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2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Twelve: June 10th, 2008

Day Twelve: Day in Skardu; Final Preparations Trek to BC

Today, we woke up at 8:00am after our first good night’s sleep in three days, had breakfast, and got started preparing our things for the trek to Base Camp. First, I went to the ATP office, where I purchased my EPI gas, bamboo sticks, and wooden boxes. After that was done, I returned to the hotel and began breaking my loads down to 25kg’s each (the maximum that a porter will carry to base camp. We took a break and had lunch in the hotel, and then continued packing. We accompanied our liaison officer to the climbing bazaar so he could purchase a few items for base camp, looked around for a bit, then I contacted our trekking “guide” and asked him to help me purchase the drums, engine oil, and petrol for my generator and then met Hughes in the internet cafe at the end of the bazaar. I discovered that we had three more French members joining the expedition at the end of June; Christian Tromsdorff, Yannick Graziani, and Patrick Wagnon. After checking my email, I returned to the hotel, checked my bags once more, and then had dinner. Tomorrow, we are planning on getting up at 7:00am, having breakfast, and beginning the jeep ride from Skardu to Askole (apparently the road is in good condition). We will have lunch after four hours enroute, and then continue another two to arrive at Askole.