Dispatches

Kilimanjaro 2015.08

Karanga camp in the barren hillsides

Today we climbed to our high camp. We left Karanga camp and crossed the barren hillsides to reach Barafu camp, and continued on to the Kosovo camp, our special high camp that rarely sees any other climbers. This camp puts us in a position above most other climbing parties, so that our summit day is shorter and we can get out ahead of any potential crowds at the start. Before bed we talked through our summit day strategy, then went to bed early in preparation for an ‘alpine start’ tomorrow morning. We hope the weather will be good for our summit day!
Stats for day 5:
Start: Karanga Camp, 13,335’
Finish: Kosovo Camp, 15,700’
Distance Traveled: 3.5 miles

August 28, 2015/0 Comments/by Garrett

Kilimanjaro 2015.08

Kilimanjaro Climb Day 4

After breakfast we left camp and began our ascent of the Great Barranco wall! This scramble provided us with a great morning workout as we topped out at 14,500’ with spectacular views of the plains below! Then we descend to the Karanga river and hiked up a short distance to Karanga camp.
Stats for day 4
Start: Barranco Camp, 13,066’
Finish: Karanga Camp, 13,335’
Distance: 3 miles

August 27, 2015/0 Comments/by Garrett

Kilimanjaro 2015.08

Kilimanjaro Climb Day 3

We left Shira Camp and traversed the mountain, working our way up to the base of “lava tower” at approximately 14,800 ft. Some of us made a quick ascent of the lava tower, a fun scramble up with great views from the top, then descended down to Barranco Camp. From our camp we have a great view of the Great Barranco wall, our challenge for tomorrow morning!
Stats for day 3
Start: Shira Camp, 12,355’
Finish: Barranco Camp, 13,066’
Distance Traveled: 6 miles

August 26, 2015/1 Comment/by Garrett

Kilimanjaro 2015.08

Kilimanjaro Climb Day 2

Today, from the Machame camp we started hiking up the trail through the forest and gained elevation very quickly, as the landscape changed quickly from the lush forest to moor lands with large Senecio trees dotting the hillsides. We gained the Shira Plateau where we now have a great view over the valley below. Each day upon arriving at our camp in the afternoon we have a dance party with our porter team, the climbers are learning the dance and songs of the Chagga tripe! Our team is doing great and we are having a wonderful time on Kilimanjaro!
Stats for day 2
Start: Machame Camp, 9,927’
Finish: Shira Camp, 12,355’
Distance Traveled: 5 miles

August 25, 2015/1 Comment/by Garrett

Kilimanjaro 2015.08

Day 1 of our Mount Kilimanjaro Climb!

We traveled by jeep from Arusha through forests and coffee fields to the Machame trailhead, where we checked in with the Park HQ, sorted loads for our local porters, the Chagga people. We hiked through the lush rain forest and finished our day at the Machame Camp. Everyone is doing well, we had a great first day on our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro!
Stats for Climb day 1
Start: Machame Entrance, 5,718’
Finish: Machame Camp, 9,927’
Distance Traveled: 6 miles

August 24, 2015/1 Comment/by Garrett

Kilimanjaro 2015.08

Team has arrived in Tanzania!

Our team of Kilimanjaro climbers has arrived in Tanzania! This morning after a wonderful breakfast we checked everyone’s gear, and now the team is out on a day tour of the local sights in Arusha. The weather is great, everyone is excited to be here and to begin our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro tomorrow!

August 23, 2015/0 Comments/by Garrett

K2 2015

K2 / Broad Peak Recap

The K2 / Broad Peak team is now back in Islamabad and preparing to head home! Some of our members have already flown out, and the last of us will be departing Pakistan this weekend. Conditions were tough this year on K2 & Broad Peak, resulting in no confirmed summits from any of the teams attempting K2 or Broad Peak. Our expedition went according to plan and we were in position to go for the summit when the weather changed and the climbing conditions deteriorated significantly. Our climbers made a great effort in climbing to Camp 2 / 3 on both K2 & Broad Peak, however the unusually deep snow that accumulated this season prevented us from going higher. We had a great time in the Karakorum and with better route conditions / weather I am confident we would have made the summit(s) we were attempting. We look forward to returning next year!

K2 seen from Broad Peak Camp 2

Trango Tower on the trek out

Sunset on the trek out

August 5, 2015/0 Comments/by Garrett

K2 2015

K2 climb is abandoned as conditions deteriorate

During the last few days the weather and route conditions have deteriorated significantly on K2, causing many avalanches and also rock fall. The climate here has warmed up dramatically, and as a result snow slides down to the glacial ice have peeled off K2 and the surrounding peaks, in once case the snow avalanches buried another team’s advanced base camp, fortunately no one was there at the time. The weather forecast has much snow ahead as well as continued warm temperatures, so without any indication that conditions may improve we are abandoning our climb of K2. Yesterday, one member of our Sherpa team was injured by a falling rock, we flew him by helicopter this morning to Skardu where he is being attended to. We will close up our base camp over the next few days and then plan to head out, there is still a chance we will make a Broad Peak attempt, weather and route conditions permitting. We look forward to coming back for K2 next year!

snow slides down to glacier ice

Bacon and pancakes for breakfast in base camp

Flying kites at base camp

July 25, 2015/1 Comment/by Garrett

K2 2015

Resting in base camp, snow continues to fall

We have been resting in base camp the last 2 days. Because of daily snowfall, and the inherent risk of avalanches, we cannot plan to climb or carry up supplies until the weather improves and conditions stabilize. Currently we will be resting in base camp at least a few more days before possibly making a move up on our summit attempt. Our team is well and enjoying the comforts of base camp.