Background

Dispatch 1

Dispatch 2

Dispatch 3

Dispatch 4

Dispatch 5

Dispatch 6

Dispatch 7

Dispatch 8

Dispatch #2: Finally Moving!

As we got on the bus in Rawalpindi I had to fight my way through the oversized biceps, lats, and quads of my muscular companions to take my seat. This is not just my impression. A pretty young trekker nearly swooned at the sight of one of our crew, saying, "Diego, you have such big muscles!" Anyway, here's Don's impressions of the Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway lived up to all the rumors and stories- but I am told that this year the road conditions were tamer than most. Nonetheless, I resolved very early on in the trip (like, 5 minutes out of Pindi) that because of the speed at which our bus was hurtling down the all-too-narrow highway, the chances of meeting my demise on this stretch of road were very high. Somehow this resolution gave me comfort, and I even began to enjoy the near misses with oncoming traffic, even attempting to capture on film the closest calls. This last endeavor nearly cost me my new digital camera, not to mention my right arm.

The crux of the trip so far has been...er...keeping things inside- and I don't mean emotionally. The bus ride to Chilas was more an exercise in strategically utilizing restroom stops than anything else. Most of the team has come down with some kind of GI ailment at one time or another- and a few have been suffering quite severely. Unfortunately, I fear that I may have swung the other direction with a possible Imodium overdose. I'll keep you updated...

Leaving Skardu, a brief inspection of the jeep that would transport us to Askole did little to assuage my anxiety about the increased dangers which I knew lay before us on the narrow dirt road ahead. In fact, I have never seen tires so bald which still maintained any air pressure. Except for evenly distributed layer of road grime, our driver looked like a guy I went to high school with- and perhaps should have still been there himself. But despite his youthful appearance, he deftly maneuvered the jeep safely to Askole, with all intact- save one collision involving a rather large rock, the jeep's roll-bar, and Mike's forehead. (I think it'll leave a cool scar, though)

Tomorrow (June 30) the whole entourage departs for Urdukas. The weather has been stunning, but a storm is rolling in...keep your prayers up and fingers crossed for sunshine.

Don

Here's Don's autobiographical sketch:
Don Bowie has been climbing since 1989, and has been "spraying" about his accomplishments to anyone would would listen ever since. Don has climbed and skied extensively in the United States, Canada, Africa, South America, Mexico, and Baffin Island (which is technically in Canada, but sounds more impressive highlighted in this context). A Canadian by birth, Don now makes his home in Bishop, California, where he "works" on intermittent communications and construction projects, spending the majority of his time climbing, back-country skiing, and serving with the Inyo County Search and Rescue Team. Don is also sharply witty, dangerously intelligent, and quite deft at writing in the third person narrative. Oh, and humble.

Yeah, right. Mike continues...

June 29, Paiju Camp. I'm sitting in the shade in my tent on our rest day, the third day of the trek. Rather than a blow-by blow of the last couple of days, I'm going to take the easy way out and post what I sent to Everestnews, and add a few photos. To summarize the trek, the weather has been clear and hot, we're fine, and two climbers have summited Broad Peak already.

We have three more days of trekking before we reach Base Camp. After that we'll catch up on our reporting and describe the trip so far in more detail. Here's something to read in the meantime...

June 25, Skardu. Frankly, the trip up the Baltoro has been described to death so instead, I'll post some impressions of our trip until something really gripping happens.

Kids on the drive up the Karakoram Highway. The steering wheel has two small wheels attached that steer, so they pretend that they are driving.

For the first time in nearly a week the air is cool, at least in the morning. Four days in the 45 degree (115 degrees F) heat in Pindi kept us either poolside or in the borrowed luxury of the Pearl Continental Hotel. The theme continued with the two-day bus journey to Skardu in an occasionally air-conditioned bus. For several hours we cooled the bus by opening the windows; unfortunately the air temperature was 35 C (95 F). You can duplicate this by turning your hair dryer on 'low' and pointing it at your face for an hour or so. Don was soaking up the sun, but I'm not fond of hot weather.

Beautiful downtown Skardu.

The trip so far has reinforced several fundamental themes of travel in Pakistan. These can be generalized to other Asian countries (and maybe to other developing regions, such as, say, Kentucky or Alaska). First, Inshallah ('if God wills it') is not a spiritual law but a physical one. So many things that determine your destiny are out of your control; it's healthier just to sit back and let things happen.

Second, a miss is as good as a mile is another basic tenet of society. Pakistani drivers perform amazing feats of applied multivariable calculus every few seconds, determining the trajectories of multiple intersecting vehicles and pedestrians so as to allow them to miss each other by a hand's breadth. I've twice felt the brush of a car mirror as I walked along the road.

Third, even the smallest decision requires a committee meeting that would make any bureaucrat proud, though there's a lot more shouting than normal. Finally, the people are far more friendly that I'd see in a similar situation in the USA (although our liason officer found Americans very friendly and open during his visits there).

What about the climb? We are on a permit with climbers from Italy, the Czech Republic, and maybe later some Poles and other Americans. There's lots of snow in the mountains, lots of sun melting it, lots of water trying to wash out the road to Askole, and not enough porters. Apparently, increasing education has made the life of a porter less appealing, ergo there are fewer men willing to carry loads. Imagine that! In a few years, helicopters will likely replace humans as load carriers and an old tradition will be lost.

Today we pack loads, finish shopping, and relax (I hope) before the 4 AM departure for Askole. Several kidney-pounding hours on the jeep will finally, Inshallah, get us to the start of the trek.

On the jeep road to Askole.

June 26. The jeep ride from Skardu to Askole was relatively easy. The road only had one bad spot and dry conditions meant a relatively safe journey. We're sorting loads, relaxing, and rejoicing in the fact that we don't have to ride a plane, bus, taxi, or jeep for the next five weeks. Aside from some minor stomach problems for Don, we're in good health, we're at the trailhead, and our liason officer seems to be a good guy.