K2 Team in Skardu!

Yesterday our team of climbers and Sherpas flew from Islamabad to Skardu.  Today we are organizing our equipment and tomorrow we plan to drive by jeep to Askole, from there we will begin the trek to base camp.  In total we are 10 climbers, 3 guides, 10 Sherpas, and 5 Pakistan high altitude porters (HAP), along with our 8 base camp kitchen staff.  Last week our advance team of 77 porters and 5 Pakistan HAPs arrived in K2 base camp to begin building the camp and to reserve places at Camps 1 & 2.  We will have around 150 porters trekking in with us to base camp, in addition to some horses.

Skardu is a small frontier town, and we are staying in our hotel nearby the Indus river.  It’s a big contrast from the very comfortable Serena hotel in Islamabad where we slept the past couple of nights.  The Serena was a great place to rest and recover after the long flights many of us took from our home countries.  Everyone is doing well and we are excited to begin trekking soon!   – Garrett

K2 Team Roster:

• Garrett Madison: Expedition Leader and Guide
• Geoffrey Schellens: Guide
• Robert Kelso Smith: Guide

Climbers:

• Andras Kaasik
• Daniel Lochner
• David Liano
• James Clarke
• Jason Black
• Jesse Rosales
• John Stenderup
• Klara Polacova
• Lisa Thompson
• Takayasu Semba