Nicholas Rice: Broad Peak Dispatch

2007 Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Thirty-Three: July 12th, 2007

Day Thirty-Three: Retreat from Camp II

Today, we awoke at 4:00am to a clear morning at Camp II. Immediately we began to discuss the pros and cons of a carry to Camp III versus retreating to Base Camp for three days of rest prior to our summit bid. After quite some deliberation, we came to the conclusion that the rest days at Base Camp were more valuable than the carry to Camp III, especially in light of the new weather forecast which predicted that the weather window we were enjoying was closing. We began our descent to Base Camp at 8:00am after packing our high altitude gear and sleeping bags in our tents, and I arrived at Camp I at 9:00am. After resting in the warm tent and reorganizing my load, the others arrived and together, we began our descent down the hazardous fixed lines to below Camp I. We arrived at the base of the route without major incident; I dodged some enormous rocks at the base of the route. After regrouping at the base of the route, the Mexicans and I continued for another hour to Base Camp. We had lunch upon arrival, chatted, unpacked, and relaxed. After lunch, we learned that Carlos (Spain) and Dirk (Germany) from our permit had summited. We congratulated Carlos over the radio and had dinner.