Weather continues to improve: summit bid starts tomorrow!

Alpinism is not just the act of ascending a mountain, but also inwardly of ascending above yourself

Voytek Kurtyka

Things keep developing smoothly and quickly here in the Karakoram. Tomorrow around 5AM (5PM Tuesday Pacific Time), our team of five will depart for the summit of Broad Peak. Along with me, the team consists of: Tobi, a German climber and skier; Pemba, a climbing Sherpa from Khumjung, Nepal climbing with Tobi; Phurba Gyaljen, a climbing Sherpa from Thame, Nepal climbing with me; and Sirbaz, a high altitude climber from Hunza, Pakistan climbing with me). We plan to make a 3-day attempt with a possible 4th day for descent. On Wednesday, we'll climb to camp 2, Thursday camp 3, and Friday summit and descend as far as possible.

In an hmix.org first, I'll be attempting to share the experience live (much more boring than it sounds) using the Where's Hari? link at the right of the menu bar on the main page. I'll do daily check-ins after our climbs and then on the summit day I'll attempt a live track.

Live track details: We plan on starting for the summit at 8AM Pacific time Thursday. Yes, that means we're waking up at 7PM and climbing all night.

Live track expectations: I've never tried a live track before so it may not work. The device is programmed to track at long intervals of 30 minutes to conserve battery. But in the extreme cold, my device may shut off so if the track ends abruptly please assume it's a technical problem. It's gonna look pathetically slow both because it will be pathetically slow and also because the mountain is steep. You may want to check our altitude as opposed to relying on the map to show position. The summit is 8047m (26,401ft).

Summit day on Broad Peak is considered extremely long and difficult even by 8000m peak standards. I'm expecting a 20+ hour all-out effort with more gas in the tank in case we get slowed down. So, in summary, don't worry if it looks like we're barely moving or if there's a malfunction. No news is good news.

Have a great week!
Hari