I always wanted to visit the Himalayas in Pakistan. The mountains are legendary: Gasherbrum I,Gasherbrum II, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak and, of course, K2. The view from the confluence of three glaciers at Concordia is live postcard few get to see in person. In the summer of 2006, along with a team managed by Field Touring Alpine (FTA), I attempted Broad Peak (26,401') and planned to make a good effort on K2 (28,250').

I reached 21,000' on Broad or Camp 2 before abandoning the climb due to weakness that resulted from a severe bug I contracted on the trek in. The Karakorum ranges was magnificent and I was very lucky to have unbelievable weather for the month I spent there.

I sent frequent dispatches using a system that includes a digital camera, PDA and sat phone.

Current Climber Location

After yesterday's summit by Ryan and the route now fixed, I am sure everyone is curious where their friends or family are currently located and how they are doing. With a couple of climbers who asked not to be noted here is a list of where they are, their highest camp reached and an * indicates they are heading towards the summit.

Remember that in general climbers need to have slept at C2 for a couple of nights and returned to BC before going for the summit. Also climbers will usually carry a load of food, HA clothes to the high camps before returning to BC for some rest and then their summit bid. As you look at the list also remember it was created at 9:00 AM June 26 and climbers were moving up (and down) today so this is a snapshot.

As for future plans everyone has their own plan but most everyone will be starting a summit bid this week with a couple of exceptions. The weather continues to look good but perhaps a change for the weekend. Broad Peak has impressed us all with her difficulty. The average climb times between Camps ranges from 4 to 8 hours with summit day a solid 12 minimum. This year, in spite of no snow during our time here, Broad has a lot of deep snow above Camp 3.

The bright sun has baked the slopes and ice is beginning to show where the snow is blown away. Climbing on a 50 degree slope with solid ice is difficult. The Austrian and Australian teams were on the Hill several weeks before us and had not summited before Ryan did. They had put in a lot of good work but no fixed lines. Their knowledge of the route up high was valuable and appreciated as was their willingness to share tents but it shows the difficulty of the conditions that they have not summited as of today.

The altitude of our camps: BC 15660' 4800m C1 19100' 5800m C2 20460' 6200m C3 23430' 7100m C4 24750' 7500m CLIMBER CURRENT HIGHEST Ian BC C2 Di BC C2 Mark BC C3 Nick BC C2 Alan BC C2 John R BC C2 Kurt C1 C1 Carl C1 C1 Marcus* C2 C3 Mick* C2 C3 Con* C1 C2 John* C2 C3 Gerrard* C2 C3 Wilco* C2 C3 JJ C2 Summit Ridge Ryan C2 Summit Matt C1 C1+ Jan C2 C2 Climb on! Alan