Nicholas Rice: Broad Peak Dispatch

2007 Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Thirty-Eight: July 17th, 2007

Day Thirty-Eight: Snowfall continues All Night; Summit Bid Postponed

Today I had planned to wake up at 2:30am, and head directly to Camp II for my summit bid, however, the weather didn’t cooperate like it was forecast to. It snowed all night long, so when I briefly woke up to my alarm, I took a quick look outside, turned back over and went back to sleep. The mountain was already heavily burdened with snow, especially the slopes above Camp II and III, so I knew that leaving today would not be wise, as I would merely be forced to stay an extra night at Camp II to wait for the snow to settle, which would mean I would be eating the food I had carried up and using the fuel that I needed for the summit bid. After breakfast, I discovered that no one else at base camp had headed up either. Additionally everyone else on my permit was planning on heading up tomorrow, and with deep snow, there is power in numbers. Reassured, I continued on with my day, putting together a portable 12V charging system for up higher with the help of Felix, charging all our satellite phones, and reading. Carlos, having already summitted, decided to go down and return to Spain early so he could spend the remaining time with his family, instead of alone at Base Camp, so we bid him goodbye as he was departing in the morning, and went to bed.