On June 23rd, Bruce, David and I left for Camp 1 with supplies for a few days work. Bruce and I hoped to climb into the cwm at 7000m and stash a tent, stove, and other gear. We spent the first night at Camp 1, leaving the next morning for the cash at 6400m on the lower south face of GIII near the bergshrund- the same place Billy and Guy reached a few days earlier. Bruce and I broke a new trail all the way up the glacier to the foot of the GIV-GIII icefall, and then up through dangerous avalanche terrain to the depot. This part of the approach continues to be a nightmare slog as daily wind and snow erases our tracks after every trip.

By the time Bruce and I reached the depot, new snow and high winds above were sending down spindrift avalanches everywhere, and the right-hand corner of the icefall where we planned to exit the lower GIII face into the cwm was not visible through the mists. After making a stash of gear we retreated back down the icefall and back across the glacier to Camp 1 - breaking trail again as blowing snow had already covered our morning tracks.

On the 25th we left David at Camp 1 and again started up the glacier under heavy loads. Later that morning- in blowing winds and snow- we located a 30 foot high chunk of ice and set up our tent in a spot balanced between big crevasses and huge chunks of debris from falling serac avalanches above, just below 6400m. It would be a safe spot to camp. (Kinda!) The next morning we climbed directly across the icefall under the main avalanche chutes toward the GIII face. It only takes about 15 minutes to cross this section, but the huge towers of broken ice seracs teetering for hundreds of meters above are more than a little intimidating; having faith in divine timing helps.

At the depot, spindrift rained down on us again, but we started up the face anyway. After ten minutes of climbing I heard a soft rumbling sound far above me and peered up - only to discover a rather large white cloud coming my way and spilling over a serac band about 300 meters above. I turned down to Bruce and half-yelled, "um...Bruce...avalanche". In my mind, I thought of the cartoon figure Wiley-Coyote, when he holds up his flimsy umbrella, looks at the camera and exclaims rather understatedly, "Mother.".

Bruce saw the avalanche fall-line coming to our left, so he said urgently, "Come down and right." Of course, from my vantage point the cloud was heading to our right. Just below us was a large serac band, so I began down and right anyway - in sequence with Bruce, of course - since we were still roped up in order to climb safely over the bergshrund. Meanwhile, the avalanche must have split somewhere just above us. I saw streams of powder spilling over seracs to our right and left. I figure this particular avalanche may not have been large enough to wipe us out completely - but it definitely would have put me in a bad, ice-cream-headache-like mood. We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and immediately retreated down to the Camp 2 tent.

However, not all was lost in the stormy conditions. Bruce and I amused ourselves for the rest of the afternoon by using our sheltering ice-chunk for a little high-altitude ice climbing "funness."

Later that afternoon, Billy and Guy joined us after their (trailess) slog up from Camp 1. We all spent the night of the 26th camped under the 6400m ice-chunk camp, then retreated back to Camp 1 in the morning due to poor weather forecasts.

David had already caught a ride down with some GII expedition members, so Bruce and I continued to base camp as well. Billy and Guy stayed at Camp 1 to further acclimatize, ascending yesterday up to 6800m on the GII-GIII standard route. They both arrived back in base camp today- a little tired but happy with their acclimatization efforts. We are all now ready for a summit push pending a break in the weather. Forecasts for the next few days look grim, but when we finally get a break we'll all go for it.

The last few days as we rested in base camp we watched long lines of porters filing up the lower moraine, bringing with them loads of gear for the G2 expeditions. There is a rumor about the camp that a total of 13 expeditions will try G2 (and/or GI) this summer, and the base camp spots around us are already dotted with the bright colors of nylon tents. At least 70 people now occupy various spots at base camp - with perhaps 100 more to come, and from the proximity of the tents it would appear that most people are already missing the bustling congestion of the towns and cities they recently left.

Of course, camping is not the only activity on the moraine; as the summer sun warms the rocks and melts the snow, the air is also filling with the faint waftings familiar to 8000 meter base camps: human waste. Our semi-private base camp now shares extremely close proximity to other parties - close enough that my tent is now within earshot of the next camp's "facilities." Due to this fact, I consider myself now shockingly over-informed as to the current state of each of our neighbors' particular gastro-intestinal affairs - some bordering on critical. My once peaceful morning slumbers are now broken by the world's absolute worst sounding alarm clocks. You try waking up to that and not have a crappy day. And as for the neighbors, I may not know each of them by name yet, but I'm sure I could pick them out in a line-up using other distinctive attributes. (Someone pass the Pepto Bismol)

Speaking of which, I might as well use this opportunity to comment on our own particular facilities, especially since this dispatch has already deteriorated to such a level. Our cooks have done a wonderful job erecting our own drop-spot, and despite the obviously disturbing connection between cooks and building toilet facilities, the boys have shown great creativeness with particular attention to design, local, and prevailing wind. Of course, a quick stretch (or calisthenics) is recommended before using our facilities due to slightly non-anatomical positioning - unless of course you're a yoga guru or double jointed. Otherwise all things on that front are just dandy and require no further commentary...er...for now - unless a bad weather spell comes in and I run out of things to write about. Until then...

As for the climbing, a few days ago Bruce and I ferried loads again up to our 6000 meter camp, but spent our nights at 5500 m for David to acclimatize after his recent illness. Meanwhile, Billy and Guy went up to the icefall between G3 and G4 for 2 days to try their hand finding safe passage through - and turned around after making a stash at 6500 meters. They both arrived back in base camp this morning, greeted by stacks of pancakes and fake maple syrup.

Despite information that previous expeditions have passed through the tangle of ice on the far left, we have decided to tackle the right side, which appears more feasible under the current conditions. As we discovered last summer in Shimshal, years of warm temperatures have taken their toll on the condition of the glaciers in Pakistan, and this once benign slope is now quite a jumbled maze of huge ice towers and crevasses, crowned by a 100 meter vertical ice cliff extending the entire breadth of the glacier at the upper lip of the cwm. I guess here we can pause to thank Al Gore for pointing out climate change (formally global warming) - or was he the guy who invented the internet? I guess either way he should get some credit for this part of this dispatch, since both apply.

Early tomorrow morning Bruce, David and I will depart for the 6000m camp again, leaving David to acclimatize in the camp while Bruce and I carry the torch back into the upper icefall. The weather forecasts seem to indicate a good spell, so we plan to establish a tent in the cwm near 7000 meters - a long way from the congestion and waftings of base camp.

02/14/09  9:50 am PKT

Phone dispatch from Don: 
"We left Friday morning (PKT) for our summit push and all of us here managed to reach Camp 2  with no ill effects even though the winds were very high. Taqi had to turn back and is now safe in base camp. We had left two tents at Camp 2, but one  was destroyed, so six of us had to sleep in one tent last night. It was rather a cramped night!! The winds have carried into this morning and are still very high (Saturday PKT). We are having something to drink right now and are trying to dry out some of our gear since it was a very damp night. We are just waiting now, hoping the winds will drop so that we can continue on."

Phone Dispatch by Don Bowie 

 Our team is in good health and in good spirits, except for David who has been suffering from some sinus issues, but is now beginning to feel better. 

Despite the bad weather in the Karakoram, we have continued to work hard for the past five days. Getting closer to our goal: Gasherbrum III and/or IV is our objective. First of all, we're in the process of establishing our next camp at 6000 meters in the vicinity of G2 (G2 Camp 1). We are feeling strong and have most of our gear there and will probably require just one more carry. Future activities will be launched out of this camp.

Secondly, we managed to venture beyond G2 Camp 1 to approximately 6300 meters, making our way up towards the col between G3 & G4 into the icefall at the end of the glacier to the foot of G4. So far we have made it about ¼ of the way up. We stopped at 6300 meters to study the icefall in an attempt to determine the best way to make it into the cwm. This will be our next step before actually trying to climb.

To give you a better picture: There is this huge valley in between G3 & G4. Out of this valley is a vast and very complicated icefall that guards the cwm between G3 & G4. Trying to find our way through this icefall will enable us to get ourselves into the cwm so that we can assess which are the best routes according to the conditions and then position ourselves to began climbing the peaks of G3 and/or G4.

We are in base camp now and after a few days rest we will press on.