Today we climbed up to Camp 1 on the Abruzzi ridge. We had fantastic weather and great route conditions. We knew it would be hot, so we woke up at 3:30 AM and began climbing by 5 AM, reaching Camp 1 around 11 AM. Tomorrow we plan to move to Camp 2. Our Estonian climbers are in Camp 2 again for the third night, they are doing well and will descend tomorrow to base camp. Here are some photos from today’s climb.
All K2 expedition dispatches
Today was warm and sunny, a marked change from the last few days of cloudy and snowy weather. We decided to take a rest day in our Advanced Base Camp, to let the sun warm up the new snow. Now that the mountain has shed off much of the new snow that recently accumulated, we will climb to Camp 1 tomorrow. The nice weather should hold until Friday.
Today we climbed from our Advanced Base Camp partway up the route on the Abruzzi ridge to K2 Camp 1. We had some snow flurries but good conditions otherwise. We are back in our ‘ABC’ and will sleep here tonight, then evaluate our plan tomorrow depending on climbing and weather conditions.
Today we left our base camp and climbed up to our ‘ABC’ (K2 Advanced Base Camp), at 17,300′. This took us about 3 hours, and we had to negotiate a small icefall section just before reaching our camp. The clouds were nice as it kept the air temperature cool for us. Tomorrow we will climb up to Camp 1 partway and then return to ABC to sleep. Our Estonian climbers are at Camp 1 tonight and doing well, they will climb to Camp 2 tomorrow.
We are planning to head up tomorrow to advanced base camp for 2 nights, weather permitting, then up higher to Camps 1 & 2 to begin our acclimatization. Our Estonian climbers are planning to head from ABC to Camp 1 tomorrow. The weather has changed and now it is overcast with clouds and some snow. We celebrated a birthday today and had a wonderful evening here at base camp!
exercise in base camp
selecting snack food for the days ahead
Today we had our Puja ceremony, where we ask the mountain for safe passage before beginning our climb. All our team gathered at our Puja shrine and we had a wonderful ceremony. Tomorrow some members of our team will climb to Advanced base camp, while others will continue to rest. Our Sherpa climbers will continue fixing lines and hopefully reach Camp 2 tomorrow or the next day. All is well at K2 base camp.
We had another glorious day of trekking from our camp at Concordia to K2 Base Camp, great weather continues! We are all settled into camp now and everyone is feeling well. We look forward to taking a rest day tomorrow!
Our trek today began with a leisurely breakfast at 7 AM of fried eggs, bacon, bread, and porridge, along with our french press and espresso coffee, a great way to begin any day on an expedition! The weather continued to hold clear as we hiked along the Baltoro glacier to the famous Concordia camp, where the glacier splits. Here we have a nice view of K2! Tomorrow we plan to arrive in our base camp.
Today we enjoyed a nice walk up the middle of the Baltoro glacier to reach our camp at Goro. We had great views of surrounding peaks, another perfect day on the expedition! The food has been wonderful, happy hour consists of smoked salmon and salami with cheese and crackers, for dinner fresh vegetables and meat every night. Yum!
Today we left early again and began trekking before sunrise, catching the first morning rays of sunlight into the valley. We passed by the Trango Towers, and found ourselves in camp high above the glacier below admiring the view of the sunset. It’s been a great 4th of July for us here in Pakistan!
