June 24

So as Hil mentioned, our stuff got to base camp really late so we are catching up on our dispatches..

Our camp in Goro II marked a significant transition from the dust and the heat of the past few days of trekking. Though the death star continued to pound down, we were now camping on a glacial rock moraine with a nearby cold stream. The ladies headed down first for some very cold water bottle showers and to do a bit of laundry. It was one of the most rejuvenating moments of the trip to date. The fellas got their turn shortly thereafter.

That evening was also one of the most fun of our journey so far..somehow our kitchen and porter crew had deduced that our group likes to have a good time, and so they arranged an impromptu Pakistani dance party in our mess tent. The group was comprised of porters from several different expeditions, and was full of talent. While one man would sing, another would keep beat on a gasoline drum, and the top few groovers would grab one or all of us on to the dance floor. The walls literally came down a short time after the party started as the audience expanded exponentially, leaving us all panting at 14,000ft. We hoped that the dancing might have removed some of the mystic of American women, but no such luck as we continue to be a source of great curiosity- though we had made some new friends.

The trek to Shagring, our last stop before bc, was pretty straight-forward. The highlight was lunch in Concordia where groups broke off for K2 and G1/G2. The weather was a bit cloudier that day and so no views of the summit of K2. We gained roughly another 350 meters before arriving to Shagring in rainy weather.

Our final day of trekking to bc led us to our final home base at 16,150ft. We arrived late morning, and Karim, the Major, and Kris headed over to the military bc compound to gain approval for our camp spot at the head of the glacier ice-fall. They were successful in their negotiations, and so we were lucky enough to have the highest spot at bc and therefore relatively more privacy.

Our first two days were comprised of sorting gear, getting our camp and tent sites set up, putting up the TNF dome, and planning. We drew the short straw on porters on this trip, and were missing 16 loads up to our 3rd day in camp- so no communication for anyone other then sat phones. Our gear and remaining food finally arrived on the third day so stress levels greatly diminished for the TNF folks.

We have now had three pushes to Camp 1. The first day we headed up to about 17,200ft wanding/marking the route as we traveled. It was exciting stuff as the icefall is very broken, with significant crevasses. Kris did a tremendous job with some initial recon and also on the sharp end on this first excursion. For all of us, it was a great adventure to actually be the first group to really start putting in the route to Camp 1- very rewarding, and an unusual position to be in with the crowds that can accumulate in these mtns. For the group, putting in the route adds many other elements to approaching this unfamiliar terrain.

As more teams begin to arrive, on the 22nd, we got up at 2am and headed out into the darkness with heavy loads for setting up Camp 1. It was rough going- the weather and visibility were quite poor at times, we were dodging ahead of groups that were not quite as acclimatized, all the while breaking trail, punching through, and dangling some legs in crevasses as we attempted to negotiate the tricky conditions. We ended up working through some of the route with an Austrian team and Korean team right behind us. At about 10:30am, Kris made the leadership call of camping on a relatively flat, safer area a couple hours before Camp 1.

The other teams followed the piper and we soon found ourselves surrounded by 6 other tents. As the weather improved steadily throughout the afternoon, and the sun baked the glacier, the other teams came out and showed some unique color and character. We were surrounded by a 2 person Portuguese team, a 3 person Italian team with a dynamo team leader, Gloria, who, due to the heat, decided to strut her stuff in great lingerie for us all to enjoy, a Swiss team, a German team, a Korean team, and an Austrian team.

The next morning, we finished up the route to Camp 1 at 19, 300ft, and spent the day setting up our future home for our next few pushes. The views of the rest of our journey were mind blowing, and the ridge line route that we will be moving up on our next trip looks steep and exciting.

This morning, we arrived back at camp to a great breakfast, pseudo showers, and tent platform maintenance. We plan to go for Camp 1 and then Camp 2 early morning on the 26th.

Kim