The Tall Mountain team is at K2 base camp helping out however they can.  Chuck led the effort to prepare the landing zone for the two helicopters that have taken climbers to Islamabad hospitals.  A third helicopter was planned for the injured Italian climber on the mountain, but it was cancelled due to bad weather in the helicopter departure zone.  

 

George Dijmarescu has played a vital role in the rescue on the mountain.  George, together with two Nepalese Sherpas, and two Pakistani high-altitude porters have been up on the mountain helping the climbers get safely down the mountain.  Most recently, they assisted the last injured climber, the Italian, Marco, from Camp 2 to Camp 1 after preparing a helicopter landing zone below House’s Chimney.  This helicopter was subsequently cancelled and the base camp team had to send repeated messages to George to go down to Camp 1.  George and team are getting ‘wiped out’ from the altitude and effort it takes to shovel out a ‘level’ landing zone on the mountain and assist with logistics and the descent.   Latest information around Noon EST was that they were at Camp 1 and should be coming down after a night of rest.  Chuck’s team plans to hike up to advanced base camp in the morning and meet the crew coming off the mountain and assist as needed.

 

The recent accidents on K2 echo the tragic 1986 season when 27 climbers summitted the peak, but 13 mountaineers lost their lives on the mountain. It appears that weather, objective hazards, snow conditions and human judgments all played a part, and the incident will no doubt be super-analyzed in the months and years to come.  Meanwhile, everyone is doing what they can to help those in distress.

 

Chuck reports that he is feeling good again and seems to be over the virus he had. It slowed him down, but he still managed to help shovel gravel to prepare the helicopter landing zone and help out around base camp.  He just didn’t feel well enough to go to a higher altitude.  Andy and Dave have been helping out where needed at base camp and talking to lots of different people and getting multiple angles on what has happened on the mountain.   They also managed to set up a shower tent and get their first shower in over a week.  Chuck said that by the time he got to shower, the sun was going down, it was getting cold, the water was lukewarm and he was standing on a block of ice – but it still felt great!  It’s all relative…  

 

What are they eating?  Their cook has learned to make pancakes after realizing that they liked the ones from the mix they brought with them.  First he used the mix, now he’s doing it himself either with another mix or scratch.  Dinner last night was soup, macaroni and cheese with little hot dogs, French Fries, and a pepper and onion salad.  It may not sound healthy – but these guys are burning a lot of calories, hence fat and carbs are essential to maintain energy levels.  They are also trying to replenish calories burned on Broad Peak (high altitude diminishes appetite and food prep needs to be ‘add hot water’ since it’s hard to even get water to boil).  They have been given a bunch of mountain food from some of the expeditions that are leaving, so they should be well stocked for the rest of their expedition.

 

Overall, K2 base camp is not a cheery place right now.  Many teams are trying to get porters arranged so the expeditions can leave and head for home.  The weather forecast is for changing weather, so the future plans are back in Mother Nature’s hands.  The team is planning to get some rest while the weather is unsettled and then move on to the mountain when the opportunity presents itself.