Nicholas Rice: Broad Peak Dispatch

2007 Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Thirty-Six: July 15th, 2007

Day Thirty-Six: Bad Weather; Change of Plans

Today, we woke up again at 8:00am, had a long leisurely breakfast, and discussed the situation regarding Dirk once again. We decided we would start getting worried later in the afternoon, as this would most probably be when he would arrive if he was going to be able to come down under his own power. After breakfast, Badia made a snowman in the inclement weather, and then we all sat in the mess tent reading and talking; typical storm day behavior, as our tents become quite cold and cramped. After treating the medical condition of our liaison officer, we had lunch, which consisted of green boiled potatoes (no they’re not supposed to be green) and mini sausages. After this, we received a visit from an Austrian concerned about Dirk. We discussed the details we were aware of regarding his situation, and talked about our plans for our summit bid. The Austrians were also planning to leave base camp on either Monday or Tuesday depending on the weather and snow conditions. After this we watched as six people came down from higher camps; none were dirk. We had dinner, and went to bed in a cold snowy base camp.