from happening again.

5) Try combinations of chemical hand warmers in the gloves.  Had some interesting experiences with a set of chemical hand warmers in Manaslu...they do not really work unless you squeeze them!  They did not provide the necessary amount of heat but squeezing them between the ice axe and the glove must have got my hand closer to the 'active material' in the hand warmers.  I got very slight frostbite on the fingertips in Manaslu.

Training...

This is still very dependent upon my toe healing.  The toe has maybe 4wks left of healing to do.  Nerves are sensitive and will need to be 'desensitised'.

-Definitely keen to get back on the bicycle and work on the aerobic fitness.

-Get back into weight training.  The more muscle I can put on the more 'fuel' I can burn.  You tend to suffer muscle wastage at higher altitudes (for me anyway), but the fat I take up on my gut always gets carried back home :-(

At least I have a lot of time to prepare for this expedition...but most likely I will end up leaving things to the last minute.  I need to stay focussed and motivated - easier said than done!

Saturday 14 May 2016

Every bit of my logistics has now been set in stone.  There's no turning back now.  Happy that the planning is now all done.

My training has been going well.  A lot of cycling has been good for the legs and lungs (and bum).  Some weight training has been good for strength and muscle bulk.  I hate weight training but it is a necessary evil.  The more muscle you have the more you have to burn for energy.  I have a lot more to do in this area.

I have been researching the route.  Trying to work out the best way up the mountain.  Reaching out to my friend Giampy about his experience (as he has summited Broad Peak).  The logistics company has summit plans for BC to C2 to C3 to Summit.  I'm not sure that is the best way as it would be exhausting yourself at the lower altitude before the summit bid.  Summit night and day is very long and to hit 700m vertical from C3 and then get back down to C3/C2 will be exhausting.  I am trying to work out if a camp around 7500m for C4 would be worth it, as it is only an over-nighter stop for refuelling, short sleep and muscle recovery (and much needed boiling water to stop dehydration).

I think the decision will be made on the mountain when everyone else works out their plans.  I found that in Manaslu and the unsuccessful Cho Oyu that a launching at around 7500m would be ideal...an extra 200m vertical makes a lot of difference.

I don't have an ego to be the fastest or first to summit, I just want to summit.  I'll work with whoever wants to summit with the best chance of success.  Let's see what happens.

And as for my right toe, is is still good but will suffer from permanent numbness behind the toenail, and sensitive at the tip because the skin is thinner there.  It's now probably as good as it's going to get.  I'll need to look after my toes and fingers a lot better next time.

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Just found out that the Broad Peak expedition logistics company that Summit Climb is using has changed from Lela Peaks Expeditions (LPE) to Nazir Sabir Expeditions (NSE).  This is after I advised the PAK embassy of the details when I applied for my visa.  

And, after the expedition dates had been changed on me once already, I confirmed the new dates before rebooking flights...and I find out at the last minute that departure needs to be a day or two later.  I'm not changing flights!

Seriously ridiculous.  Looking forward to summiting Broad Peak and getting this experience off my list.  Too many bad signs already, and that's just the planning stage with Summit Climb.

Will have different experience next time for PAK.

19 June Sunday -Flight from Canberra to Sydney, then to Abu Dhabi.

We stayed on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi before disembarking.  I couldn’t find my connecting flight to Islamabad on the departure board and they said it was with a codeshare airline Pakistan International Airline (PIA).  I quickly had to run to the security screening area as I only had 1hr to connect to the next flight.  Abu Dhabi airport is modern and relatively new, but that transfer area is horrendous and ridiculously slow…if you ever have to international transfer near T14 then I recommend that you run…big lines and tight area for so many passengers.

Once I got through security I got to my T14 with 5mins to spare before boarding.  There was no time to do some shopping to replace my t-shirt…that had a huge hole in the armpit.  I must have looked like a homeless person.

When we started to board, the Pakistanis like to closely huddle together in the line.  They wear a robe.  Some dude got rather close!  I quickly threw on my backpack to create some personal space boundary.  Not a nice experience when someone is ‘touching’ you that close!

*What annoys me are the stupid passengers!  At security checks you can see people ahead of you removing watches, belts etc., yet when it gets to their turn, it’s like a surprise  that they have to do the same thing…FFS…be prepared and keep the line moving along.  Delays are caused by stupid people.

20 June Monday (Day 1) -Islamabad

Landed at the Islamabad airport at around 5:20am.  I waited for around 1hr for my baggage to appear on the carousel…very worried that the bags could have been lost or not met its connection flights.  

As I left the airport the second security check (airport officer) stopped me and asked me about my trip.  I told them I was off to Broad Peak.  They smiled and waved me through.  No issue at all.  Outside I was immediately met by Anwar Syed (Lela Peaks).  It was nice to see a familiar face (from Facebook).  Outside the airport it was not as hectic as I had anticipated, not like in Nepal.  Maybe that was because I was one of the last people to have collected my bags?

The hotel that Lela Peaks hooked me up was a nice enough place to rest.  That afternoon I caught up with some of the expedition group members.  That night we headed off by shuttle bus (not by plane as planned) at 2am to Skardu.

Team members from my recollection (I didn’t get all their names):

Gilian Lee (AUS) (attempted summit)

Oscar Cadiach (SPN) –Guide (attempted summit)

Rosa Fernandez Rubio (SPN) (cancelled from C3)

Manuel ‘Lolo’ Gonzalez (SPN) (attempted summit)

Jonatan ‘English’ Villa Garcia (SPN) (emergency help evacuation from DVT)

Asgeir Jonsson (ISL) (attempted summit)

Iniko (SPN) (cancelled from C3)

Javier (SPN) (pulled out after 1st rotation to C2)

Alberto (SPN) –Trekker

Louis (SPN) –Trekker (didn’t get past Askole –suffered gastro)

21 June Tuesday (Day 2) –Islamabad to Skardu

At 2am we jumped onto the shuttle bus.  Our plan is to drive for 14hrs to Chilas, rest there overnight and on the following day we head to Skardu.

I found out that one expedition group was already at base camp.  Checking Facebook I noticed that Seven Summits crew had been at Skardu from 17 June.  They’ll be around 1wk ahead of us.  I think we will be the last expedition group to reach base camp (BC).

On the road it was a long day.  Nice scenery but very warm weather.  Pretty uneventful for the first 250-260km when we stopped for a lunch break.  Sadly the hotel where we had lunch took 1.5hrs to cook fried eggs and japati bread for 9 people!  We lost around 2hrs for lunch.

As we got further away from Islamabad there were more frequent road damage from landslides/rocks/glaciers over the road.  There were sections where the glacier went over the road and they had to cut through the glacier at around 7m deep!

I did see a truck crash on the side of the road…I looked backwards and saw a wrapped body with feet sticking out.  We just went our own way.

As we hit the intersection to Chilas, we unanimously voted to keep going to Skardu.  No point messing around –just get to the destination.

My first injury of the expedition happened on the bus…I sliced my finger tip with a sharp knife trying to peel an apple.  I’m an idiot!  That slice took over a week to heal.

We got to the Masherbrum Hotel in Skardu at 3am (22 June Wednesday).  We were all tired.

22 June Wednesday (Day 3) –In Skardu

Had a good shower and simple breakfast.  Got caught up with my emails and starting to organise my pictures.  It was good to read some world news.

I had been closely watching the weather forecast and the cooler rain would have been good to trek to BC in.  We had purchased some rainbow umbrellas to provide some shade when we walked from Askole to BC.

Today we will also undertake group gear preparations.  Hoping not to mess around in Skardu and head off to Askole tomorrow.  Nice to rest but time to get moving again.

23 June Thursday (Day 4) –Stuck in Skardu

Dealing with Icelandic (Asgeir Jonsson) visa issue so we are stuck in Skardu.  Icelandic was saying that he did not require a visa but regional PAK saying otherwise.  Holding the group up.

I also got a SEVERE case of gastro that nearly took me out!  Shivering, cramps, pain etc.  Thought I was going to die (or cancel the expedition).  I took some Norfloxacin followed by Azithromycin.  Basically bed ridden all day long.

24 June Friday (Day 5) –Leave Skardu for Askole (but stayed not in Askole)

I feel back to normal after the antibiotics.  Antibiotics work a treat :-)

The Icelandic visa issue was finally addressed (he got a visa I believe).  

The jeep journey to Askole should only take 6hrs or so after lunch to get there.  Along the route we stopped at a security checkpoint for further inspections, but no issue…just slow process for verification.

We stopped 2hrs from Askole for dinner as there was a landslide further up the road.  We sent one jeep ahead to see how bad the blockage actually was.  If it is not too bad we can walk through it.  If it was bad, we would stay at our current location for the night and leave early the next morning.  This is real 4x4 terrain (rock hopping).

7:30pm the jeep returned and it looks like we will be staying the night.  Landslide was too bad to tackle in the night.

25 June Saturday (Day 6) –To Askole

Woke up at 4am.  Sun break over (sun breaks over at 5:30am).

We left where we were staying and travelled our journey to Askole.  About 1hr into the dangerous drive we arrived at the landslide.  Effectively the slide took the road out into the fast flowing river next to it.  It took close to 3hrs of hard shovelling by the Pakistani porters to make a ‘decent’ path through the landslide (enough for a person to get through).  As we went through the slide the rocks consistently kept falling from above, not safe and unstable.

We did get to Askole with the intention to go to Jula, but given that there was only one jeep truck on the other side of the slide (later found out that there were two jeep trucks), the shuttling of gear and people from the other side of the slide, we decided to stay in Askole as we had lost too much time.  

The slide was 1hr from Askole so shuttling gear/people was a tedious task.  This last 1hr drive was seriously dangerous with 14people and ½ tonne of baggage on a jeep truck which had zero tyre tread, driving on cliff edge roads on sandy/rocky terrain.

In the afternoon we setup camp and organised the porters and weighed the baggage…always a contentious case, when the porters’ scales are too heavy by 3kg!

Now, let’s go to the interesting things that you all want to know…not the ‘nice and friendly’ stuff that everybody writes about, but the stuff that is driving me crazy!

1. 1) People that ask the same questions of three different people within a matter of minutes (same response each time)!  Seriously!  Can you be anymore annoying? {I’m describing the Icelandic here}
2. 2) People that repeat the same thing three times over within a matter of 5mins.  OMG!  Your audience isn’t deaf!  Get some character and conversational skills.  If you are so on-dimensional then you are just begging me to take-you-to-school.  I am a reasonable person but this is nearly giving ‘candy to a baby’.
3. 3) I know I have to be nice since I have to be with the ‘group’ for the next month, but it is just too tempting.

The plan for tomorrow is to wake up at 4am and be ready to depart for Jula by 5:15am or so.  This will be the real trekking bit.  It will be good to get the legs moving again, but I am fearing the heat.  The trek is suppose to be around 5hrs to Jula.

There are some very adorable young girls that their father adores, but it saddens me to know that their futures will be limited.  Conversely, there are two very annoying young boys that keep pestering me and asking “give me”…how many times does one have to say ‘no’?  They don’t leave a good impression.  Maybe they are asking for a beating?  The only thing to do is to ignore them.  The world can be unfair to the girls –gender inequality.

There are some things in this world where ingrained culture will be very difficult to change…if ever.  As a guest in Pakistan I do not judge other cultures (I observe and learn).

*My satellite service is rubbish!  Inmarsat is the absolute pits.  If you ever go to the Himalayas/Karakoram then keep away from Inmarsat.  Don’t waste your money.

26 June Sunday (Day 7) –To Jula

Today was a very hot walk to Jula.  The guide (Oscar Cadiach, SPN) said to ‘keep left’ until you hit the Jula Bridge where we would wait/meet.  I was feeling pretty good and keen to get moving.  A Spanish lady (Rosa) passed me around ½ way and the other fast porter (Delawa) also passed me ¾ of the way through.  I lent Delawa my rainbow umbrella so that he could have some shade, and so that I could see him in the distance as I was not 100% confident of the route.

At around 4hrs 30mins of a 5hr trek we hit some very sandy terrain, like walking on sand dunes –absolute nightmare conditions.  As I looked ahead I did not see the rainbow umbrella in the distance, which got me very worried as I was hitting the 5hr mark.  I questioned myself about turning around 4 times and took some time to reassess.  I had been following fresh footprints which I thought had belonged to Rosa (which it did).  I kept walking and at the 5hr mark I arrived at what I believed to be Jula Bridge, but nobody was there.  I suspected that I needed to cross the bridge but did not know which direction to turn once across the other side (left or right).  I decided to wait (maybe 30mins) and I finally some some rainbow umbrellas approach.  I had gone the correct direction afterall (it was the guide, Icelandic and Iniko approaching).  Once across the bridge the guide turned right.

Askole to Jula was 20km of gnarly trekking terrain in hot weather.  When I reached Jula we had a laugh about the mis-adventure and ‘umbrella strategy’.

Tomorrow we are planning to leave much earlier to reduce exposure to the sun and heat.  The Spanish tend to eat dinner late so I tee’d up with everyone to have dinner earlier (at 6:30pm) so that we had more to actually sleep, as we tended to wake up at 4:30am on a daily basis.  This meant that the previous two night when dinner finished at 10pm that we only got around 5-6hrs of poor sleep.  This was unacceptable as we had some very big trekking ahead –skipping the previously planned stops so that we can get to BP BC earlier.  

Inmarsat satphone still has nil connection.

Activity tracking: 33,000 steps, hiked 5:18hrs (approx 20kms).  

27 June Monday (Day 8) –Jula to Paju

I headed off at around 5:50am to try to limit sun exposure.  It was a long 20km hike (I did 22.53km).  I stuffed up again in my navigation by crossing a bridge along the route.  I kept walking and then hit a dead end (river fork).  I shouted across the river to some porters on the other side “Paju”…and the porters pointed in the reverse direction (indicating for me to go backwards towards the bridge that I had previously crossed).

I wasted around 45mins with direction loss.  My total hiking time was 6:25hrs.  It was still a tough hike.  Nothing eventful happened today.  Great scenery.  I got lost along the route a few times today (total time loss around 1hr).

Activity tracking: 35,454 steps, hiked 6:26hrs (22.53km).

28 June Tuesday (Day 9) –Paju to Urdukas

Today is probably the toughest hiking day.  Crossing the glacier multiple times was not fun.  Non-stop rock hopping.  

Activity tracking: 31,094 steps, hiked 8:24hrs (20.57km).

29 June Wednesday (Day 10) –Urdukas to Goro

More glacier travel.  Very exhausted but this is what mountaineering is about.  Our plan is effectively is to get to BC in 5 days, normally done in 7 days.

Activity tracking: 19,342 steps, hiked 4:28hrs (12.07km).

30 June Thursday (Day 11) –Goro to Concordia to BC

The biggest and hardest day so far.  The whole route was nearly rock hopping.  Ridiculous.  You can see K2 now and BP is steep.

Yesterday we heard that there were only 2 climbers at BC (not including the US team)…which means a lot of rope fixing work for everybody.

Tomorrow is a rest day but it actually means getting gear in order and hoping that other team/s have also brought mountain fixing equipment.  Our team has brought a lot of ropes.

My feet are sore and killing me right now.

Activity tracking: 32,228 steps, hiked 6:59hrs (20.19km).

1 July Friday (Day 12) –BC rest day

A much needed rest day.  The main focus for me is to get my high camp and summit gear ready for carry.  I don’t want to be taking anymore stuff up the mountain than is necessary.

There may be a chance of me going up to C1 early tomorrow morning and staying the night.  There is a concern about the current route to C1.  Getting more information on this.

No fixed line work has occurred beyond C1 so in a way I am not really keen to go to C1 and not any higher.  

Afternoon update: Some members will re-fix the lower C1 ropes to a safer location.  Some porters will take ropes and gear up for C2 fixing.

My personal gear list is still looking pretty heavy…need to reduce the weight as I am only interested in taking only one main load up to C2.  Once at C2 the plan is to come back to BC to rest.  I am really worried about how late we are into the expedition and the lack of progress on rope fixing.

2 July Saturday (Day 13) –BC preparation day

Final gear prep.  I will be heading to C1 early tomorrow morning and will sleep up there.  I am hoping that roping to C2 will also have been completed as I intend to also sleep at C2.  I think that is the best I can hope for, as I don’t believe that fixing to C3 or above will be ready for another week.

3 July Sunday (Day 14) –To C1

Big day from BC to C1.  It took a while to cross the glacier between BC and the base of the mountain (to crampon point).  We started around 4am.  I didn’t know the route so I had to follow the others.  I wasn’t wearing gloves, so when I slipped in the glacier, I rashed up my right hand knuckles.  Not a good start.

Once we got to crampon point we geared up (put on climbing gear) and started the climbing.  It was steep and kept being constantly steep.

The fixed lines were a bit dodgy (placement).  

As we neared the top towards C1 there was a very horrible bottleneck where rockfalls were constantly occurring whenever a climber above went through it.  It was non-stop scree in the bottleneck.  A lot of falling rock dodging (imagine ‘frogger’).

I had the unenviable honour of sharing a tent with the most annoying person in the world (the Icelandic).  AT least he could boil water…when he could light the gas stove.

I am really exhausted as it took around 7:30hrs to carry a heavy load to C1.

4 July Monday (Day 15) –At C1 (go to C2 rope deposit point, not C2)

Woke up at C1 to see the US group (Mountain Professionals) packing up and going back down to BC.  We decided to see if we could get to C2 as the weather was fluctuating wildly.

Only 5 of use went to C2 rope deposit point (not actually C2) and dropped some ropes there.  No one had been to C2 that I could see above.

I saw some very fast Slovenians who just smashed it up the mountain.  They had been training on BP for an attempt on Gasherbrum 4.  Super fast and well acclimatised.

The weather is suppose to be bad tomorrow so we plan to head back to BC.

I am still disappointed that nil tents have been setup for C2 (or ropes).  Time is running out.  If we have to do more rotations then I will seriously lose a lot of muscle.

5 July Tuesday (Day 16) –Back down to BC

Woke up at 3am and we decided to go back down to BC.  Nothing too eventful.  The Icelandic is truly a ‘beginner’ climber and idiot wouldn’t listen to the guide when he was descending on the fixed line (would put himself between wall and rope, when he should have been on the other side of the rope).  Stubborn idiot {I have more colourful words to describe him but that would be inappropriate language}.

We made it down to BC in time for breakfast.

Time for some personal maintenance and domestic cleaning.

Some PAK said they saw the Slovenians alpine-style climb to C3 and were on their way back down to BC.

The weather was perfectly sunny with no hint of cloud or wind.  We should have gone and fixed C3 and got the High Altitude Porters (HAPs) to pitch tents at C2.  A wasted opportunity.  I got a huge shin blister (right shin) where the boots rubbed horribly.  Hoping that it dries out like the other blisters that I have received to date.  I am a little sunburnt from my visit to C2 rope drop point as I forgot to use suncream.  Stupid me.  I am surprised how quickly one can burn at altitude.

Today I met the Liaison Officer Captain Mohsin.  Good person and has some wicked DJ music…Spanish team members had terrible ‘old man’ music.

I also heard news that the K2 teams will be looking to summit between 12-17 July!  That’s 7 days away.  This means that we seriously need to be looking at the same summit window as the two mountains are only a couple of kilometres apart.  The problem is that BP has less people (way less manpower) and thus the ‘working together’ is not at the same level.

I heard that the Slovenians had soloed to C2, slept at C2 and then soloed to C3.  They then came back down to BC.  They had been acclimatising at Gasherbrum 4 as well for a total of 10 days.  They are super strong.  Since they are soloing they be fixing any lines.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the first to summit BP this season as they will not be relying on anybody for anything.

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**I have found the most annoying person in the world!  I kid you not…he is the Icelandic…and this is what makes him so bloody annoying:

1) Can’t get his visa in order and thus cause delay for dispatch from Skardu to Askole.

2) Asks the guide every 5 seconds about the full details of the daily trek to BC and other info.  Even asks the guide to write into his journal.  FFS.  If he is writing a book then 50% credit needs to be given to the guide.

3) Cannot technically climb and has little confidence.  When there are rockfalls encountered as we approached C1 he would scream at the guide/climbers above…this is mountaineering an things like this cannot be avoided.  The terrain above is unstable and will fall as soon as you put a foot on it.  Shit, when I was underneath where fist/football sized rocks were hurtling down, I moved like a ninja and avoided being collected by the rocks.  That’s just what you do in mountaineering.  It was noted by others that my agility was awesome :-) –frogger eat your heart out.  Adrenaline sure gives you oomph.

4) This is the most boring person in the world!  He asks the same boring questions day in day out….OMG!  Sounds like a recording.  How many times can you ask “ how are you feeling” in a day?  Even multiple times in 1/2hr!!  Someone please give me a gun.

5) When sharing a tent one should have some consideration if you are going to fart ‘like the word is going to end’.  It stank the whole tent that I nearly died.  I coughed and immediately pulled the tent door open to let fresh air in and begged for some wind.  What an inconsiderate F-stick.

6) His mannerism to the PAK help is shocking and condescending.  One minute he provides useless commenting “good work” as if that makes a real difference to the staff (they know what they are doing anyway) and then the next minute he is demand/throwing-out-instructions as if he is king shit.  He demands his boiled water!  Absolute F-stick for sure.  Two faced in his approach and attitude to those less fortunate than himself.

7) Gutless –At C1 the tent that was assigned to us was a 2 person tent (when it should have been the 3 person tent).  He had arrived at C1 ahead of me by around 30mins and was having a hissy-fit to himself that the guide (and Iniko) had assigned themselves the larger tent.

I was exhausted by the time I got to C1 and I immediately sat down and drank some water…and he immediately comes over to tell me of the “injustice” of the tent situation and that I should tell the guide of the mistake, before I even had a chance to catch my breath.  I told him to ‘f-off’ as I was dizzy and to get some balls and tell the guide of his displeasure directly himself, which he did not want to do.  F’ing coward!  As the guide walked past I pulled him up and told him that the Icelandic had issues with the tenting situation and that he was not happy…at which point the guide reverted the tenting situation.

This showed be that the Icelandic was full of shit and that he was gutless/spineless.  He lacks basic emotional intelligence to deal with people and situations.

This Icelandic is the most despicable person I have ever met.  Will not be talking to him unless absolutely necessary (at high camps).  Terrible human being.

6 July Wednesday (Day 17) –BC rest day

My stomach is much better after a second bout of gastro.  My sunburn damage is still bad but slowly recovering.  Cocoa butter on the lips should hopefully help accelerate the recovery.  I have to say it was really rood to be able to sleep-in this morning (no 3-4am wake-ups).

The weather has been terrible all day long.  We are hoping that the HAPs Syed and Delawa are successful in establishing C2 instead of doing just a gear drop.

Still haven’t heard if the US group have had any success at setting up fixed lines to C3.  This would see everybody and their dog rush up to setup C3 and maybe even C4.

It is good to rest for now and hope that the body fully heals in the next day or two.  I don’t really want to go up to C2 without having the opportunity to get to C3.

Ideally my plan is as follows:

With such a plan it would mean starting in a couple of days and hoping that C3 is setup soon, and not having bad weather which will throw things off.

A more realistic plan below (with Oscar’s proposed option –note the use of C4).

7 July Thursday (Day 18) –BC rest day

The weather is not the best so we continue to rest at BC.  Did nothing much.  Got the Icelandic very upset today as I tested his useless points of facts that he blurted out, that were not used in any conversational context.  Apparently he is a motivational speaker…seriously?  

Oh, a sad day for Poland, 2x climbers arrived and offered Euro100 to contribute to the fixed line route setting (*they never paid up throughout the expedition)!  They effectively cannot contribute anything worthwhile…they will just freeload.

With 15 climbers in total for Broad Peak (including the Polish), and estimated 3,000m of ropes required, and fixing anchors, it equals to around 200m per person + effort.

The Polish offered a measly Euro 100 (50 each person).  They were not able to contribute to the fixing effort and had no porters that could do so.  Why they even offered to contribute was simply poor lip service and trying to take the piss out of the situation.  Their intention (and subsequent action) was to freeload and contribute nothing.  You’ve got to love the Polish…I wonder if they are all like that?

8 July Friday (Day 19) –At BC

I am fully packed for my last day at BC.  This will be my final rotation and I will then rest at C1 until summit time.  It is expected that the weather will be good from 12-17 July so one wants to be well acclimatised by this period.  My summit plan has been shared with the guide.  It is pretty similar, but most importantly is the use of C4.

We are now in the business end of the expedition when things get serious.

One of the Spanish guys (they are a team of 2) went up to C1 today but got hit by a falling rock.  It apparently hit him on the right thigh from what we heard through the radio.  It didn’t sound too bad.  They had intended to set fixed lines from C2 to C3…which is now a concern as to who will be involved in line fixing.  

Time for an early sleep as we will be leaving BC at 4am to avoid the heat tomorrow.

9 July Saturday (Day 20) –To C1

Another day of hard slogging to C1.  I would have liked to have slept-in but the day after we will be going to C2.  Nothing special except for hanging out with the emotionally inept Icelandic.  Also, we see the freeloading Polish…who seem to be hammering the fixed lines.  The Polish have not offered to help carry any ropes or anchors, just happy to continue freeloading.

10 July Sunday (Day 21) –To C2

Wow, another steep day of climbing.  Everyday is tiring.  Spectacular views but it is snowing on/off, so not able to get any good pictures.

With this snow I suspect that line fixing will be cancelled.  The freeloading Polish were the first to leave C1 and be fully setup at C2.  It’s good when you don’t have to lend a hand but leach off the efforts of others.

I may sleep at C2 for a couple of nights if C3 us not fixed…big issue then.

11 July Monday (Day 22) –Rest at C2

Woke up to a perfect windless clear morning.  K2 expeditions are planning to summit on 12-17 July and therefore we should be able to do the same.  The Spanish are spending the day doing final fixed lines to C3.  This is getting me very excited as it is crunch time.  Seriously thinking that if I feel good at C3 that I will do a summit push after sleeping at C3.  If not feeling good, then I’ll just use it as a rotation run.

OMG!  Icelandic is truly an idiot!  He can’t even use a gas stove.  FFS it takes him forever to even notice that the stove was already ignited and generating heat…then he switches it off because he cannot see a flame!  There is nil flame at this altitude being generated.  All he needed to do was to place his hand over the stove and feel the heat coming from it.  I have told him three times already but the ‘self-righteous’ fool doesn’t want to take advice because he is a know-it-all (obviously not).  He is the biggest idiot known to mankind.  Maybe he was dropped as a child?  This person is truly full of shit!

My only treatment for such a fool is to not speak to him.  I become dumber talking to him, or being near him (osmosis?).  You can imagine the tension as we share the same tent but I just don’t have tolerance for such a dumb ass.

He provides the most useless, dry/boring conversation with nil depth.  He is the first Icelandic person I have met and I hope the rest are not like him.  I get more from talking to a chicken than I do from talking to the Icelandic.

12 July Tuesday (Day 23) –To C3 (est. 200m-300m below) to C2

I tried to go to C3 and I started out late in the day.  I felt good when I departed C2 but as the day got hotter I slowed down heaps.  Once I cleared the area with most of the fixed lines I was then faced with this white steep slope.  It was a nightmare trying to climb that section as it was covered by 10cm of snow but underneath is was slippery and unstable scree.  The foot just could not get any purchase on the scree.

I wasted so much energy and dropped my ice tool which started sliding down the mountain.  Luckily it stopped sliding and I was able to carefully retrieve it 10m below where I was.

As I headed up this dreaded slope the weather changed for the worse but I pressed on.  AT the crest I could see Lolo (Spanish) and 2 HAPs coming down the mountain.  I found out that they were not able to fix lines all the way to C3 (approx 200m short of C3) which meant that they only deposited the tents and some gear.

As the weather got worse I decided to cancel my C3 gear drop and headed back down to C2.  I somehow lost my ice axe.

All plans are turning to poo as I had hoped to be already be sleeping at C3 by now.  The weather window is closing and my acclimatisation is less than ideal.  Tents haven’t been established which means a rush at the last minute if there is to be a summit run.

I don’t want to go down and do more rotations as it will just wear my body out.  My food resources are low and I am hoping I can get one of the HAPs to get my C1 energy gels and freeze-dried food up to me at C2.

13 July Wednesday (Day 24) –C2 to BC

Everybody has headed down to BC.  I found out that Javier (SPN) has left the expedition (a couple of days ago) due to too many bad encounters and close shaves.  His climbing partner was Rosa (SPN) who has gone down to BC but will continue with the expedition.

I am struggling with the decision of going back to BC.  Weather windows are fleeting and another one may not come along.  I heard from Rosa that the Slovenian pair summited last night.  Seriously top effort by those guys…no messing around and they ‘just did it’.

Early this morning the guide, Fidu (HAP from US team) and Syed (HAP) headed back up the mountain to finish line fixing to C3.  I also paid Fidu to retrieve my my down gear and ice tool stash that I left between C2 and C3.  I now needed the ice tool as I had lost my ice axe.

As I reflect on the state of affairs at C2, I cannot help but think that the delayed start to our journey really has hampered the ability to acclimate properly, and the lack of coordinated rope fixing work has really put the expedition in jeopardy.  Everything feels rushed…and the lack of manpower at BP BC really makes things difficult.  My gut feeling is that I will lose too much muscle (thus energy) to be able to summit, or worse, the weather window passes us by.

I don’t like taking big risks but this disjointed expedition makes me feel like I may have to take a gamble.

The guide has worked hard to try to get all the parties working together but he can only do so much.

Today I have been hearing a lot of avalanches, moreso than normal on neighbouring mountains.  The weather must be warming up. 

At 11:30am I had a chat with the Slovenians as they came down from their summit success, past C2.  They make it look so easy and they didn’t use any of the fixed lines.  They took their own route.  Top effort!

Most expeditions don’t have this feeling of failure, but this BP expedition has felt bad right from the onset.  The real question is how to safely recover this expedition.

After the guide and the HAPs arrived back at C2, they told me that they had successfully fixed the lines to C3 and made a gear and tent deposit, but not pitched the tent as it was too windy.  I would not have been able to go to C3 and pitched the tent by myself and try to go for a summit attempt.  I thus made the difficult decision to leave C2 and return to BC.

The good news was that the guide found my ice axe that I had lost!  Fidu also retrieved by gear stash.

As we left late in the afternoon, it took forever to get back down to BC as the sun had made the snow super soft and slushy.  You could hear the mountain streaming water and the the soft snow way snow pickets being ripped out.  We had to spend some time putting them back in so that they would be good when the snow refroze.

It was bloody dangerous coming down and there was a medium sized avalanche along/near crampon point just before we got there.  If it had been a large avalanche then crampon may have been covered.

We had to cross the glacier to get back to BC, the glacier landscape had changed heaps.  There were even bigger rivers that we had to now cross by jumping.  Jumping downwards is not that difficult but having to go back up will be a different story.  The weather has heated up and all the mountains are melting causing these glacial rivers that need to be crossed.

When I got back to BCI was exhausted.  I can’t help think that my summit opportunity is slowly slipping away.  At BC I was told that the K2 teams had all returned to their BC and that the weather window had changed.  The window had been pushed back to approx 20 July, which is leaving it a tad late.  This is worrying as the mountain/glacier continues to melt.

I wore through a pair of Black Diamond leather guide gloves as the friction from the fixed lines generated that much heat.  I should have used a prussic or the belay device more.

It looks like we will be at BC for a few days.

14 July Thursday (Day 25) –Rest in BC

A day of domestics and self care.  Time to clean and repair the body before we have to head back up for the summit attempt.  Uneventful day.

15 July Friday (Day 26) –Rest in BC

Another rainy day.  Options looking very bad.  It looks like the Slovenians were the smart people who started their expedition early and took the early summit window when they could.  Lack of effort by BP BC teams early on resulted with us all now hoping for a decent second window.  It is always the case that people stand-off to the last minute to see who is willing to do the fixed lines…and the gamble can see everybody lose.

I think the logistics companies have a significant role in this space…instead of just thinking of just getting individual clients, they could pre-coordinate the resources in packages across vendors, or better still, do what the Nepalese have done for Everest, in having equivalent Icefall Drs do line fixing.  This could be off-set with a fee charged to all climbers in permits.  Food for thought.

Rumour is that the poor weather being encountered will clear in three days, meaning 18 July would be the last day in BC.

New plan below:

16 July Saturday (Day 27) –Rest in BC

Very early morning the weather was very windy and rainy (4am). I remembered because I had to do a dash to the toilet tent.  Given the weather it was clear that the forecasted initial weather window was closed.  Everyone is getting itchy feet.  Everyone is getting bored and the last thing I want to be doing is talking about mountaineering…especially in Spanish.

I skipped breakfast we were being continually fed with high carbohydrate and fat meals and the reduction in activity meant that I was getting fat across the gut. 

Right now my biggest concern was the risk of getting sick.  At BC there are a lot more people walking through and visitors from K2.  This means more chances for virus’ to be transferred.

I look up at C2 and it looks like it has received some snowfall.

17 July Sunday (Day 28) –Still at BC

I’m going mad!  How many more days at BC?  It has started snowing quite heavy again.  This morning Jonatan (SPN) identified he had Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in his lower leg.  He had pains from 14 July and then had a chat on the satphone with Dr to confirm.  This was something that he had suffered in the past.

A helicopter cannot fly in at the moment as the weather is not clear.  Jonny is taking some aspirin and ‘something else’.  He’s climbing partner Lolo will continue with us.

HAPs this morning headed up to C2 to do some gear drops…in bad weather.

I found out that the US group will be flying out of Islamabad on 29 July.  This means that they are even keener to summit before us.  There’s not much time between the US Group and my departure date of 2 August.

I also heard from porters that went to C2 that the snow was over knee deep.  The snow depth needed be building and hopefully a freeze cycle will solidify what was lost in the hot days.  I wouldn’t want to the pushing through knee deep snow.

18 July Monday (Day 29) –Still at BC

Been at BC since the 14th.  This will be the 5th day here at BC.  The US group will have probably been at BC for an extra 3 days.  They look calm like everybody else but they are seriously running out of time.  It is snowing this morning which makes things even worse.  The snow up high will be deep and we want it to stop snowing and start compacting.

19 July Tuesday (Day 30) –Still at BC

It is expected that at midnight we will start heading to C2.  It will take maybe 8hrs with some deep snow.  AT least the weather is patchier with periods of clear/snow/sun.  Hard to judge how ‘valid’ this new weather window will be with the best weather expected on 22/23 July.  We are concerned that the flatter sections at the very top of the mountain will have deep snow.  

I have been resting during the day so that I can be wide awake at midnight.  6 days of limited activity will make it difficult to get moving again.  I think the HAPs will be going to C2 12hrs later than us.

This is crunch time.  I believe that the US group will be heading up at around 3am so it leaves some time gap…but I also hear that the US are fast.  I hope the weather settles down before we depart.

20 July Wednesday (Day 31) –Still at BC

At dinner last night the weather was still unsettled but clearing.  By 9pm the weather ws still perfect, but, the HAPS had decided to wait for one clear day before heading up.

This morning the sky ways crystal clear and no wind.  It is going to be a hot day.  The helicopter came and collected Jonatan this morning who had DVT since 14 July.

I am expecting to go to C2 tonight at midnight or so.  

21 July Thursday (Day 32) –To C2

Overnight we went with the US group from BC to C2.  One tough night and day.  I don’t think people actually realised how tough this was as everybody looked roasted at C2.  Nothing special except that everyone looked exhausted.

22 July Friday (Day 33) –At C2

Weather is not too good so we have decided to stay at C2.  I cannot believe that we rushed to C2 yesterday (skipped C1) but we still have an extra day today at C2…silly to exhaust oneself when we could have taken it easier over 2 days from the onset to C2.  Poor planning by the guide.

23 July Saturday (Day 34) –To C3

HUGE day!  Headed up to C3 for the first time.  The climbing upwards never ends.  Our C3 was at 6,980m.  It was dark by the time I go to C3.  The guide had not communicated our C3 location, so by the time I reached the ‘lip’ to the US C3 location I was wondering where our tents were located.  The US group guide (Ryan (USA) and Patrick) told me that our camp was 30mins higher up.  Since is was dark I could not see our C3 at all but I had no choice but to keep plugging along…I needed to get to C3 to sleep.

By the time I reached C3 I noticed that there were three tents;

Tent 1 –Guide (Oscar) and Lolo comfortable in their tent.

Tent 2 –Not pitched correctly which was a large 2person tent but was suppose to sleep 4 people (inclusive of me)!

Tent 3 –In the process of being pitched by Delawa was a 3 person tent to sleep the 3 HAPs.

It was a debacle situation for which the guide did not have control of and did not do anything to get control of the situation.  You were left to fend for yourself.  It was freezing cold to make things worse.

I decided that there was no way that I could sleep in tent 2 (no space at all) so I decided that I was sharing a tent with the HAPs.  HAPs finally got tent 3 pitched and we settled-in.

The Icelandic kept shouting the guide’s name for assistance but nil assistance was provided.  Tent 2 finally got themselves sorted out.

I don’t think anybody ate dinner that night (too much messing around and too exhausted).  The guide later told me that Rosa had reached C3 in a very upset state and was further upset with the situation and nil food.

This was the worst guide service (non-service) I have ever experienced.

The lack of communication from the guide potentially made the situation more dangerous than it had to be.

24 July Sunday (Day 35) –At C3 to summit attempt

Eventful day – Rosa and Iniko decided first thing in the morning to leave C3 for BC.  They were terminating their expedition because the agreed plan of setting C4 was change independently and without communication by the guide!  They both knew that they were not able to summit without a C4.  I asked the guide what the plan was for C4, as we had all previously agreed to setup a C4.  He did not respond.  It was a sign that the guide had truly screwed up the planning and execution!  Absolutely unprofessional!  Seriously incompetent!  How in the world could SummitClimb engage such a poor guide.  SummitClimb is the worst mountaineering company in the world!

I was seriously pissed-off that a C4 was not going to be established and I was tempted to join Rosa and Iniko down the mountain.  There was no reason not to setup a C4 as the snow and weather was good.  The only reason not to do so was because the guide seriously stuffed up.

I decided that I had put in too much effort and was not willing to quit just yet.  It was a hard ask to do 1km vertical for summit, but the summit was so close and I just had to give it a go.  I was seriously furious with the guide and could have pushed him off the mountain!...”accidentally”.

I noticed that the US group moved their tents up maybe 100m vertical from their previous C3 tent site to be maybe 40m above our C3 location…seemed like a stupid move because it would have made more sense to shift their tents to around 7,400m instead and do a summit launch from there.  The US group were using supplemental O2 so they should have the best opportunity to summit.

That night we headed for the summit at 11pm.  I lasted 2hrs before needing to poo.  The lead climbers were very careful as they tried to pass through crevasses unroped.  It looked like lemmings (and I one of them).  Eventually I said that I had had enough (approx. 7,100m) and I realised that I could not realistically summit with that much vertical distance still to cover.  I went back to C3 to sleep and still fuming that no C4 was setup.  I knew that nobody else would summit and that would all suffer the same fate due to everyone (the US group) not establishing a C4 or much higher C3.

25 July Monday (Day 36) –Leave C3 and survival

At around 4am I looked up the mountain and noticed that all the climbers had congregated around the same spot (maybe 200-300m higher than C3?) as when I had left them last night.  The wind had picked-up after I had abandoned my summit push.  There was no way they had summited and come back down to their location, as it had only been around 4hrs.  I thought that there may have been an accident on the crevassed area or maybe something else?  They wouldn’t have been that stupid to stay in the open trying to work out what to do next (which is what they actually did).

At 5am I decided to head back down to BC as it was too windy to try to go far a 1km vertical summit attempt without a C4.  I told Delawa that I was heading down to C2 (maybe sleep there).  I had no radio with me.

The snow was in very bad shape from C3 to C2 giving way underfoot all the time.  After passing C2 and quickly collecting my stuff (carrying maybe 25kg) I headed towards C1.  After reaching C1 and collecting another 1kg of gear, I just kept powering on and down.  OMG!...the snow was in shit shape and at the bottom of the rocky bottleneck, much of the snow had melted and water flowing.  It took me forever to get through that section and I fell many times.  I just could not get any solid snow purchase as it constantly gave way.  I was exhausted by the time I reached crampon point due to the heavy load and snow trudging.  15mins after I passed crampon point (which was also in poor state), a huge avalanche went by.  Another lucky escape?

As I walked through the glacier that separated crampon point from BC, I got seriously lost.  Many of the location bamboo path markers had disappeared!  I went to and fro but I was seriously spent looking for the route.  This was a mayday situation.  Survival instincts kicked in when it started getting dark.  I found some clean glacier water to drink and a relatively comfortable place on the glacier to pull out my sleeping mat and sleeping bag.  I was getting ready to sleep on the glacier for the night, and lucky it was a clear and windless night.  It was a surprisingly comfortable sleep as I was exhausted.  I had fallen a few times (5m or so each time) and lucky the glacier was ‘gentle’ on me and my helmet.  Carrying 45% of my bodyweight for most of the day on my back was killing my back and knees.

26 July Tuesday (Day 37) –Survival x2

At 5am it was time to get SERIOUS!  I packed up my gear and started looking for a way out.  I was not willing to dump my heavy load as I may need to use it again if I had to sleep another night under the stars.  I immediately tried to backtrack to crampon point.  Once I reached crampon point I started re-following the bamboo markers which took me back to my glacier sleeping point.  Then all of a sudden I noticed a fallen bamboo marker!  The critical marker!  I put that marker back up, jumped over the bigger (due to melting) and very dangerous crevasse.  I then kept walking and saw another marker followed by another that I saw a fallen down marker around 10m from where I had slept the night before (around the ice wall)!  I was thinking that I was going crazy following the ‘route’ but I was very relieved to have found the marker and on the correct path.

I jumped over the very dodgy and dangerous crevasse with my heavy pack, after preparing my approach six times to make sure I did not stuff up.

As I continued into the glacier I fell a total of 4 times from recollection.  This was because I was carrying very heavy and it threw me off balance on occasions.  One fall was head-over-heels down 6-7m on a 65-70 wall.  the others were slides over ‘sandpaper’ rough ice.  My dads were bleeding, my but and hip were bruised and sore, and my lower back was killing me…but there were no damage to my pants (butt wasn’t hanging out) from the falls…which was good as I would stay dry and not be ‘flashing’ :-) .  Each time I had to use my ice axe and tool to climb out, after a lot of ‘maze’ searching for the route.

At one stage I had to make a decision to either wait for rescue or continue to ‘Bear-Grylls’ my butt out of there.  I came to the realisation that rescue was near impossible in a glacier maze and that I would be dead if I chose the rescue option.  

I was tired and very sore but tried all combinations to work out the route.  Another critical fallen bamboo marker was found after a while.  F me!  How many fallen bamboo markers must there be?  As I kept finding the fallen markers (4 in total in a row FFS!) -as I went past each one I put up the bamboo poles again for others to follow.  I could finally see BC.

I shouted for help across the glacier (the last section across the main glacier river) as I was rooted and hit the fall.  I was lucky that Captain Mohsin, the Liaison Officer, heard something and came to inspect.  He could not heard my voice and I could not understand what he was shouting due to the distance, so we communicated via arm signals.  He directed me to a snow bridge/path crossing over the river and had also sent out Hussain (cook/porter) to help be with my bag and guide me back to BC.  Thank god!

Both the balls of my feet had 2cm humongous blisters begging to pop (massively liquid filled).  Body was falling apart, but I was now alive, safe and now had recovery time.  We would be heading back to Skardu in 2 days time!

I got cleaned up and started packing up my gear bags for the departure from BC.

27 July Wednesday (Day 38) –Rest at BC

Nothing eventful today, just rest and recovery looking after the blisters and all the other injuries to the hands, feet, legs, hips, bum, lower back, neck etc…I’m falling apart.  Four of us head back to Islamabad whereas the Guide and Lolo will stay another 10 days to wait for another summit window attempt.

I had discussions with he Oscar about the ‘f-up’ of no C4 when we had agreed and planned for it, and how pissed-off I was.  He explained the issues encountered at C3…but I said that he wasn’t even prepared for C4…his plan was shit and it cost me a probable summit.  He was upset but so was I.  I am livid.

Oscar told me his C3 observations:

1. Everybody was exhausted at 7,000m.
2. US group were lower by 50m or so but would go around 50m higher than our C3 (move camp). 
3. Rosa was cold and very upset when she go to C3 -C3 was a messy situation when I got there.
4. Tents were a mess and struggled to pitch.  Everyone was cold and he had difficulty getting the HAPs to bring gear up (incl tents).
5. My observation was planning was shit and not enough tents at C3 for all the people, let alone tents for C4.

Next morning Rosa and Iniko would cancel their expedition and leave C3, as no C4 will be established as previously agreed.

28 July Thursday (Day 39) –Leave BC to Urdukas

It was moderately snowing in the morning.  We said goodbyes on relative decent terms but very saddened of not having a decent opportunity to summit.  Oscar had organised with Lela Peaks for us to be in Askole in 3 days.  This would be very tough for me given that I was falling apart and needed more time to recover…but I also had a plane to catch on 2 August so time is of the essence.

It was an uneventful day.  By the time we got to Urdukas it was raining and miserable.  The tents were wet inside and everyone was sore and tired.  As I pitched the tent with another porter, the Icelandic would barely assist, pissing me off when he did very little whilst holding onto his rainbow umbrella…it is raining heavily and pitching the tent fast to reduce the amount of rain that gets into the tent as being very critical, he stands there assisting very little, yet expects to sleep in the tent!  FFS!  Things WILL change tomorrow.

29 July Friday (Day 40) –Urdukas to Mong Grong Dera

Another long hiking day.  Epic!  Seriously advanced hiking on the Baltoro, just a difficult as when we went to BC, but this time we are reducing the journey by 2 days.

It was a tough day but Rosa and I reached the camp spot early and the donkeys weren’t far behind.  I started pitching my tent by myself.  Once I finished the Icelandic automatically assumed that he was going to be sharing my tent, when asked by one of the PAKs he said “I’ll take this one”, referring to the tent that I just pitched without his assistance.  I told him ‘no’ bluntly and yesterday’s ‘contribution by him was on my mind.

The Icelandic had a bit of a hissy-fit and sulked but I just told home to go away.  It was funny seeing an adult sook/behave like a child!  He slept in a different tent by himself.  I had barely talked to him in 40 days and I hoped to keep it that way.

30 July Saturday (Day 41) –Mong Grong Dera to Askole to Skardu

Last of the nightmare trekking.  I don’t think my body would have survived another epic day.  Rosa and I mainly walked ahead together to Jula where we met everyone else for a quick drink.  Then it was a long slog from Jula back to Askole.  Everyone reached Askole at around the same time (Anwar and Rosa were maybe 40min-1hr ahead I guessing) at 3pm where we had a quick meal before a mammoth jeep journey to Skardu.  There were three landslides at the same location where we encountered the landslide when we first came to Askole.  This meant that the porters had a hard time carrying the baggage across the dangerous slide.  We then drove through the night to Skardu, which sometimes felt like as if there was no road at all!  We reached the Masherbrum Hotel at 1am.  We were smashed.

31 July Sunday (Day 42) –Stuck in Skardu (day) and shuttle bus to Islamabad (overnight)

I spent the day trying to organise a flight from Skardu to Islamabad…but this was to no avail.  The other three members would be doing their own thing from Skardu, as they could wait for a possible flight out of there.  All flights were booked out!  A decision was then made for everyone to leave Skardu at 10pm and go by shuttle bus to Islamabad.  It was one hell of a drive -a ‘fast’ 22hrs!

I was happy to get into Islamabad and have a quick rest and shower (clean-up).  I had a late dinner with Rosa and Inigo and finally said goodbye to them.  I then went to the airport way too early and was happy to start coming home.  The airport was efficient and quick to get through, which is inconsistent with what other travel forums had said -you do not need to arrive at the airport early.  There was a ‘supposed’ thunderstorm which delayed my flight, but it did not impact my connecting flight in Abu Dhabi.

The End.