August 24: I finally have time to record some of the memorable parts of the trek out. I do this as much for myself, as I haven’t kept a formal diary this year (a first for me). If I don’t write it down, I’ll forget! Note that now that I have time/energy/good computer, I’m long-winded. Beware! This will take a few posts to complete!
Aug. 16: The weather the past 3 days has been more than schizophrenic. Every 8 hours we get something different: usually snow after midnight through dawn, then cloudy/foggy weather in the morning, then clearing in the afternoon. Tomorrow is my last chance to retrieve gear from C2. Already in the past couple of days I (and Chuck and Dave and George and Sherpas) went to ABC to climb to C2, then awoke to warm foggy weather–so we bailed. After lunch at BC, the sun came out. Then I decided to leave from BC at 3am the next morning, only to wake up at 3am to warm foggy weather. I got up at 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 and found the same weather–so I bailed. Of course the sun came out after lunch. So today (8/16) I decided to go to ABC for the night again. If I couldn’t get to C2, I had to clear ABC anyway.
I reached ABC in windy conditions. Our 4-person Eureka Timberline tent, which the team made fun of when we arrived, was still standing. Sort of. I made dinner then went to bed after a few games of iPod solitaire. I awoke in the night and one of the four poles now looked more like an ‘S’ than an ‘I.’ Oh well. I went back to sleep.
Aug. 17: The morning found more snow than I’d seen at ABC the whole trip. So no voyage to C2 was possible. I packed in a light gale and headed down with about 20 kg in the pack and dragged a duffle bag with about 10 kg.
There is only one technical section on the route between ABC and BC, which involved some icefall antics beneath a rotting serac and above a rotting snow bridge. Of course Chuck called on the radio while I was dragging the pig (duffle bag) across the fixed ropes on this section. I dumped the bag about 50 meters below the ropes for Deedar (our cook) to pick up.
For the first time, getting back to ABC was significant work. The snow was about calf deep and the light was completely flat–what looked like a downhill slope turned out to be a steep climb. Anyway, after 90 minutes of floundering, I saw Deedar coming. We met, and he explained that his boots were filled with water. The snow covered the bucket-sized holes found in the glacier near BC, and he’d stepped in them several times. Well, nothing to do except send him back to BC with my pack, and I trudged back up to the duffle bag and carried it back. Nothing like an unexpected 3 hours of exercise! And because I carried Deedar’s pack for the second trip I had no sunscreen. The sun came out, and I’m still healing from the scorching I got.
Of course the afternoon was cold, snowy and windy (because we needed to pack). Our porters arrived and things were generally in a muddled mess. I packed most of my gear and left Deedar to handle the kitchen.
We’d been invited to the ‘American Camp’ (a misnomer because all three camps were American) of Chuck and Dave for dinner, so that Deedar could pack. We had a good farewell dinner, and I certainly enjoyed hanging out with George, Chuck, Dave, and Andy during my last week or so at BC. I think with good weather we had a small but strong team to attempt K2.
Aug. 18: In cold, icy conditions we finished the packing and distribution of porter loads. I had pancakes with Chuck and Dave at 7:30. Finally, about 10am we said our goodbyes to the remaining members and staff and Deedar and I headed for the Gilkey Memorial. We needed to say goodbye to our lost friends, and I didn’t want to do that until I had finished on the mountain. We picked our way up the rocks by the back side and reached the 2 meter mound of rocks that’s festooned with plaques and metal plates. The new additions were prominent. After some private moments there we descended to the glacier and eventually rejoined the trail to Concordia.
Maybe it was the Memorial, maybe the exertion of the previous two days, maybe it was my 15 kg pack, but I had a very bad day. Deedar and I had ‘miscommunicated’ about food, so I got to Concordia at about 2:30 without eating anything since breakfast. I ‘recommunicated’ my opinions about eating and Deedar organized some grub. Another 3.5 hours walking led to Goro II campsite. Once the tents were up and I had a bit more to eat, life seemed much better. We had a good dinner and a generally good time with the porter sirdar and the porter who served as assistant cook to Deedar during the trek down.
Next episode: from Goro II to Islamabad!