4th of July 2010

Waiting, waiting and waiting….Some people spend their entire life waiting for something that will never come. “I would rather be waiting for good weather than for nothing.” It is a game of patience. Patience is one of my weakest points, so often nature reminds me that I’m not in control but she is. No matter what I do or say, how much you have or not, who you are, how much you stress about it, nature always has the last word. She has this wonderful way of giving us all the same opportunity. The only difference is, what you are going to make out of it.

The weather window will come when the time is due. All you have to do is to be like an athlete in the starting blocks, waiting for the shot to leap ahead, release the energy, see the opportunity, and take the risk that it involves. Some would still be sitting there waiting for the moment that has just gone by.

It might all sound a bit philosophical but I have to often remind myself that if you want to succeed in what you set out to do, it is always up to you and whom you surround yourself with.

The wind is very strong up in altitude and we are looking up at Broad peak with the clouds flying over the summit, and sweeping the snow up into the air. Many would think it is bad weather but the way we should look at it, is that there will be less snow to fight through on the way to the top.

Mike Horn

Mike and Kobi are still waiting at Broad Peak base camp and are hoping for a good weather window to attempt the summit.

"There is too much wind at the moment." says Mike. "Kobi and I are eager to move but we must be patient and play the waiting game.

I'm sorry not to meet the new YEP's that are starting the selection camp in Switzerland today. It's always a great moment when they arrive. This time I'm leaving them in the capable hands of my team."

Kind regards,

Mike

2nd July 2010

We have had bad weather since our first attempt to reach the summit of Broad Peak. Sitting in the tent waiting for better weather reminds me of fishing, you know what you waiting for but is it ever going to happen?

We are ready to climb, very well acclimatized and all our equipment is in place, ready to go to the summit. Today looks much better and some of the other expeditions has gone up to camp 2 to spend one night up there to acclimatize. Kobi and myself are waiting for a weather window to go up in Alpine style non-stop from base camp to the summit.

The conditions are not too bad up to camp three but we do not know what the snow conditions are going to be like when we do the final push to the summit. Amongst all the teams on Broad Peak, we have been up the highest and have opened the trail twice to above camp 2.

John and Ali our Pakistani Cooks have been looking after us very well and we have been eating like kings. Both Kobi and myself have been putting on weight because all we do while waiting, is eat.

I hope we will get our window to climb very soon so that we can move on to K2 as the days fly by and before we know it, the season will come to an end. The weather in the Baltoro is crazy and very difficult to predict, but all we need is max 2 days of good weather.

Please start doing the good weather dance and do not confuse it with the rain dance as we have had enough snow until now.

Best regards to all

Mike and Kobi

1st summit attempt 28th June

Is the mountain ready or not? We will never know for sure if we stay in base camp, look up at the summit and speculate.

A lot of snow has fallen this 'year and Broad Peak is as white as it can be during winter. Kobi and Myself have been up there above 7000m twice and have opened the trail non-stop to just below camp 3 at 7'300m.
We have encountered old snow with layers of fresh powder snow on top. The old snow has not hardened from camp 1 up to above camp 2 so each step you make you break through the crust and slip down before you can make the next step. Imagine being on an escalator going down and you would like to go up.
On the steeper slopes it is very hard work to make progress, add to that the lack of oxygen, cold and the amount of hours we climb it can become somewhat interesting.

Yesterday we have been above our equipment depot and ran into very hard sheet glacier ice with a 6 cm layer of fresh snow on top of it. It sounds very nice but in fact it is a nightmare as the danger of avalanches increase as the slope becomes steeper. We decided to make a u-turn. Caroline told us there is more snow and stronger winds predicted and if we will be caught up above camp 3 on our way to the summit we might never get down in one piece.

We brought our tent down to just above camp 2 where we could find the first flat spot on the ridge to sleep. You look out of the door of your tent and you have 1'000 meters drop-of in front of your doorstep. This is certainly a “Non sleep-walking zone.” Kobi and myself spent a very, very cold and long night without sleeping bags in the tent. Luckily the temperature went down to only -25 C. Kobi had to massage his feet and toes in the middle of the night as he started losing feeling in them. He put his feet in a spare pair of down gloves rapped his light down jacket around his feet and slowly the blood started flowing to his toes again.

The wind increased during the night and it started snowing heavily. Our plan to do the final summit push was blown away like a snowflake in the wind. We returned to base camp for a short rest and as soon as the weather allows us, we will try again.

Was the mountain ready for us to climb? Did we make the right decision? We would never know! As long as we stay alive we can live the life we love.

Mike.

Waist deep snow stops the ascencion of Broad Peak summit for Mike Horn and Kobi Reichen.

They left base camp at 4am local time and ascended to camp three at 7'000 meters of altitude. Here they met up with their previosly cached tent and supplies and were able to rest for a while before attempting the summit at 8'047m of altitude.

200 meters into the final summit ascencion they were wading through waist deep snow. Obviously the summit would not be their's today so they turned around and headed back to base camp. They arrived around 10 am this morning, very happy with their attempt and are looking foward to trying it again when the next weather widow permits.

A Spanish team of seven also tried for the summit yesterday and struck against the same problems. They too have descended again and will be once again playing the waiting game over the next few days.

For now Mike and Kobi, can relax and tuck into a well deserved meal and a good rest!

28th of June 2010 – 14h00 hrs local time. After 10 hours of ascencion, Mike Horn and Kobi Reichen arrive at Broad Peak's 3rd camp situated at 7'000m altitude.

They left base camp (5'000m) at 04h00 local time and progressed in the evening hours before the snow warmed and softened. Now at 7'000m they have set up camp and will rest during the heat of the day. It is predicted that they will set off again at 20h00 and if all going well will get to the summit any time between 01h00 and 03h00 tomorrow morning.

Making the summit is still uncertain due to the fact that there are large quantities of snow this year. They will only be able to assess conditions as they climb.

We are predicting another two teams will also set off to do the summit today as the weather has cleared and looks to be a perfect day. The good weather window will not remain open for too long however as the wind is expected to pick up tomorrow.

We wish them all GOOD LUCK!!!

25.06.2010 Last day in Islamabad

A perfect day to finish a perfect adventure for our Young Explorers! They were able to sleep in a bed, eat restaurant foods, shop for souvenirs and discover the sights of Islamabad.

Tomorrow will be another day of traveling for the YEP's as they will board their flights and return to their respective homes all around the world.

Now the next venture will start for the young explorers as they join forces to try and help protect the majestic scenery of the Himalayan Alps for many years to come!

Expedition Day 23 Written By: Alex & Basil

The young explorers are no strangers to long journeys. The much anticipated day has arrived where we would get the opportunity to travel hundreds of kilometers on the Karakorum ‘Highway’, also known as the KKH.

After saying our final farewell to our lovely assistant guide, Javed, we packed our luggage on top of the bus, a practice that is not commonly seen in the countries that we live in. The bus, though insignificant, would be our key to the adventures on the KKH.

The first hour of our journey brought us through the town of Skardu. The lively, dusty town was bustling with life. Sights of children on their way to schools, herds of goats blocking the traffic and locals on their way to work made us wonder what we would experience down the road!

In the meantime, Erwan, our beloved mountain guide, was sitting at the top of the bus, ‘camouflaged ‘with the luggage. The sights and sounds of the town died down discreetly as we entered the valleys of Northern Pakistan.

The Indus River roared mightily beside us the whole time. The crashing of the currents coupled with the sheer size of the valley made us understand that this river is not something to be reckon with. Ironically, this majestic river is the mother of many civilizations that mushroomed around it in the earlier days.

As we travelled down Pakistan with the Indus, we were greeted by small areas of lush greenery that sprouted sporadically along the valleys. The locals built terraces to grow crop such as wheat. So how do the locals travel to the other side of the valley without getting washed away by the mighty Indus? Easy! Ropes are the key! First, the locals amazing managed to get cables across to the other side. Next, they place a basket that could be used to store goods or even children to be sent across to the other side! Amazing feat we must say!

After about 6 hours of driving, we finally entered a portion of the 1500KM KKH. The KKH links Western China and Northern Pakistan and it was part of the ancient Silk Road. Today, modern vehicles ply the important route and the KKH is also a popular spot for adventure seekers. Even though the KKH was built in the 1970s, landslides are the enemies of the Highway. While travelling on the KKH today, we witnessed major constructions along the KKH. Even after 30 years, the KKH has not been completed due to force majeure. However, there was one reason we thought about there was not linked to nature. We noticed that the workers on the KKH were taking their time in doing the work! Perhaps the repair works could be done a few years ago!

Lunch was first suggested at this extremely rundown street-side café. However due to the unhygienic conditions we saw, we decided to skip it and search for another café. We finally settled for a rundown café which appeared slightly better than the first one as we did not have much of a choice! Lunch was simple Chapatti, rice and Dhaao, Pakistani style!

After lunch, we felt the winds started to gust. We rushed back into our bus and soon after raindrops started to fall. We felt fortunate to be in the bus as we saw the trees swaying wildly in the gusting winds. After travelling for a few minutes, we witnessed the most incredible phenomenon ever. The winds were so strong that it lifted up volumes of sand into the sky. It was similar to a sand storm, however, this was different. The sands were forced into columns and brought up hundreds of metres into the sky. The entire place was extremely dusty and visibility was close to zero. The driver had to stop the bus a few times as he could not see what was directly in front of him. One wrong move and we could be swimming in the Indus River down below. This was indeed an adventure for all of us! Even our guide, who has been travelling on this
highway for close to 30 years, have not experienced such an act of Nature before!

After 12 hours on the road, we finally arrived at Chilas. Everyone was thankful that today’s bus journey has come to a halt. We checked into a luxurious motel that oversees part of the Indus River. Tomorrow we will continue our journey to Islamabad! It was rumored that the bus ride would be longer than today’s!

Let’s see what adventures and happenings will we encounter tomorrow!

It's a waiting game for Mike and Köbi as they sit at the base camp of Broad Peak waiting for heavy snow to settle and for the weather to clear completely before attempting the summit. We have reason to believe they will attempt the summit this evening and are waiting for news from our two intrepid alpinists.

As Mike and Köbi wait at the base camp of Broad Peak for a good weather window to allow them to ascend to the summit, our young Explorers continue on the downhill trek towards Islamabad.

Today the team arrived in Askole – a small town in the most remote region of Karakoram mountains in Northern Pakistan, and gateway to four of the world's fourteen highest peaks known as Eight-thousanders (above 8,000m).

The Young Explorers are all well and happy. Tomorrow their feet will have a rest as they will take a long jeep ride to Skardu.