Nicholas Rice: Broad Peak Dispatch

2007 Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Four: June 13th, 2007

Day Four: The Karakorum Highway to Chilas

Today, we woke up at 5:00AM and got our things together, checked out of the Pak Continental Hotel and loaded our bags onto the minibus. We left the hotel at 6:00AM and picked up Dirk, a German climber from the Envoy Continental Hotel. The team so far was comprised of the following climbers: Badia Briseida Bonilla Luna (Mexico), Mauricio Lopez Ahumada (Mexico), Jorge Salazar Gavia (Veracruz, Mexico), Dirk (Germany) Major Hasdajin (our Liaison Officer) and myself. Badia and Mauricio were on Gasherbrum II with me in 2005 and 2006 and have climbed Makalu, Lhotse, Shishapangma (Central Summit), Everest, Cho Oyu, and GII. Jorge has previously climbed Cho Oyu and is climbing Broad Peak solo. Dirk has climbed Manaslu and is also climbing Broad Peak solo. We had lunch in Besham at the Continental Hotel and then continued on the grueling journey for six more hours to finally arrive at 10:00PM at the Shangri La Hotel (no relation to the Shangri La Chain of Luxury Hotels) in Chilas. I was so exhausted that I did some laundry, skipped dinner and just went to bed.