From stu in the usa office
August 2, 2010
Fabrizio has called in from BC with the latest plan for a summit bid and if all goes well they will try to summit on the 6th of August. The plan is to leave at 4am on the 3rd and head to C2 to begin the push. From our team Fabrizio and Meagan are in great position and looking forward to the climb. They will be joined on the push by a number of other climbers who they have been working the route with. The winds are forecasted to be below 20km/hr for the 4th through the 8th and, while there will be a lot of cloud cover, it appears to be just a few dustings of snow along the way. We’ll hope they have reasonable visibility but Fabrizio has 25 wands in the high camp ready to be placed to aid in any problems with finding the route on descent.
Chris was to join the push but he became pretty sick with GI illness and was sapped of the strength needed to try a summit bid. Rather than try to recuperate at BC he made the smart choice to go lower and head back to Skardu. Brian joined him with urgent business calling him hope unexpectedly. Both were were extremely disappointed as just 4-5 days ago they were stoked for the climb - acclimatized, feeling strong and rested. We are really sorry to see them go and Fabrizio and Meagan will miss them on the push.
Aziz and Farhad will be prepared to support Meagan and Fabrizio on the descent and clearing camps if the summit bid is successful. If not successful then Fabrizio and a number of the climbers plan to stay for at least one more summit bid. Fabrizio, Gerlinde and others have been to the mountain multiple times and want to stay as long as they can. Fabrizio has now spent more than a year of his life at K2 BC over the course of his trips and must feel as at home there as anywhere on the planet. He will be making his 11th climb to the shoulder on this run up the mountain and I am pretty sure he want to avoid a 12th this year!
The latest audio dispatch is below and Fabrizio will plan to leave a Gabcast each day and we’ll post it here.
Gabcast! Listen to all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
We’ll have an update tomorrow on our members who are trekking out to Skardu and those trying to get to Islamabad. The floods and landslides that have claimed some 800 or more lives are wreaking havoc with ground transportation including the drive from Askole to Skardu. At this time there are military C-130 planes helping to fly people from Skardu to Islamabad so our members and gear will hopefully bypass the roads.
This is a major tragedy for people living in many parts of Pakistan and we are mindful that any inconveniences we have are just that. Being stuck for a few days in a hotel in Skardu or awaiting bags at home pales in comparison to living in a remote town with little clean water, food supplies running low and home having been washed away.
See the links below more information on the situation
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/world/asia/01pstan.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=pakistan&st=cse
http://explorersweb.com/world/news.php?id=19553
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