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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. Forced to Retreat from Broad Peak Week-Long Update from Broad Peak, Pakistan August 11, 1999 8/5/99
As soon as we started moving, rocks big and small came down from all places. It was about 1pm and very hot. We decided to move as fast as possible to avoid being hit by these rocks. It was amazing how much ice had melted, how much more rock was exposed. Streams of water flowed where footsteps had been. And glissade tracks were now rivers of clear, cold, and fast current going down. The ice now like thick, sticky snow made our feet heavier. Every step exposed the hard ice underneath.
We reached Camp I at 5700 meters in 1½ hours. We took a short break and continued upwards. The clouds were now covering most of the sky so we had to put some clothes on to remain warm. By 6:30 or 7pm, we were both at 6200 meters where we decided to overnight and get ready to leave early the next morning.
8/6/99 We left at about 7am, both feeling very strong and moving together. Suddenly, I started feeling my nostrils totally blocked and lacking air. Before reaching 6500 meters, I started throwing up with thick bulbs of mucus and blood clots which slowed me quite a bit. Rocks fell quite dangerously in this area as well, but the snow was still pretty hard and allowed us to move as planned. When I reached one of our tents at 6500 meters, I saw Piotr leaving for the higher camp at 6800 meters about 10 minutes ahead of me, moving very well. I decided to get my things, the sleeping bag and some warm clothes, but lay down and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Feeling tired and again spitting blood and mucus clogs quite frequently. I had something to drink and eat, and noticed that the weather was quickly deteriorating.
I thought of the weather report, which I now regret, and felt I could not make it to 7200 meters by nightfall. Alone and out of communication, I started packing my things and headed down, back to 6200 meters, still spitting blood from my nose. I reached 6,200 meters in the dark and was surprised to see Carlos Soria, who was planning on going up to Camp III the next morning which I had already done. The rest of the Spaniards had been to the two lower camps and removed all their belongings. Their expedition was over, and porters were called for the ninth, only three days away.
8/7/99 We radioed Piotr at about 6am, who was on his way to the summit alone. He had reached the high point of about 7400 meters and reported a very limited visibility, no wind, and knee-deep snow or even higher. I wondered what to do for a moment, but as the weather was not improving, Carlos and I decided to go down toward Base Camp.
As Carlos and I reached Camp I, Piotr radioed saying that visibility was zero and continuing would be suicidal since he could not find the way up, nor down either. So he was again back in the tent at 7200 meters. Strong winds, a jet stream, and clouds could be seen above 6400 meters covering also K2 and the surrounding area as far as we could see. The weather had again closed in on us. Carlos Soria and I removed everything from Camp I and were at BC five hours after leaving Camp II, again, avoiding boulders that were racing down the slope with us, trying to hit us at all times. Amazingly enough, the sun came out, but the strong winds and clouds still covered Broad Peak and K2. Piotr came all the way down to BC and joined us all by 6:30pm exhausted and sharing his frustration and anger after this last summit attempt.
8/8/99 We drove each other crazy for awhile but were mostly upset with ourselves. To our relief, conditions deteriorated quite a bit, but only on the upper part of Broad Peak and K2 which would not have allowed us to reach the top. Piotr and I wondered if the weather forecast was just a tool that we had never relied on for the climbs, and here we were now feeling that we had blown our chance by being at Base Camp after paying attention to it. The severe storm never came. So was it wrong? Conditions are still not good enough for us to reach the top. So was it right? I guess at this time, it does not really matter. We are out of time. The permit expires in a couple of days, and we can only wait for the porters to come and go home, wherever that is.
8/9/99 I am a bit toasted on this big mountain. My oxygen-depleted brain is screaming for more than I have offered it lately. I want to go back home to Argentina and watch women, smell their perfume, until the next climb, until the next expedition.
8/10/99 The plan is to send everyone except for the agency's rep across the Ghondoghoro Pass at 5,900 meters with 15 loads. The rest of the loads will be sent to Skardu as porters show up in Concordia and will hopefully meet with us a day or two later. It was simply another day in paradise. As Tom Frost would say, it is not reaching the summit that really matters, but how good a team member I was. I feel that he is right, and in the human aspect, this has been a beautiful experience for me. I met an incredible group of friends who worked at all times as a unit, supporting each other. Only once I heard an argument between two people that only lasted a few seconds. I could enjoy the true spirit of mountaineering, climbing for the joy or the fun of it, not for competition, not to show off or become a popular person in the papers, on the radio or TV. The most important is that they came together and they are all leaving together, unlike what I have seen in my last two trips to Everest, where egos were bigger than the mountain and were more important than the climb itself, where people forgot why they were there and ambition was the key. This was certainly a great treasure that I will never forget.
Tommy Heinrich, MountainZone.com Correspondent
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