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Editor's Note: Tommy Heinrich was to report on his attempt on K2 this summer, but the tragic death of his companion in an accident has resulted in his attempting Broad Peak instead. Arrival at Broad Peak On to K2 Base Camp Monday, July 12, 1999 Piotr Pustelnik, four Italian trekkers, and I finally arrived at Broad Peak's Base Camp. The trip was exciting. As scheduled we drove to Askole for eight hours. When arriving hundreds of porters approached us, hoping to get a job carrying loads, or return to Skardu by Jeep.
The first impression is not very good since you are surrounded by a lot of hungry and poor people. But as days go by, and you get to know the people (a bit difficult because of the language barrier), they are extremely friendly, generous, and kind and would do much more than carry a load for us. The weather was mostly sunny and very hot, until the day previous to our arrival at Base Camp when it started raining. And it snowed while we marched into camp. Here we left Piotr, and the trekkers and I continued to K2 Base Camp, with the news that there had been an accident on the mountain.
Tommy Heinrich, MountainZone.com Correspondent
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