Gasherbrum II Expedition Update: 16th - 22nd June 2004
by Lindley Zerbe

GII Base camp (GII BC), 16th June 2004:
After five ours of trekking, the team finally reached base camp and began to settle in, paid our porters, settled our gear, and set up our tents, our home for the next 25 days.

GII BC, 17th June 2004:
REST DAY! The trek to base camp at 5000m was a long one, much more difficult than our trek to Mera Peak the previous year. Our second day in GII base camp would allow the team to prepare for tomorrow’s journey up the Gasherbrum Icefall and the establishment of Advanced base camp (ABC).

GII BC/ABC, 18th June 2004:
2:00 AM, wake up, 4:00 AM, head off for ABC. The night was very comfortable and we were soon moving up the icefall in the dawn light. The ice fall was spectacular, with broken blocks of glacier revealing wide, sometimes snow covered crevasses. The ice fall was marked by many different ice features, large icicles, iridescent ice walls, and small glacial streams and ponds. The five hour climb would bring us to ABC at 5500m elevation. After dropping off two days supply of food, cooking implements, and several tents at ABC, we quickly moved back down the icefall to GII BC. In the late morning and afternoon, the ice fall quickly becomes much more dangerous as the snow softens and the bridges over the labyrinth of crevasses weaken. The team soon made it down safely to BC, though wearied by the effort.

GII BC, 19th June 2004:
After a long grueling acclimatization climb up to ABC, the team had a well deserved rest day at BC, catching up on sleep and refueling body stores. The team also prepared for their trip back up to ABC and possibly Camp 1 with food and equipment supplies. The team had an early dinner and turned in shortly after 7pm.

GII ABC, 20th June 2004:
The team got up at midnight, preparing to move off into the icefall at 1am. The icefall is most stable at night as once the sun’s rays hit the icefalls, bonds within the ice are weakened and the icefall turns into an unstable slushy domain. The team arrived in ABC shortly after 6am and immediately went to work pitching additional tents for an overnight stay. An initial plan for an acclimatization climb up towards Camp 1 had to be abandoned due to the blazing heat of the morning sun and the fact that a safe route to Instead the team rested in ABC, melting lots of snow to continually hydrate themselves as temperatures within the tents soared to 44 degrees Celsius. The day’s silence was broken by the tremors of a serac crumbling and avalanches rushing down the slopes of G1. As a testament to the extreme weather patterns in the Karakoram, the sizzling heat was soon replaced by steadily increasing winds and falling snow. Snow continued pouring through the night as the team slept soundly in their tents in ABC.

GII ABC/ BC, 21st June 2004:
A foot of fresh snow greeted the team when they awoke at 2am planning to move up to establish Camp 1. Lindley consulted Rajab Shah and soon decided that moving up to Camp 1 was out of question with the route not yet established and the crevasse danger very extreme. Based on an earlier weather forecast predicting an extended period of bad weather lasting several days, it was decided to descend to base camp. Descending was no easy feat as all tracks made in previous days had been erased and visibility had been reduced significantly. With the assistance of experienced guides Rajab and Meherban Shah, the team was able to navigate safely back to base camp. Base camp itself had not been spared from inclement weather as all the tents were coated in a layer of snow. Nevertheless the team remained in high spirits, and spent the rest of the day sorting their gear and replenishing their bodies.

GII BC, 22nd June 2004:
Due to continued snowfall, any advance up G2 would have to wait as with any expedition the weather dictates man and not the other way round. Since the icefall of G2 presents considerable crevasse danger, the team decided to make full use of the morning by revising their crevasse rescue techniques off a steep ice face near the campsite. As we prepare this update the snow continues to fall and we continue to pray for fair weather.

continue < 23rd - 30th June 2004